Lebanon's cabinet that spent almost eight-hour in session was marred by what ministerial reports described as “outbidding and blackmail” in order for some ministers to roll up a bargain from the trash solution, An Nahar daily reported on Sunday.

The session which lasted for more than eight hours has witnessed “outbidding and blackmail” in order for some ministers to get the biggest bulk of the profits, prompting Prime Minister Tammam Salam to threaten to suspend the session and carry out his threat to resign from the cabinet, unnamed ministerial sources told the daily.

Doctors Without Borders has challenged Pfizer's application for an Indian patent for its pneumonia vaccine so cheaper versions can be available to children in poor countries and to humanitarian organizations.

The medical aid group, also known as Medicins Sans Frontieres, said in a statement late Friday that it was challenging Pfizer's patent application to allow Indian manufacturers to make affordable versions of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said on Saturday that the Arab League’s branding of Hizbullah as a terrorist group was “shameful” and “absurd.”

“The latest decision taken by the Arab League on Hizbullah is absurd,” said Muallem at a news conference he held in Damascus.

A top security official in Dubai warned Friday of a "clash of civilizations" if U.S. Republican candidate Donald Trump becomes president, the latest sign of disquiet across the Middle East over the businessman's comments about Muslims.

Trump refused to back away from his recent statement that "Islam hates the West" during a Republican debate Thursday night in Miami, which comes after he called in December for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S.

When the Formula One season begins next week, spare a thought for the staff in the marketing department.

They do have some good promotional material to work with: Ferrari's times in preseason testing have raised hopes of a genuine challenger to Mercedes; the entry of the Haas team creates an overdue American presence; Renault returns as a team owner a decade after its most recent championship; and the Manor team has a couple of intriguing new drivers.

Liverpool outclassed Manchester United but relied on two defensive blunders to win 2-0 in a high-profile all-English match in the Europa League last 16 on Thursday, with only David de Gea's brilliant saves sparing the visitors a heavier first-leg beating.

Daniel Sturridge — from a penalty — and Roberto Firmino found a way past De Gea to make Liverpool a strong favorite to advance after next week's return leg, as United's players failed to handle a white-hot atmosphere at Anfield and Liverpool's fierce pressing game.

McLaren struggled so badly last year that the relative success of preseason testing almost felt like stepping on the podium for success-starved drivers Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.

Although a genuine podium finish is a long shot at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix next weekend, there is a renewed enthusiasm that it is a realistic goal sometime in 2016.

With his appeasing smile and calm voice, it would be easy to miss Nico Rosberg's growing frustration after two seasons finishing second behind world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Behind his ever-courteous demeanor, and although he jokingly says "I wasn't permanently frustrated" last year, the 30-year-old German driver is consumed by a desire to finally outdo his more illustrious Mercedes teammate.

Japan's Olympics minister says he hopes Fukushima prefecture can host preliminary rounds of baseball and softball at the 2020 Games.

Toshiaki Endo made the comments Friday on the fifth anniversary of a magnitude 9.0-earthquake that struck offshore and triggered a devastating tsunami, killing more than 18,000 people.

A French appeals court has lifted the order preventing Karim Benzema from meeting with Mathieu Valbuena, bringing the Real Madrid striker closer to being cleared to play on France's national team.

Benzema's lawyer, Sylvain Cormier, described Friday's decision as "a first step." Benzema, who is currently sidelined with an injury, is facing preliminary charges of conspiracy to blackmail relating to an extortion scam over a sex tape involving France teammate Valbuena.