An exchange of gun fire erupted overnight on Sunday between a fugitive and anti-police theft in the northern Bekaa town of Brital, the National News Agency reported.

The fire occurred when anti-theft police raided the town and tried to ambush fugitive Ali Mohammed M., added NNA.

The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants said on Sunday that the numbers circulated in media outlets of Lebanese emigrants deported from the Gulf countries are exaggerated.

“The numbers of Lebanese emigrants spread in media outlets do not reflect the reality and are overstated,” said the Ministry in a statement.

The calls of Prime Minister Tammam Salam for the cabinet session on Tuesday have cleared the air of doubts following the latest heated session over the appointments of the members of the general-directorate of state security, An Nahar daily reported on Sunday.

The cabinet had convened on Thursday, but it was marred by the ongoing dispute over the state security agency. The possibility of holding another session was questionable.

A meeting between Prime Minister Tammam Salam and Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz has been set to take place in Istanbul next week, the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa daily reported on Sunday.

Salam was informed by the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri that a meeting has been arranged with the Saudi King in Istanbul, the daily added.

Al-Mustaqbal movement chief MP Saad Hariri hailed on Friday the jailing of former Information Minister Michel Samaha over terrorism charges.

“The verdict against terrorist Michel Samaha rectifies a former lighter sentence which we have all disapproved and announced that we won't accept,” said Hariri via Twitter.

The growing American and western role in Lebanon is thriving recently in a bid to confront the Iranian role that has been exacerbating lately in the country, a well-informed diplomatic source told As Safir on Friday.

“There is a western and American role that has been increasing lately in Lebanon in an attempt to counter the growing Iranian role,” the source told the daily on condition of anonymity.

Sources close to the State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr stressed on Thursday that the judge will not let any pressure to control the path of investigations that he is leading with regard to the illegal internet stations and the latest incidents that took place at the Zaarour station.

Hundreds of Lebanese companies and personalities are involved in the scandal of the so-called Panama Papers document leak, al-Liwaa daily reported on Thursday.

The newspaper said the Lebanese entities and individuals mentioned in the documents in the "Panama Papers" leak are 468 companies, 30 customers, 131 beneficiaries and 624 shareholders.

The Internal Security Forces said on Thursday that it has arrested four Australians suspected of involvement in the kidnapping of two siblings south of Beirut a day earlier after the Foreign Ministry in Canberra claimed the detainees were an Australian television crew.

The ISF said the four Australians were arrested by the Intelligence Branch on suspicion of involvement in the abduction of Lahala al-Amine, 6, and her four-year-old brother Nouh in Hadath.

Hizbullah strongly condemned Wednesday a decision by a leading Arab satellite operator to cut transmission of its al-Manar television channel, amid rising tensions between the Iran-backed Lebanese group and Saudi Arabia.

“Hizbullah sees a blatant violation of freedom of opinion and freedom of expression in the unjust decision that was taken by the Egyptian Satellite Company (NileSat),” the party said in a statement.