One of the fathers of the servicemen kidnapped by extremists from the northeastern border town of Arsal in August expressed his optimism that a new phase of negotiations over their release had kicked off, reported the daily al-Mustaqbal on Sunday.

Hussein Youssef, father of captive Mohammed Youssef, told the daily that the Qatari mediator in the case had visited Arsal and “we can therefore say that a new stage in the negotiations, which is more important than the previous ones, is underway.”

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates took the decision to deport a number of Lebanese from the country due to the suspicious activity they were involved in, said the Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah on Sunday.

Parliamentary sources from the March 14 camp told the daily that the authorities had issued dozens of warnings to the deported people over the years to cease their suspicious actions.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Saturday called for “dissociating” Lebanon from the regional conflicts through electing “a strong president” who can “gather all parties” and providing modern arms and training to the army.

“The fire is surrounding us but it won't reach us and if we want to dissociate Lebanon from its surroundings, we have missions to perform, such as the election of a strong president for a strong state and strong army, a president who would truly represent his popular base,” said Aoun at an FPM dinner commemorating the March 14, 1989 Liberation War.

The March 14 forces announced Saturday the formation of a National Council comprising political parties, independents and civil society activists, following a closed-door conference marking the tenth anniversary of the coalition's birth.

“We have decided to form a National Council comprising political parties, independents and civil society activists. A preparatory committee will be tasked with devising a March 14 plan of action for the coming period and to draft the by-laws,” the coalition said in a statement recited by ex-PM Fouad Saniora after the rally at the BIEL center in Beirut.

The French embassy in Beirut denied Saturday that Paris has decided to end the service of its ambassador to Lebanon Patrice Paoli, stressing that the envoy “enjoys the full confidence of the French authorities.”

“Contrary to the claims of al-Akhbar newspaper, the ambassador is performing his mission in a non-partisan approach,” the embassy said in a statement.

The Maronite bishops synod called Saturday on the Arab and Islamic countries to aid Lebanon and help it resolve its crises that were caused by the war raging in the Middle East.

“The Arab and Islamic countries should assume their historic responsibilities to combat extremism and fanaticism and preserve the Christians' existence in the region,” the synod said in its final statement that was read by Maronite Bishop of Batroun Mounir Khairallah.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam met with prominent state leaders on Saturday during his second-day visit to the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Salam held talks with the vice president of the United Arab Emirates and Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum.

A military expert dismantled on Saturday a bomb located in the border town of al-Abboudiyeh in the northern district of Akkar, the state-run National News Agency reported.

NNA said that a suspicious body was found in a parking lot in the town.

Syrian warplanes raided on Saturday posts controlled by gunmen on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal.

The state-run National News Agency reported that the targeted positions lie in Khirbet Younine area on the outskirts of Arsal in Lebanon's Eastern Mountain range.

A decision by the United Arab Emirates to deport Lebanese expats from the Gulf country is reportedly related to their staunch support to Hizbullah and its allies.

Information obtained by al-Mustaqbal newspaper on Saturday said that the move comes in light of a speech by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah which contained a strong attack against countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council.