The army intelligence detained the leader of a terrorist group in the Bekaa as he was heading to the outskirts of Arsal to join armed men, the state-run National News Agency reported Saturday.

NNA said that Syrian national Hazem B. was arrested on Friday in the town of al-Labweh.

The Free Patriotic Movement and Lebanese Forces handed over to Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi a copy of the so-called declaration of intent between the two parties for his review.

FPM lawmaker Ibrahim Kanaan and LF official Melhem Riachi stressed after talks with al-Rahi in Bkirki that the declaration isn't targeting any side but merely to bridge the gap between Christians.

Minister of Social Affairs Rashid Derbas voiced fears on Saturday that the salaries of the public sector could be delayed if the Free Patriotic Movement continues to reject cabinet discussions and set preconditions that the thorny file of security and military appointments is solved first.

“I might not be able to pay the salaries for the employees at my ministry if the cabinet did not discuss the items on its agenda and approve the treasury loans, which could also drag on other ministries,” Derbas told al-Liwaa newspaper on Saturday.

Al-Qaida-affiliate al-Nusra Front is reportedly seeking a settlement with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to flee the battles on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal.

According to al-Akhbar newspaper published on Saturday, al-Nusra Front is divided between surrendering to ISIL, which is controlling the outskirts of Ras Baalbek and al-Qaa or entering Arsal and engaging in battles with the Lebanese Army.

The Director of the Department of the Middle East and North Africa at the French Foreign Ministry Jean-François Girault will return to Lebanon after he discusses the developments regarding the presidential crisis with major powers.

An Nahar newspaper reported that Girault, who left Beirut on Friday afternoon, will return by the end of the month after conducting the necessary contacts with the Islamic Republic of Iran, Saudi Arabia and the Vatican.

Mustaqbal leader and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri discussed with the movement's senior officials in Jeddah the latest developments.

According to al-Liwaa newspaper published Saturday, Hariri met with head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc Fouad Saniora and Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq in presence of his adviser Nader Hariri.

Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji stressed Saturday that political consensus eases pressure on the military institution and facilitates its battle against terrorism.

Qahwaji expressed hope that “politics wouldn't involve the military institution,” his visitors quoted him as saying in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

One of the Gambia's most powerful business magnates, accused by the United States of funding Hizbullah, has been expelled, Gambian government sources said on Friday.

Lebanese-Gambian multi-millionaire Hussein Tajudeen, a former close friend of President Yahya Jammeh, was ordered out for "unacceptable business practices that are detrimental to the Gambian economy," according to the presidency.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Friday said that an alleged “inter-Christian” dispute is not behind the ongoing presidential vacuum in the country, slamming some parties for “paralyzing” the presidential palace while claiming to be “defending Lebanon in Qalamoun and Syria.”

“How can we believe that some are defending Lebanon in Qalamoun and the rest of Syria, in Iraq and Yemen, while they are paralyzing the Baabda Palace – the very heart of Lebanon?” said Geagea at an LF rally, in an apparent reference to Hizbullah.

A Lebanese-Canadian man was detained for a further eight days in Cyprus on Friday after five tons of potential bomb-making equipment was found in his home, police said.

The suspect appeared in court under heavy police guard in a hearing held behind closed doors for "national security reasons," according to police sources.