Army Commander Gen. Jean Qahwaji said on Wednesday criticized the political disputes among the rival parties, which pressed politicians to take decisions in order to avoid vacuum.

In his Order of the Day to mark the 68th Army Day, Qahwaji stressed that “there wouldn't have been any fear of vacuum if the political life went on normally and disputes didn't govern ties between parties.”

State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr rejected on Wednesday a request to release former Information Minister Michel Samaha over the seriousness of his crime.

Saqr asked the military court to reject the request made by Samaha's defense lawyer Sakher Hashem a week ago on claims that the crime was only based on plots.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat agreed with Lebanese Democratic Party leader MP Talal Arslan and Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh on the importance of extending the mandate Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji in the first such contact between the foes.

According to As Safir newspaper published on Wednesday, a dinner banquet gathered two days ago Jumblat and Arslan.

Speaker Nabih Berri has snapped back at al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc which accused him of encouraging “unacceptable” practices by insisting on keeping the agenda of the national assembly intact.

“Everyone should know that the parliament is the top institution and gives legitimacy to governments,” Berri said in remarks published in several newspapers on Wednesday.

The government began implementing strict entry controls on Syrians fleeing the turmoil in the neighboring in an attempt to confront the soaring numbers of refugees.

According to An Nahar newspaper published on Wednesday, the security measures are implemented on all border crossings with Syrian including al-Masnaa border crossing in the east, al-Abboudiyeh in Akkar district, al-Aridah in North Lebanon and several others.

Caretaker Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn issued on Wednesday an administrative decision to extend the mandate of Army chief General Jean Qahwaji for two years after the parliament failed to take such a move.

The decision calls for postponing for two years Qahwaji's retirement and that of Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Walid Salman, which expires on August 7.

In a dramatic video that has shocked the Lebanese society, Amena Ismail is seen sitting on the balcony ledge of her eighth floor apartment before jumping to her death as her husband desperately tries to convince her not to commit suicide.

“Your mother does not deserve this … you can forget about me if you're not happy with me ,” the husband, Kifah Fairouz Ahmed, tells his wife in a weeping tone moments before she throws herself from the building that is located in the upper-class Beirut district of Ramlet al-Bayda.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly hailed on Tuesday the European Union's decision to blacklist Hizbullah's military wing as a terrorist organization.

She said after holding talks with Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun: “The decision sends a strong message that the party cannot operate with impunity and there are consequences for its actions, such as the Burgas bombing and its terrorist plot in Cyprus.”

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday announced that he intends to form a “national front” to defend the constitution and prevent “the disintegration of the state,” describing the mechanism devised to extend the term of Army chief General Jean Qahwaji as “illegitimate.”

“We want to immunize the military institution against those who want to tamper with its hierarchy and are issuing edicts that are harming the military hierarchy and manipulating the law,” said Aoun after the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc lawmakers stressed on Tuesday on the significance of the army's role amid the current critical situation in Lebanon that is manifested in “Hizbullah's infringement of the state's prestige.”

“The army has a double importance in current circumstances, especially after the increased presence of outlaws,” the MPs said in a released statement after the bloc's weekly meeting at the Center House.