Two Lebanese fishermen and the body of a third were handed over to the Lebanese army through the Abboudiyeh crossing at dawn Sunday after they were seized by Syria off the coast of the town of Arida the day before.

Sixteen-year-old Maher Hamad was killed and his uncles Fadi and Khaled, were seized and taken to the coastal city of Tartus in Syria after the Syrian navy opened fire on their boat.

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour assured on Saturday that the Lebanese community in Nigeria is safe, noting that they were not harmed by the security incidents in that country.

According to the National News Agency, Mansour telephoned Lebanese ambassador to Nigeria Iman Younis inquiring about the situation.

Syrian authorities confirmed on Saturday that forces detained a Lebanese boat smuggling boxes from northern Lebanon into the territorial waters off the Syrian village of Kherabh.

According to SANA, Lebanese gunmen opened fire at the boat while Syrian authorities were allegedly trying to inquire the members about the cargo on the boat.

The committee tasked by the Bkirki Maronite Summit to follow up on the issue of drafting a new electoral law stressed Friday during talks with President Michel Suleiman its “keenness on real national partnership among the country’s components.”

It also emphasized its “adherence to coexistence, pluralism and equal power-sharing,” according to a statement it issued after the meeting at the Baabda Palace.

Obesity among children andadults has almost doubled over the past 15 years, something which could alsoincrease the prevalence of chronic diseases in the next generations, warnedresearchers at the American University of Beirut.

During a special half-dayseminar held at AUB on January 20, 2012, the latest results of a three-yearcollaborative study on undernutrition and obesity were disseminated.

Following the success of their first CD ''Daw L Baladiyyi'', released

in summer 2011, Lebanese pop/folk band ADONIS will be premiering the

The Israeli army has changed its operational assessment “regarding the threat from Lebanon and is currently working under the assumption that Hizbullah has obtained sophisticated long-range surface-to-air missile systems from Syria,” the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported Thursday.

“According to Western intelligence assessments, Hizbullah is believed to have taken advantage of the ongoing upheaval in Syria to obtain advanced weapons systems, such as additional long-range rockets as well as Russian-made air-defense systems,” TJP said.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Thursday held talks in Doha with Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani on the latest developments in the region.

During his visit to Qatar, Jumblat told the Doha-based satellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera that “violence will only breed violence in Syria,” reiterating his warning that the revolt-hit country might descend into a “civil war.”

Protests erupted on Thursday at Roumieh prison's ward B after security forces arrested a lady who was trying to smuggle mobile phones into the prison.

“Prisoners have reportedly took a number of guards hostage seeking to swap them for the held lady,” Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3) reported.

The cabinet on Wednesday voted against the wage hike plan proposed by Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas, adopted instead a “legalized” version of the agreement reached at the Baabda Palace between the General Labor Confederation and the Economic Committees under Premier Najib Miqati’s sponsorship.

According to the approved plan, the minimum wage would become LL675,000 -- a sum that excludes transportation benefits -- while 100% increase would be added on the first bracket of salaries (LL400,000) and 9% on the second bracket.