A number of Lebanese nationals in Nepal have pleaded with Lebanese authorities to help them evacuate the country following Saturday's destructive earthquake, reported al-Jadeed television on Sunday.

They urged the Foreign Ministry to carry out the necessary efforts to ensure their safe return to Lebanon.

Minister of Social Affairs Rashid Derbas stressed that his ministry is the main authority concerned with tackling the case of Syrian refugees in Lebanon as sources criticized the manner in which Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil approached his handling of the case, reported the Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah on Sunday.

Derbas told the daily: “This issue can not be postponed further. The cabinet should seize control of this file and I refuse to have my jurisdictions violated.”

Head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri's ongoing visit to the United States is focusing on safeguarding Lebanon from regional unrest and raising support for its army and security forces, reported the Kuwaiti daily al-Anba on Sunday.

It added that efforts are underway to schedule a meeting between the former premier and U.S. President Barack Obama.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi arrived in France on Saturday after a four-day visit to Armenia where he attended the centenary commemoration of the Armenian genocide.

Al-Rahi arrived at the Le Bourget Airport on board a private jet put at his disposal by Deputy Prime Minister Issam Fares.

The Army intelligence detained several Syrian nationals in the Bekaa region and seized a factory used for manufacturing bombs.

According to a statement issued by the army on Saturday, an army intelligence unit raided a bomb-making factory in the town of al-Marj in the west Bekaa, detaining four Syrian nationals.

Controversial reports surfaced on Saturday over an alleged Israeli airstrike on Hizbullah and Syrian military posts in the strategic Qalamoun region.

Al-Arabiya's Al-Hadath TV channel reported on Saturday that Israel targeted overnight a missile depot in the region.

Al-Mustaqal Movement parliamentary bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora stressed on Saturday that Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun has no chances of reaching the presidential palace in Baabda.

“The hijacked presidency is ruining the country's reputation,” Saniora's visitors quoted him as saying in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

Hizbullah has allegedly constructed a runway that consists of a single unpaved strip with a length of 670 meter and width of 20 meter in the Bekaa town of Hermel to operate its drones.

IHS Jane's Defense Weekly said in a report that the area is remote and unpopulated.

Preparations are underway for a two-day visit by Irish President Michael D. Higgins, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Saturday.

A European diplomatic source told the daily that Higgins will arrive in Beirut on Sunday night on an official visit.

Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji vowed on Saturday to continue his war on terror to prevent it from infiltrating into Lebanon.

“The challenges are enormous,” Qahwaji said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.