The relatives of the Lebanese hostages urged the authorities on Tuesday to bring their loved ones back home with some of them expressing conflicting viewpoints on the negotiations to release them.

“We urge Prime Minister Tammam Salam to resolve the case and bring our loved ones back home,” one of the family members said following talks with Health Minister Wael Abou Faour.

Three top U.S. airlines groups accused Qatar and the United Arab Emirates Thursday of lavishing $42 billion in subsidies on their airlines to wrest business from competitors.

The U.S. carriers together with workers' groups issued a 55 page report detailing how "unfair" subsidies given to Gulf rivals Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Emirates have allowed them to wrest market share from the U.S. industry.

A progress has been reportedly achieved in the case of so-called Arsal hostages as a positive development could be reached in the upcoming hours.

According to al-Joumhouria newspaper published on Tuesday, a recent meeting between General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim and Qatari intelligence chief Ghanem al-Kubaisi in Doha has set a new roadmap to implement the prisoners swap deal between the abductors and the Lebanese state.

Qatar's sovereign fund has taken control of one of Italy's prime business areas after buying out other shareholders in a move hailed as heralding a new era of inward investment for the recession-bound country.

Property group Hines Italia announced Friday that the Qatar Investment Authority had taken 100 percent control of the Porta Nuova district in Milan, in which it has held a 40 percent stake since 2013.

The Emir of Qatar said Thursday he was committed to "stability" in Egypt, despite a recent row between the two nations over Cairo's airstrikes against IS militants in Libya.

Islamic State jihadists released a video this month showing the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya, most of them Egyptian, prompting Cairo to launch air strikes on IS targets in the eastern city of Derna.

General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim reportedly carried out positive discussions with officials in Turkey, which could lead to a breakthrough to the six-month hostage crisis, as sources said that the case could end in days.

According to An Nahar newspaper, the Islamist abductors agreed to release the kidnapped servicemen on two or three batches after the cabinet expressed leniency towards the release of Islamist inmates from Lebanese prisons, adding that the jihadists demanded a ransom to kickstart the prisoners swap deal.

U.S. President Barack Obama praised Qatar as a "strong partner" in the fight against Islamic State militants Tuesday, as he hosted Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in the Oval Office.

"Qatar is a strong partner in our coalition to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL," said Obama, using another name for the jihadist group.

General Security chief Major General Abbas Ibrahim is awaiting the green light to head to Istanbul to tackle the case of so-called Arsal captives, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Tuesday.

According to the daily, Ibrahim only traveled to the United Arab of Emirates, denying talks about his trip to Turkey where he allegedly met with Qatari intelligence chief Ghanim al-Kubaisi.

It may be a meeting of allies, but when Qatar's emir holds talks with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on Tuesday, there are several issues which could test that friendship.

The meeting will be the first official visit to the White House by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, who has been Qatar's ruler since June 2013.

Sheikh Mustafa al-Hujeiri stressed on Sunday that the case of Lebanese hostages will witness a breakthrough “soon” as Qatari-appointed negotiator Ahmed al-Khatib visited the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal last week.

Hujeiri, who is also known as Abu Taqiyeh, said in comments published in the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper that “a new course of action has been adopted to reach a breakthrough” in the negotiations between the Islamist gunmen and the Lebanese government.