Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil and Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas have appeased fears that the donors conference, which is scheduled to be held in London next week, would encourage Syrian refugees to remain in Lebanon and pave way for their naturalization.

The conference has for the first time shown international commitment to consolidate economic and development projects, Bassil told An Nahar daily published on Wednesday.

Lebanon continues to suffer from public sector corruption despite a slight improvement since 2014, graft watchdog Transparency International (TI) said on Wednesday.

Lebanon ranked 123rd with a score of 28 out of a possible 100 in 2015 in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.

Lebanese Swedish employee Alexandra Pierre Mezher has been killed at the hands of a migrant in Sweden, Lebanon's National News Agency reported on Monday.

It said the 22-year-old victim hailed from the town of Qlayaa in the southern Marjeyoun district.

The Free Patriotic Movement is said to take escalatory measures and resign from the cabinet if it finds out that activating the government's work is only meant to postpone the presidential election, An Nahar daily said on Monday.

“We have fears that the issue of military appointments might be intentionally obstructed as a reaction to the candidacy of Aoun,” FPM sources told the daily.

Secretary of State John Kerry shied away on Saturday from making a blunt criticism of Iran but stressed that the U.S. shares concerns about Iran's behavior, including its support for Hizbullah.

"The United States remains concerned about some of the activities that Iran is engaged in other countries," Kerry told reporters in Riyadh, citing as an example Iran's "support for terrorist groups like Hizbullah.”

A Lebanese national, Mohammed Mahmoud al-Hujairi, was released on Saturday in the northeastern border town of Arsal without the payment of a ransom.

Al-Hujairi was kidnapped late Thursday and the abductors demanded a ransom worth $250,000 to free him, the state-run National News Agency said.

A young man who sustained a gunshot wound in his abdomen was found late on Friday in Tripoli's town of al-Dinnieh, the state-run National News Agency said on Saturday.

The man who was acknowledge as Mahmoud Z. from the town of Bqaasafrin in the north was found with a pistol near him.

Despite the strenuous political efforts exerted lately to end the 20-month presidential deadlock, hopes seem to be dim in that regard in light of the regional developments casting their shadow over Lebanon.

“Nothing is expected in the near future regarding the presidential entitlement,” diplomatic sources told the daily al-Joumhouria on Saturday.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi met on Saturday with Pope Francis at the Vatican where the problematic presidential issue was the focus of talks, the state-run National News Agency said.

The meeting between the two men lasted for over an hour.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam stated on Friday that the Iranian meddling in the Arab world is the origin of the conflict with Saudi Arabia.

“Iran's interference in the affairs of the Arab world is the root of the conflict with Saudi Arabia,” the Premier said at the World Economic Forum panel in Davos, Switzerland.