As the tour group made its way through the narrow alleys of the seaside city of Tripoli, marveling at its medieval architecture, residents stared back at a sight that for them was just as exotic — visitors in their poor, restive corner of Lebanon.

"Foreigners!" residents called out to each other as the group of around 30 Lebanese and foreign tourists made their way through the Old City's labyrinth of cobblestone alleys, snapping pictures of centuries-old archways and graceful minarets. "We put you on our heads!" coffee seller Abu Mohammed, 65, said, using a traditional Arabic greeting for honored guests.

The families of abducted soldiers and policemen cited on Wednesday progress in the negotiations between the Lebanese state and the abductors of the servicemen.

According to al-Mustaqbal newspaper, the relatives expressed relief over the near end of the abduction ordeal, expressing belief that a deal has been reached between negotiators to release a captive servicemen in return for three Roumieh prison inmates and women prisoners in Syria's jails.

Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri has paid tribute to Saudi King Abdullah, who passed away last week, saying the monarch had been keen on preserving Lebanon's stability.

Abdullah “had made exceptional efforts over the past years to preserve the security and stability of Lebanon and stop it from sliding into the wars and storms that raged in the region and threatened to expand to our country,” Hariri told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in remarks published on Wednesday.

A Palestinian member of the Association of Islamic Charitable Projects, also known as al-Ahbash, was killed on Wednesday at the southern refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh, the state-run National News Agency reported.

NNA said unknown assailants gunned down Issa Fares at the camp's grocery market.

Israel and Hizbullah boosted security measures on Wednesday as tension soared along Lebanon's southern border tens days after an Israeli airstrike against a Hizbullah convoy, which killed six fighters.

The state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes have been flying over the eastern sector since 2:00 am. The drones flew over Arqoub, Hasbaya, Rashaya and Mount Hermon (Jabal al-Sheikh) heights.

Speaker Nabih Berri reached an understanding with Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil to resolve two controversial files that had been a point of contention between him and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, a report said Wednesday.

Berri and Bassil, who is Aoun's son-in-law and a top FPM official, held talks on Tuesday in Ain el-Tineh for more than 90 minutes.

Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil has revealed that he referred 55 employees from the Real Estate Registry to investigation over corruption allegations.

Khalil told An Nahar newspaper published on Wednesday that he took a decision to stop the permits of all staff members tasked with following up transactions at the registry.

The Lebanese authorities will kick off a campaign to remove all political and party posters, banners and flags that are erected in various areas across Lebanon, local newspapers reported on Wednesday.

The decision comes in light of the fourth dialogue session between al-Mustaqbal Movement and Hizbullah after the two parties agreed to further defuse the sectarian tension in the country and fortify the security situation.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam has regretted that the government's work has been paralyzed since the expiry of President Michel Suleiman's term in May last year, saying his patience is not a sign that things are on the right track.

Salam told al-Akhbar newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday that his cabinet “temporarily” began exercising the president’s prerogatives until the election of a new head of state.

Fugitive Salafist cleric Ahmed al-Asir will be appointed as the Emir of Lebanon by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a report published in al-Joumhouria newspaper said on Wednesday.

The daily said that ISIL will “soon” proclaim the establishment of an Islamic Emirate in Lebanon and appoint Asir as its head.