The Israeli army on Tuesday kidnapped two shepherds from a region near the southern town of Shebaa, the state-run National News Agency reported.

"Youssef Hussein Rhayyel and Youssef Mohammed Zahra were abducted into the occupied Shebaa Farms,” the NNA noted.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday ruled out an imminent formation of a new cabinet as he slammed the performance of the parliament.

“Nothing indicates that the cabinet will be formed soon and everyone is saying it may be formed in September or when the (parliament's) 17-month extension period ends,” Aoun told reporters after the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform bloc in Rabiyeh.

Acting Registrar of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Daryl Mundis appointed Mr. Stephane Bourgon, Ad.E., of Canada as amicus curiae to investigate the three events that are the subject of allegations of contempt, announced the tribunal in a statement on Tuesday.

“The appointment follows the decision of the Contempt Judge David Baragwanath on April 29, 2013 to initiate proceedings in three incidents which could potentially be considered interference with the administration of justice through publication of alleged witness identities,” it added.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi voiced on Tuesday his “complete support” to the army in its efforts to preserve Lebanon's unity and peace.

He called on the Lebanese people “regardless of their political or sectarian affiliations to support this national institution.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is due in Beirut Wednesday, where he is expected to offer the Lebanese authorities assurances that the Palestinian refugee camps will stay clear of the country's growing Syria-related unrest.

During his three-day visit, Abbas is also expected to discuss the situation of Palestinians who fled Syria for Lebanon, which is already home to some 470,000 Palestinian refugees living in 12 official camps.

The Army Command announced on Tuesday that the man arrested for appearing in a video alongside former singer Fadel Shaker had confessed to smuggling weapons into Lebanon.

It said in a statement that Ghali Haddara confessed to smuggling arms and ammunition into the so-called security zone in Abra in the southern city of Sidon.

The Ulemas of the northern city of Tripoli on Tuesday accused the Lebanese army of collaborating with Hizbullah to target members of the Sunni community and said the judiciary was receiving orders from Iran.

“The military is collaborating with Hizbullah to fight Sunnis,” Sheikh Salem al-Rafehi said following a meeting that the Ulemas held hours after Tripoli witnessed tension that left one person dead.

A Swedish-Lebanese man denied on Tuesday links to Hizbullah during his trial on charges of breaking Thailand's weapons laws.

Atris Hussein, 48, was arrested in Bangkok in January last year and police later found chemicals that can be used to make a bomb at an address he rented.

Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri stressed on Tuesday the kingdom's “unwavering” support for Lebanon, saying that the country does not meddle in Lebanese affairs.

He said: “We urge political powers in Lebanon to resume dialogue in order to resolve disputes.”

There was cautious calm in the northern city of Tripoli on Tuesday after a tense night that left an elderly dead and around five others injured, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Salim Amin al-Ashqar, 75, died after inhaling smoke from shops that were burned by armed men to protest the arrest of a suspect who had appeared alongside singer-turned Salafist Fadel Shaker in a video circulated in the wake of the gunbattles in the southern city of Sidon, NNA said.