Gunmen from the al-Qaida-linked Al Nusra Front kidnapped on Tuesday several Lebanese, Syrian and Turkmen workers in the outskirts of the Ras Baalbek region in the Bekaa.

"Ten workers, the majority of whom are Syrians, were kidnapped in the outskirts of Ras Baalbek by Nusra Front gunmen,” reported LBCI television, noting that the abduction caused tension in the region.

The Maronite Patriarchate denied on Tuesday reports claiming that Bkirki has a list of candidates for the presidential post.

The Patriarchate stressed that it didn't interfere and will not intervene in the “game of names.”

Phalange leader Amin Gemayel called on Tuesday for the immediate election of a new president amid an “unethical” boycott by several blocs, reiterating that parliament should not legislate in case of a vacuum at Baabda Palace.

“Parliament should only focus on electing a new president. It should not legislate in case of vacuum as the Constitution states,” Gemayel said following talks with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki.

Air traffic at Rafik Hariri International Airport was suspended for two hours on Tuesday in support of the demands of the public sector employees, delaying over a dozen arriving and departing flights, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The two-hour suspension came in light of the decision of the air traffic controllers committee to back the demands of the Syndicate Coordination Committee for the approval of the controversial pay hike.

Syrian warplanes carried out overnight raids on positions controlled by the opposition along the Lebanese-Syrian border, media reports said.

Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) reported on Tuesday that the raids targeted Syrian opposition posts in the Eastern Mountain range.

The cabinet is scheduled to meet on Thursday to continue discussions on the controversial work mechanism in the absence of President Michel Suleiman and the failure to elect a new head of state.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam invited ministers to meet at 10:00 am Thursday at the Grand Serail although differences between the cabinet's members have not been settled yet.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam denied on Tuesday that the United States warned of the repercussions of establishing Syrian refugee camps on Lebanese territories.

Sources close to the PM ruled out in comments published in the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, informed Salam during a meeting last week that his country rejects the establishment of camps for Syrians on Lebanese territories.

The Lebanese army, security forces and the union of municipalities in Beirut's southern suburbs have implemented a large-scale security plan in the area, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The plan, which was carried out on Monday, included security measures around checkpoints and inside secondary streets in the suburbs, it said.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday presented three “solutions” to end the presidential impasse, 15 days after former President Michel Suleiman left office with no successor to take his place in the coming six years.

Among his suggested “solutions,” Geagea proposed selecting two nominees from the March 14 and the March 8 coalitions other than himself and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, and voting for one of them at the parliament.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc on Monday announced that it will not take part in “pushing the country towards bankruptcy,” hinting hence that its MPs will boycott a parliamentary session dedicated for voting on the new wage scale draft law scheduled for Tuesday.

Bloc head MP Fouad Saniora explained after an extraordinary meeting at the Center House that the new wage scale draft in its current format has “disastrous” consequences on the state's finances.