A man killed his two young sons before shooting himself to death in the northern border town of Mashta Hassan in Akkar, the National News Agency reported on Friday.

The perpetrator Youssef Saado, shot dead his son Mohammed, 7, and Ali, 5, before pointing the hunting rifle at himself and shooting, NNA said.

The Saudi Ministry of Finance began paying billions of dollars owed to private firms and construction companies after oil revenues collapsed, including Saudi Oger, that have already carried out work for the state totaling about 100 billion Saudi riyals or about $ 26 billions.

The orders came after an announcement of the Council of Economic Affairs and Development, headed by powerful Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said the kingdom will pay the outstanding amount before the end of December.

The Lebanese army and an Intelligence unit discovered hashish factories and massive amounts of manufactured hashish and Captagon pills in raids in the outskirts of the northeastern town of Hermel, the state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday.

The army carried out raids in the al-Shtah area in the outskirts of Hermel and found two hashish factories, seized one ton and a load of seven trucks of manufactured hashish in addition to one and a half million Captagon narcotics pills.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri is holding intensive consultations with President Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri to complete the formation of the cabinet which seems to limp under the demands of some political parties to be given specific portfolios.

Caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil announced, during a joint press conference with his Cypriot and Greek counterparts on Wednesday, that meetings on education, tourism, and friendship in Cyprus and Greece have been agreed.

“We are concerned with finding stable and promising investment climates," Bassil said following his meeting with Ministers Ioannis Kasoulides and Nikos Kotzias.

Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea assured on Wednesday that the Christian political parties will not be the ones who will hamper the formation of the new government, and that civil war will not erupt if the LF were not given the finance portfolio.

“The finance ministry portfolio is paramount in the government. There is a team in the Lebanese Forces that has been preparing for it more than any other portfolio, but there will be no civil war if we do not get it. I don't adhere to anything. The Christians will not be the ones who make the obstacles,” stressed Geagea in an interview to An Nahar daily.

The most difficult task facing PM-designate Saad Hariri in forming a new cabinet, is the agreement with the Lebanese Forces and Speaker Nabih Berri on the portfolios that will be allotted to their parties, As Safir daily reported on Wednesday.

Prominent Free Patriotic Movement sources told the daily that whenever an agreement was reached with the LF and Berri on their share in the government, “and when that happens, the General (President Michel Aoun) will facilitate Hariri's mission to complete the construction of the government because it is in the interest of the new term to accelerate the formation so it does not lose the presidential elections glow.”

The army thwarted an infiltration attempt by militants from the Syrian side into the outskirts of a town close to al-Khraybeh in the Bekaa region, the state-run National News Agency reported on Wednesday.

The army was able to obstruct a group of militants after they tried to infiltrate into the outskirts of Jenta, other media reports said.

The Lebanese Forces stressed that they are not putting “crippling demands” on the government formation when they request to be given important ministerial portfolios, As Safir daily reported on Wednesday.

“Claims to be given essential portfolios in the new government does mean that the Lebanese Forces are setting crippling conditions and demands,” LF sources told As Safir daily on Wednesday.

Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji stressed that the army's resilience and its ability to protect stability has paved the way for ending the vacuum at Lebanon's top state post, the National News Agency reported on Monday.

“The performance of the army has contributed to safeguard the state's institutions of decay and collapse, an in safeguarding national stability which paved way for filling the longtime presidential vacuum by electing General Michel Aoun as President of the Republic,” said Qahwaji during a dinner banquet held in his honor.