Peter Dutton, the government lawmaker who has challenged Australia's prime minister for his job, is publicly perceived as a hard man and a leading hard-right conservative. His face is associated with turning back asylum seekers boats, stripping citizenship from extremists and striving to increase the English-language standards for migrants who want to gain citizenship.

As part of health campaigns to ensure food safety, the Ministry of Health closed a restaurant, a supermarket and a slaughterhouse in the northern Batroun area for health violations.

Grand Jaafarite Shiite Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan urged all political leaders in Lebanon to facilitate the government formation, blasting at what he described as “corrupt lobbying” tearing up the country, the National News Agency reported on Tuesday.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri congratulated the Lebanese, the Arabs and Muslims on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, praying they be blessed with peace, happiness and security, his media office said on Monday.

Hariri hoped the efforts to form a new government would succeed as soon as possible, hoping the new cabinet will reflect aspirations of the Lebanese and realize their wishes for a better country.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea affirmed commitment on Monday to the Maarab Agreement signed with the Free Patriotic Movement during his meeting with a delegation of expatriates at his residence in Maarab, the National News Agency reported.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Russia “rejects any foreign intervention in Lebanon,” stating during a joint press conference with caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil that they have discussed a Russian plan to repatriate Syrian refugees in Lebanon back to their homeland.

“Russia and Lebanon stand on the same page regarding the repatriation of refugees,” Lavrov said, noting that he and Bassil have discussed the file during their meeting in Moscow.

General Security agents have arrested six individuals over forging travel documents, a statement released by the directory said on Monday.

The suspects, charged with forging travel documents for individuals wishing to travel from Lebanon to European, Asian and African countries, were arrested between August 9 and August 16, said the statement.

A month after the launch of the Russian plan to repatriate Syrian refugees in Lebanon back to their homeland, Moscow hopes that the process will gather momentum after the scheduled talks on Monday between caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Basil and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, pan-Arab al-Hayat daily reported.

An Emirati minister warned Sunday of “consequences” after Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah met in Lebanon with a delegation from Yemen's Huthi rebels.

“How can the dissociation policy – which Lebanon needs for its political and economic balance and Arab and international position – correspond to Hassan Nasrallah's hosting of a delegation from the Huthi insurgents? This is a question which we call on Lebanon to deal with,” UAE State Minister for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in a tweet.

The Internal Security Forces Information Branch arrested a people smuggler on Saturday in the town of Karak in Zahle on charges of smuggling Syrian individuals into Lebanese territories, a statement issued by the ISF Directorate General said.