The transformation of the Qlaiaat airport in the North into a large-scale facility would provide 6,000 new job opportunities on the first year of its operation, An Nahar daily reported on Wednesday.

The number of jobs available would increase to 21,000 in 2018, according to studies that have also set the cost of putting the Rene Moawad airport back into operation at 90 million dollars.

A “tense” meeting held recently between Speaker Nabih Berri and U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly tackled Lebanon's offshore natural reserves, As Safir newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The two officials discussed the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), in which Berri suggested that the 854 square kilometers that Lebanon and Israel are bickering over should be a neutral area.

A Lebanese man was killed and his brother injured after coming under fire by members of the rebel Free Syrian Army in the northeastern border town of al-Tufail, Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) reported on Wednesday.

VDL said Abdullah Hassan Murad, 45, died while his brother Mamdouh was wounded after FSA gunmen opened fire on them after midnight Wednesday.

Energy Minister Jebran Bassil described on Wednesday the appointment of the oil authority members as a “puzzle” over the difficulty in finding qualified candidates for six vacant posts.

“The concerned sides presented the names of their candidates, which is a positive matter, but not enough,” Bassil said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

A Lebanese pilgrim kidnapped in Syria in May returned to Beirut from Turkey to a hero's welcome on Wednesday night, a day after his release by his abductors.

Awad Ibrahim arrived at Rafik Hariri international airport aboard a Turkish Airlines flight around 8:30 pm accompanied by two General Security and Internal Security Forces officers.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed on Tuesday that Lebanese foes agreed to preserve the country's stability and safeguard it from the negative repercussions surrounding it.

"The international community should understand the Lebanese state's decision to disassociate the country from the developments in the region," Miqati told U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc condemned on Tuesday the spread of kidnappings in Lebanon at the hands of armed groups, saying that such incidents are aimed at undermining the authority of the state.

The bloc also addressed after its weekly meeting the shooting against Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun's convoy, demanding an investigation in the matter.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun condemned on Tuesday doubts that he may have been the victim of an assassination attempt, saying that “some sides have stooped so low as to question the affair.”

He added after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting: “Security agencies that deny the attempt on my life may be linked to it.”

Former minister Michel Samaha was admitted to hospital on Tuesday for medical tests, reported al-Jadeed television.

He was returned to his detention center after the completion of the tests, it added.

Five Syrians were released on Tuesday after being detained in Rashaya al-Fakhar on Monday.

The National News Agency reported that party and political efforts were exerted to reach a settlement to ensure their release.