Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat called on Wednesday for a swift exchange between the Arsal captives and Roumieh prison Islamist inmates, holding former Internal Security Forces personnel responsible for the “self-rule” at the facility.

“The government and crisis cell should follow up any exchange process with the kidnappers,” Jumblat said in an interview with An Nahar newspaper.

Parliament failed to discuss on Wednesday the wage hike draft-law after Speaker Nabih Berri sent back the bill to the joint parliamentary committees for discussion over differences on the raise.

Berri had earlier warned that he would withdraw the draft-law from the agenda of the parliamentary session if certain parties continued to oppose the bill.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam stated on Wednesday that negotiations to free the abducted soldiers in Arsal have started to take the right course, as General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim said that “the file is on the right track.”

“Negotiations with the kidnappers have started to take effect,” Salam said following a parliamentary session and in remarks published in As Safir daily, primarily after the release of a soldier who was kidnapped two weeks ago.

The brother of a Lebanese journalist, who was kidnapped last week in the eastern Bekaa Valley, was released overnight after the mediation of General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim.

The abductors of Khodr Farouq Darwish, whose car was found in Baalbek's al-Taybeh last Friday, had called his family and asked for a $135,000 ransom.

A Lebanese soldier kidnapped two weeks ago by jihadists near the Syrian border was freed late Tuesday and handed to General Security officers.

First Adjutant Kamal al-Hujeiri had been visiting his family when he was kidnapped from his parents' farm in the Wadi Hmeid area on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal in mid-September.

A man arrested Thursday on charges of forming a terrorist cell in the northern city of Tripoli has been referred to the relevant judicial authorities, the army announced on Tuesday.

“The Intelligence Directorate referred to the competent judicial authorities the detainee Mohammed al-Ayyoubi, who had been arrested on September 25, 2014 on charges of forming a terrorist cell in Tripoli,” the Army Command said in a communique.

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc reiterated on Tuesday its support for “necessary legislation” to tackle pending affairs at parliament, noting that it is the “sound” choice given the ongoing vacuum in the presidency.

It said after its weekly meeting: “We hope that necessary legislation will motivate those obstructing the presidential elections to stage the polls as soon as possible.”

The teachers of private schools on Tuesday threatened to carry out an open-ended strike starting Wednesday if the parliament approves a new wage scale that does not involve granting them the so-called six degrees wage hike.

“Give me one reason to deprive private school teachers of the six degrees in the new wage scale? Is it because of our corruption or our lack of productivity?” Nehme Mahfoud, head of the private school teachers syndicate, said at a press conference.

The Change and Reform bloc reiterated on Tuesday its commitment to its stances regarding the new wage scale and its funding.

MP Ibrahim Kanaan said after the bloc's weekly meeting: “We continue to reject increasing the Value Added Tax to fund the wage scale as we cannot add more burdens on the people.”

General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim has said that the negotiations to secure the release of the so-called Arsal hostages were on the right track.

Ibrahim told As Safir daily in remarks published on Tuesday that there was progress in the talks aimed at setting free the soldiers and policemen taken captive by jihadists from the northeastern border town of Arsal last month.