Washington emphasized that the United States will continue to regard Hizbullah as a terrorist organization and will continue to tighten surveillance and sanctions against its institutions and members, the Saudi Okaz daily reported on Sunday.

“U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon had stressed during meetings with Lebanese officials that the U.S. will not back down from regarding Hizbullah as a terrorist organization and tightening surveillance and sanctions against its institutions and members,” well-informed sources in Beirut told the daily.

Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji stressed keenness to maintain good relations with the Gulf countries as he urged Lebanese expats working in the Gulf states not to engage in political affairs of the hosting country, the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa daily reported on Sunday.

“Qahwaji reiterated eagerness to keep the best relations with the Arab Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar, which are hosting thousands of Lebanese as he reminded of their offering to Lebanon during its time of crises,” visitors to Qahwaji quoted him as saying.

Assassination threats against Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat emerged lately and the security measures were upped around his place of residence in Beirut, ministerial sources told Saudi daily Asharq al-Awsat on Sunday.

“The security team of head of the Democratic Gathering bloc leader Jumblat has intensified the measures near his place of residence in Beirut after reports that his name is on a list of assassinations to be carried out by the Islamic State group,” the source told the daily.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed Saturday that the only solution to the country's long-running presidential void crisis is the election of Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun as president and the re-designation of al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri as premier.

“The first practical step that is needed to overcome our current crisis is neither the national dialogue table that we have long tried nor the package deal that we have long searched for without managing to find it,” said Geagea at an LF-organized rally commemorating “the martyrs of the Lebanese resistance” in Maarab.

Five people have been ordered detained in connection with the bizarre incident of the 12-year-old kid who managed to breach security procedures at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport and board a plane to Turkey, state-run National News Agency reported on Saturday.

Authorities at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport have foiled an attempt to smuggle over a million narcotic pills to Syria via Lebanon, the Internal Security Forces said.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has announced that the FPM wants to “destroy” what he called the “corrupt structure” that ruled the country between 1990 and 2005.

Speaker Nabih Berri has said that the jabs contained in his Wednesday speech were not targeted against a single political party, after his remarks sparked speculation over whether he was referring to the Free Patriotic Movement or al-Mustaqbal Movement.

Resigned Economy Minister Alain Hakim of the Kataeb Party has announced that “positive solutions” are expected to surface in the coming days regarding the recurrent waste management and collection crisis.

Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon of the March 14 camp on Saturday called on Prime Minister Tammam Salam to postpone next week's cabinet session amid the continued boycott of the ministers of the Free Patriotic Movement and the Tashnag Party.