The families of nine Lebanese servicemen held hostage by the Islamic State extremist group blocked on Monday the road between the northeastern border towns of Labweh and Arsal to protest their continued captivity.

The relatives said they held their protest on the occasion of Mother's Day to shed light on their suffering.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini kicked off on Monday an official visit to Lebanon by holding talks with Prime Minister Tammam Salam and later Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, with the Syrian refugee crisis at the heart of discussions.

Bassil emphasized that Lebanon's constitution “prohibits the naturalization of Syrian refugees.”

In a new series of expulsions, Kuwait has deported eleven Lebanese and three Iraqis after it has been proven that they belong to Hizbullah, the Kuwaiti al-Qabas daily reported on Monday.

“They have been deported at the request of Kuwait's state security apparatus,” the daily quoted a Kuwaiti security source as saying on condition of anonymity.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam has reiterated his call for the swift election of a president amid a report that officials will begin to propose names of new candidates in an attempt to end the 22-month vacuum that has gripped the country.

Salam told his visitors on Sunday that all political parties should head to the parliament and exercise their constitutional rights through the election of a new head of state.

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil slammed his foes on Monday for allegedly paralyzing the presidential elections and violating the National Pact through their rejection of the candidacy of his father-in-law MP Michel Aoun, the founder of the Free Patriotic Movement.

“We won't allow anyone to impose on us a logic that does not impose on himself,” said Bassil, who took over the leadership of the FPM last year.

Speaker Nabih Berri said Monday that he has agreed with Prime Minister Tammam Salam to ask U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon for the demarcation of Lebanon's maritime border.

Berri told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that the demarcation of Lebanon's Exclusive Economic Zone would resolve Lebanon's maritime conflict with Israel.

The United Arab Emirates stressed Sunday its keenness on the ties with Lebanon, denying media reports about delaying the return of its ambassador to Beirut.

“Local media outlets have circulated inaccurate reports in the past two days, claiming that the UAE ambassador to Lebanon was not able to leave his country's airport for Lebanon following a family visit except after the intervention of his country's foreign ministry,” the embassy's press office said in a statement.

Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel has stressed that the country needs a president who has an “economic vision” and the ability to “neutralize Lebanon from the ongoing conflicts in the region instead of dragging it into them.”

“For the country to witness a new beginning, it needs the election of a president – a competent, upright president who has an economic vision and who has the ability to oversee files and pull Lebanon out of its crises,” said Gemayel.

Workers have begun removing tons of rubbish that have piled up around Beirut under a government plan to end an eight-month crisis that has sparked repeated protests.

"More than 8,000 tons of accumulated trash have been removed from streets and random dumps in the past 24 hours, which indicates that the waste plan is being implemented in a serious manner," Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq announced.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea renewed his accusation that Hizbullah does not want to hold the presidential elections.

“Two months after our endorsement of Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun's run for the presidency, the party has not not move its little finger to elect him,” he noted during an LF dinner banquet in Batroun on Saturday.