Customs agents at the Rafik Hariri International Airport thwarted on Wednesday an attempt to smuggle drugs to Saudi Arabia, reported the National News Agency.

It said that agents became suspicious of cardboard boxes being sent to Riyadh and upon inspection they discovered over 500,000 captagon pills concealed in them.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Wednesday the need to form a new government in light of the ongoing disputes between the rival political powers over the matter.

He said: “The 6-9-9 cabinet formula is still the most reasonable and acceptable proposal.”

The Gulf Cooperation Council condemned on Wednesday the latest bombings that shook Lebanon and called on Hizbullah's “militias” to withdraw from war-ravaged Syria.

The six Arab monarchies of the Gulf said in a statement at the end of a two-day summit in Kuwait City that they “condemned the terrorist bombings that left innocent casualties in Lebanon.”

Thousands of Syrian refugees living in makeshift camps in Lebanon were weathering a winter storm on Wednesday that brought snow, rain and freezing temperatures to the country.

In northern Arsal, just across the border from Syria, layers of snow sat atop flimsy shelters housing tens of thousands of recently arrived refugees.

Several heads of state stressed to Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati their keenness to preserve stability in Lebanon during the Premier's visit to South Africa to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela, a global symbol of reconciliation.

“Heads of state expressed their keenness to preserve stability in Lebanon and to share the burdens caused by the influx of Syrian refugees on its territories,” a statement issued by Miqati's press office said on Wednesday.

Two residents of the Jabal Mohsen district in the northern city of Tripoli were injured on Wednesday when assailants shot them as part of the sectarian attacks gripping the city.

Samer al-Aswad was wounded in his abdomen while Haidar Soaifan was shot in his leg, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati is discussing the possibility of reviving the work of his caretaker cabinet with several figures to end the political standstill in the country.

Informed sources told As Safir newspaper published on Wednesday that Miqati informed President Michel Suleiman that the current situation became “unbearable,” during a meeting held at the Baabda Palace recently.

“Alexa” has made landfall, covering Lebanon's mountains with snow, but it is expected to reach its climax on Wednesday afternoon, bringing snow to areas as low as 500 meters above sea level.

Caretaker Education Minister Hassan Diab has already ordered the closure of public and private schools across the country on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Vatican tasked Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi with discussing with rival Lebanese parties a new initiative concerning the upcoming Presidential elections, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Wednesday.

According to the daily, al-Rahi's task is to convince the 64 Christian MPs with the importance of guaranteeing the necessary quorum to elect a new President.

The militant group Jund al-Sham recruited teenagers to help it monitor several structures in an attempt to carry out terrorist acts, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Wednesday.

According to the newspaper, the army intelligence detained recently a 12-year-old boy identified by his initials H. A. after suspecting his movement near a Hizbullah mosque in the Taamir Ain el-Hilweh area in southern Lebanon.