Caretaker Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui on Tuesday hit back at former Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi, stressing that the ministry abides by the cabinet's decisions regarding the handing over of telecom data to security agencies.

The ministry “used to deliver the data whenever authorized by the cabinet and it withheld the data only when the council of ministers asked it to do so,” said Sehnaoui in a statement issued by his press office.

Two Turkish pilots kidnapped near Beirut's airport in August were shown in a video broadcast by LBCI television on Tuesday, saying they wished they could be back home.

The video showed Murat Akpinar and Murat Agca both saying they were in good health but adding that they wished they could be home with their families for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha that began on Tuesday.

President Michel Suleiman on Tuesday announced that Lebanon will annually commemorate singing legend Wadih al-Safi, who passed away on Friday evening.

"No one can do justice to the late artist. Lebanon has its national anthem but the country of cedars also has several anthems performed by the late legend," Suleiman said, as he offered condolences at the St. George Church on Tuesday afternoon.

A booby-trapped car seized Monday by the army in Dahieh contained around 50 kilograms of explosive material, an army statement said, as President Michel Suleiman hailed the military institution for its achievement.

The vehicle turned out to contain “around 50 kilos of explosives: three landmines, six anti-vehicle grenades, a quantity of TNT, and some 20 kilograms of aluminum powder that is mixed with yellow sulfur and electric fuses,” according to the statement.

Greek Orthodox Patriarch Youhanna X Yazigi stressed on Tuesday the importance of forming an all-embracing government to avoid a constitutional vacuum and consolidate civil peace.

During a synod held in Balamand, he called for consolidating Lebanon and distancing it from the crises in the region.

The army said it arrested on Tuesday three suspects in connection with a gunfight between rival gunmen in the Beirut neighborhood of Tariq al-Jedideh.

The army communique did not identify the gunmen but said that they exchanged gunfire with light arms during a dispute near al-Makassed hospital at 9:15 am.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani on Tuesday slammed politicians for paralyzing state institutions and causing divisions among the Lebanese, saying the people should unite before it was too late.

In his Eid al-Adha sermon at Mohammed al-Amin mosque in downtown Beirut, Qabbani said: “Only the performance of our politicians divides us as Lebanese.”

Sheikh Abbas Zgheib, who has been tasked by the Higher Islamic Shiite Council to follow up the case of the Lebanese pilgrims held hostage in Syria since May 2012, shied away from giving any information about their possible release.

In remarks to pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat published on Tuesday, Zgheib said: “We don't want to exaggerate about obstacles delaying their release or even signs that they could be set free soon.”

A pharmacist, who was kidnapped in the eastern Zahle district around two weeks ago, has been released, the state-run National News Agency said Tuesday.

NNA said Wissam al-Khatib was set free in his hometown of Kfarzabad in the central Bekaa valley around 4:00 am.

At least 15 Syrian shells hit several towns in the northern city of Akkar on Monday evening, the state-run National News Agency reported.

"As much as 15 shells have landed in several towns in Akkar according to the city's residents,” the NNA said, adding that no injuries were reported.