Protests erupted on Thursday at Roumieh prison's ward B after security forces arrested a lady who was trying to smuggle mobile phones into the prison.

“Prisoners have reportedly took a number of guards hostage seeking to swap them for the held lady,” Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3) reported.

Ashrafiyeh MPs put a telephone hotline in the service of the Beirut neighborhood’s citizens on Thursday, a few days after a building collapsed in the area killing 27 people and injuring 12 others.

“We put the 03000019 hotline for Ashrafiyeh residents to help them resolve their problems through Beirut Municipality,” said MP Michel Pharaon during a press conference of the Free Decision Bloc.

Firefighters doused on Thursday a blaze that erupted at a two-storey carpet factory in the town of Adma, north of Beirut, media reports said.

The state-run National News Agency said five firefighting vehicles rushed to the area and controlled the fire that caused only limited material damage because the factory is empty.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel denied on Thursday that the investigators of the U.N.-backed court probing the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri requested the fingerprint records of some Lebanese citizens.

“What some media reported that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigators requested the fingerprints of some Lebanese, is not true,” Charbel told al-Manar television.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea called on Hizbullah to negotiate with political parties in Lebanon to reach a “historical settlement” over its arms and all the controversial issues amid the developments in the region.

“It may seem a hard step but it’s courageous and necessary… The sooner the better because changes (in the region) will decrease the value of its (Hizbullah’s) weapons… Until it becomes a burden on it,” Geagea said in remarks published in As Safir newspaper on Thursday.

The head of the Council of Development and Reconstruction, Nabil al-Jisr, said Thursday that the Council will start dismantling the Jal el-Dib metal bridge that links Beirut with the North within five days.

In remarks to Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3), al-Jisr said: “We are setting the stage for removing the bridge but only after guaranteeing” a route for drivers that cross under the bridge to head towards Beirut.

The cabinet ended on Wednesday an enduring debate over the wage hike by adopting the Baabda Palace deal that was sponsored by Prime Minister Najib Miqati in December and turning down Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas’ plan, which was approved by the Shura Council.

During a session held at the Grand Serail, the dispute over the “legality” of the transportation allowance remained the contention point as Nahhas put the issue to vote. But his proposal won the support of 10 ministers while 19 voted against it, according to newspapers published on Thursday.

The Economic Committees hoped on Thursday that Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas would turn the page of the bickering between him and the different production parties after the cabinet’s approval of a long awaited wage hike.

The head of the Chamber of Commerce, Mohammed Shuqair, who is part of the Committees, told An Nahar daily that the wage hike file “is now behind us.”

The head of the General Labor Confederation, Ghassan Ghosn, welcomed on Thursday the cabinet’s approval of a wage hike but stressed that the payment of salaries should be retroactive to October.

Ghosn told Voice of Lebanon radio station (100.5) that the wage boost made by the government on Wednesday will be effective as soon as the decree is signed.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has expressed his desire to visit Lebanon for talks with top officials, while Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare is likely to visit Beirut next week, the privately-owned Central News Agency reported Wednesday.

The agency quoted well-informed Western sources as saying that Sarkozy had informed Lebanese officials via diplomatic channels about his wish to visit Lebanon soon.