Defense Minister Samir Moqbel and Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji assured that they have been officially notified that the Saudi grant to purchase French weapons is “on track” and that the arms are in the making process, al-Mustaqbal daily reported on Thursday.

“The $3 million grant is on track and there is no backing down,” said Moqbel to the daily.

The Lebanese army is still waiting for the Saudi grant to purchase French weapons following declarations by some officials that it has kicked off, amid reports saying that it will make no statement before receiving the arms, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

“The Lebanese army is waiting to see what will happen to the Saudi grant after announcements made by more than one official that it has kicked off. The army will not make any statement before receiving the arms particularly that it had already submitted a list of the weapons needed to the French authorities,” a senior military source told the daily.

More than 120 rebels and wounded from the flashpoint Syrian border town of Zabadani traveled Monday from Beirut's airport to Turkey as part of a U.N.-backed truce.

A convoy carrying them had earlier in the day crossed from Syria into Lebanon through the Masnaa border crossing.

Airport police thwarted at dawn an attempt to smuggle two kilograms of narcotics through the Rafik Hariri International Airport, the state-run National News Agency said on Monday.

The assailant, a Brazilian national, tried to smuggle the drugs to Lebanon from Brazil through Ethiopia, NNA added.

A delegation from the Association of Banks in Lebanon will visit Washington and New York in January, following a U.S. law that imposed sanctions on banks that “knowingly” do business with Hizbullah, An Nahar daily reported on Monday.

The delegation will be headed by the ABL chief Joseph Tarabay.

The Army Intelligence referred on Saturday six detainees to the judicial authorities for having links to the terrorist cell led by jihadist Mohammed al Satem, the army said in a statement.

“The army referred six detainees of the terrorist cell led by fugitive Mohammed al-Satem to the judiciary. The cell had plans to establish, in collaboration with another group in Khirbet Daoud, a security zone to target and control army positions in a bid to facilitate the entry of Islamic State members from Syria to Lebanon to establish an emirate in the area of Akkar,” the statement added.

Fierce armed clashes renewed overnight between the Jaafar and Shuqeir families after a Friday dispute that damaged two houses and several cars in Baalbek, the state-run National News Agency reported on Saturday.

Friday's dispute between the two families escalated into an armed clash involving the use of shoulder-fired rockets and machineguns in al-Sharawneh neighborhood in Baalbek.

The developments in the controversial file of Lebanon's presidency face two options before the end of January that could either leave the post vacant until some constitutional amendments are made in favor of Hizbullah or elect Marada chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the post, al-Anba daily reported on Saturday.

“The presidential developments in Lebanon are in front of two options before mid January. Hizbullah will not allow the election to happen until constitutional amendments that fall in its favor are made,” an unnamed March 14 ministerial source told the daily.

A governmental Libyan delegation is expected to arrive in Beirut on Friday for a meeting with Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi to tackle the case of Hannibal Gadhafi, al-Akhbar daily reported.

“A delegation is expected to arrive in Beirut and will be headed by the First Adviser to the Libyan Justice Ministry and is expected to ask the Lebanese authorities to release Gadhafi,” judicial sources told the daily on condition of anonymity.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat blamed Iran for thwarting the presidential initiative settlement that suggested the nomination of Marada chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the top state post, As Safir daily reported on Friday.

“(Al-Mustaqbal Movement chief Saad) Hariri suggested the initiative with a Saudi approval and Iran rejected it and that was enough to freeze it,” Jumblat told the daily.