U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly met with former Prime Minister Fouad Saniora early Thursday and later on met with Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri where talks focused on the ongoing conflict in Syria.

“I just had a very good meeting with Speaker Berri, as I did earlier this morning with former Prime Minister Fouad Saniora,” Plumbly said in a statement.

A French court on Thursday ruled that imprisoned pro-Palestinian militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah can be released on condition he is expelled from French territory.

The 61-year-old Lebanese national who has spent 28 years in jail and is a former guerrilla in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), was granted parole in November on condition of his expulsion but was not released pending a decision on an appeal by prosecutors.

Independent figures affiliated in the March 14 alliance rejected on Thursday the adoption of the Orthodox Gathering's proposed electoral draft law in the upcoming parliamentary elections, saying it harms Christians, national unity and coexistence.

“We reject any electoral law that doesn't rectify the political representation, in particular, for Christians,” MP Butros Harb told reporters after a meeting held at his residence in Hazmieh with independent officials in the opposition.

The Military Court decided on Thursday to release from prison the spokesman of the al-Meqdad clan military wing, reported MTV.

It said that the General Prosecution will then take a decision over the matter.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati warned on Thursday of interfering in the developments surrounding Lebanon as it will undermine stability, which will have a negative repercussion on all the nation.

“We should put the nation's highest interest above all else,” Miqati said.

A severe snow and rain storm across Lebanon has caused blackouts across the country where Electricite du Liban contract workers have also been on strike for several days, residents and officials said on Thursday.

"There is a storm, and there is a problem in the grid. The electricity workers are on strike, and they're not letting anyone fix the problem," Energy Minister Jebran Bassil told Agence France Presse.

An explosion targeted on Thursday a liquor store in the southern town of Sarafand, causing only material damage, media reports said.

According to LBCI, the store belongs to Hassan Assaili.

Disagreements loomed during the electoral subcommittee meeting on Thursday as Free Patriotic Movement MP Alain Aoun reportedly suspended his participation in the meetings.

The electoral subcommittee meeting for the third day in a row failed to bridge the gap between the March 14 and 8 alliance's over the electoral draft-law that will be adopted in the upcoming polls.

Cyprus President Demetris Christofias arrived in Lebanon on Wednesday for talks with senior officials on the prospect of cooperation in the exploration of offshore oil and gas.

He kicked off his talks on Thursday with President Michel Suleiman, who thanked him for his country's support for Lebanon at various international meetings, especially at the European Union.

Matonite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has reportedly not adopted the Orthodox Gathering electoral draft law, said al-Mustaqbal daily on Thursday.

A source close to the patriarch explained that al-Rahi “had not favored any electoral law over another, simply voicing his rejection to the 1960 law.”