Israeli claims that an Iranian airline is transferring arms from Lebanon to Syria via Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport are “baseless,” RHIA's president announced on Thursday.

MP Ibrahim Kanaan of the Free Patriotic Movement announced Thursday that the so-called “Christian agreement” between the FPM and the Lebanese Forces “has established a new balance and a new equation” in the country, as LF official Melhem Riachi noted that Christians “have regained their strength.”

A huge wildfire erupted Thursday in the Mimes area in the southern region of Hasbaya, state-run National News Agency reported.

Melhem Riachi stepped down on Thursday as Lebanese Forces media officer and was replaced by journalist and political activist Charles Jabbour.

The LF accepted the resignation of Riachi as media officer effective today and appointed journalist Charles Jabbour, an LF statement said.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Ammar Houri confirmed on Thursday that impediments hindering the formation of the new Lebanese cabinet have been finally alleviated, the National News Agency reported.

“We are closer than ever to the announcement of the cabinet line-up,” Houri said in an interview to the told Orient Radio station, citing the example of other countries worldwide who make similar efforts to ensure the best political representation of their respective political party.

Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh emphasized on Thursday that the latest political developments in Lebanon after the election of President Michel Aoun have improved the overall confidence in Lebanon.

Electricite Du Liban daily contract workers staged protests on Thursday and blocked the entrance to the company's headquarters in Beirut to pressure the government into a long-standing demand that makes them full-time employees, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The employees first blocked the customer service gate and prevented the employees from accessing the building. Shortly afterward they only allowed the employee to enter, NNA added.

Political parties are obliged to agree on the controversial distribution of ministerial portfolios within a week time limit, otherwise they will be compelled to agree on a government line-up set by President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, media reports said on Thursday.

Aoun and Hariri will not leave the disagreements on portfolios to hinder the formation process any longer and have decided to take action in that regard. The choices at hand include “imposing a line-up which they see appropriate,” Free Patriotic Movement sources told al-Akhbar daily.

Visiting Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani announced Wednesday that his country is “very confident” that a “strong government” will be formed in Lebanon, as Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri said the latest visits by Gulf officials reflect the Gulf countries' “openness” to restoring good ties with Lebanon.

Caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Wednesday discussed the issue of equipping the army and cooperation in the oil and gas sector with his visiting Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani.