A former Cabinet minister has been arrested and charged after an investigation into alleged financial crimes, judicial and security officials told The Associated Press.

Former Economy Minister Amin Salam was detained after a three-hour interrogation about illegal use of ministry funds and use of suspicious contracts. The three judicial officials and one security official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

Diplomatic circles have said that the work of UNIFIL may expand to include the area north of the Litani River instead of remaning confined to the area south of the Litani River, the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Wednesday.

French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian met Wednesday with Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil and Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel.

Gemayel urged after the meeting a road map for the disarmament of Hezbollah, adding that a state cannot be built unless illegal weapons are handed over - a request Hezbollah said will not do as long as Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon and the Israeli air force regularly violates Lebanese air space.

Army forces returned Wednesday with a bulldozer to a building they searched Tuesday at the request of the five-member committee supervising the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.

The building in the densely populated Sainte-Therese street in Hadath in Beirut's southern suburbs had been targeted by an Israeli strike during the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war.

The post-war reconstruction process in Lebanon will begin at the end of this year, Mohammad Qabbani, the head of the state-run Council for Development and Reconstruction, said.

Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Fayad has stressed “the need for a calm, wise and responsible approach toward any friction or tension between the South’s residents,” in the wake of a flurry of clashes and altercations in recent weeks.

Fayad however criticized the U.N. forces for “entering villages, towns and private properties without coordination or the presence of the Lebanese Army, at a time (residents) do not sense any role for UNIFIL in addressing the Israeli enemy’s continued occupation of Lebanese territory, incursions, assassinations and hostile actions.”

French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian has met Tuesday with President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. He left the meetings without giving a statement, so what did he discuss with them?

Le Drian's visit aims to "continue discussions with Lebanese officials on subjects of common interest, particularly reforms and reconstruction," French ambassador Hervé Magro said.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has stressed that “Lebanon and the sons of the South more than others want UNIFIL to stay in their towns and to preserve the mutual relation between the two sides, which has persisted since its units came in 1978.”

After a meeting with French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned "the occasional attacks on UNIFIL patrols", calling them "unjustified and unacceptable".

There have been several confrontations between people in south Lebanon, where Hezbollah holds sway, and U.N. peacekeepers in recent weeks.

Army forces launched Tuesday a search in a building in a densely populated area of Hadath in Beirut's southern suburbs.

A Lebanese military official said the forces were looking for weapons at the request of a five-member committee supervising the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.