The Governor of Beirut ordered on Thursday the closure of the fish market in Karantina for not meeting health standards, three months after he gave similar instructions to shut the slaughterhouse in the same area for renovations, which prompted angry vendors to block the vital road outside the facility.

Governor Ziad Shebib visited the market and gave the fish traders until Friday to sell their catch.

A campaign to remove party banners and photos from Beirut and several cities was launched on Thursday, the result of talks between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal Movement.

The governor of Beirut, Ziad Shebib, told reporters that 90 percent of political slogans and posters have already been removed.

More than 12 people were injured on Wednesday morning when several military vehicles were involved in a pileup on the Antelias-Jal el-Dib highway, north of Beirut.

The Traffic Management Center said five vehicles smashed into each other, leaving 13 people injured.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi expressed hope on Tuesday that a French presidential envoy would be able to resolve the Baabda Palace impasse.

Before traveling to Rome, al-Rahi hoped that Jean-François Girault, who is the director of the department of the Middle East and North Africa at the French Foreign Ministry, would “succeed in his mission.”

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed that the criticism of Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's speech would not have repercussions on the fifth round of talks between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal despite contrary claims by Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq.

Local dailies quoted Berri as saying that “negative remarks against Nasrallah's speech won't impact the dialogue,” whose fifth round is set to take place in Ain el-Tineh on Tuesday.

Inspectors from the Health Ministry seized on Friday a number of food products that violate safety standards at a factory in al-Rawda in the eastern Bekaa region, reported the National News Agency.

It said that the inspectors uncovered 2,500 kilograms of sugar without an expiry date or manufacturer on its labels.

Chairman of Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi said on Friday that Tehran was keen on Lebanon's stability and stressed it was up to the Lebanese rival factions to resolve the presidential impasse.

“The latest political developments in the region help consolidate stability in Lebanon,” said Boroujerdi following talks with Prime Minister Tammam Salam at the Grand Serail.

Tulip prints, light-as-air silk gowns and as many sparkles as stars in a Middle East night sky -- Elie Saab's haute couture show might have taken place in Paris on Wednesday, but his inspiration was clearly his native Beirut.

The Lebanese designer's elegant outfits have a solid fan following among the wealthy and the famous, several of whom attended the show in a museum a slipper's throw from the Eiffel Tower.

The Lebanese authorities will kick off a campaign to remove all political and party posters, banners and flags that are erected in various areas across Lebanon, local newspapers reported on Wednesday.

The decision comes in light of the fourth dialogue session between al-Mustaqbal Movement and Hizbullah after the two parties agreed to further defuse the sectarian tension in the country and fortify the security situation.

The army command said on Monday that the military has arrested a Syrian in Beirut's southern suburbs on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist organization.

Mohammed Ibrahim Youssef was apprehended in Haret Hreik at dawn Monday, said the army in a communique.