The Change and Reform parliamentary bloc on Tuesday condemned the suspension of construction works at the Jannah Dam in the Nahr Ibrahim region, rejecting what it called “the encroachment on people's rights.”

“The decision to stop the construction works was political par excellence,” the bloc said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting in Rabieh.

First Military Investigation Judge Riyad Abou Ghida issued on Tuesday an indictment against two Islamist militants and their terror group.

Abou Ghida formally charged Mahmoud Ahmed Abou Abbas and Sirajeddine Zureiqat, a so-called spokesman of the Qaida-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades, with Dahr al-Baydar and Beirut's Tayyouneh bombings in June 2014.

Inspectors from the Health Ministry were assaulted on Tuesday while they were raiding a warehouse in a district in Beirut's southern suburbs, reported the National News Agency.

It said that the inspectors were seeking to shut down the depot for storing food that does not meet safety standards.

A fire broke out on Monday at a wood factory in the town of Dekwaneh north of Beirut, reported the National News Agency.

Civil Defense teams are working on dousing the blaze and saving the employees from the factory, which is located in the region's industrial city.

The families of abducted servicemen vowed on Tuesday to step up endeavors within 24 hours to press the state to “seriously” deal with the case of their sons, who were taken hostage by Islamist militants seven months ago.

“Even people will be targeted with our endeavors... we will not only close roads,” the relatives told reporters gathered near their camp site in downtown Beirut's Riad al-Solh square.

The truckers syndicate at Beirut Port announced on Tuesday the suspension of their strike in protest against the fourth basin at the facility after receiving a pledge from Prime Minister Tammam Salam to “resolve the crisis.”

The syndicate was informed of the pledge by Education Minister Elias Bou Saab.

Visiting Director of the Department of the Middle East and North Africa at the French Foreign Ministry Jean-François Girault kicked off on Tuesday a two-day official visit to Lebanon.

The French diplomat met for an hour with Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil at the Bustros Palace, in presence of Ambassador Patrice Paoli.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi expressed hope on Tuesday that a French presidential envoy would be able to resolve the Baabda Palace impasse.

Before traveling to Rome, al-Rahi hoped that Jean-François Girault, who is the director of the department of the Middle East and North Africa at the French Foreign Ministry, would “succeed in his mission.”

Hizbullah's ambitions are spreading far beyond its Lebanon home as the Shiite movement appears increasingly bent on taking on Sunni foes across the Middle East. It has sent thousands of its fighters into Syria and senior military advisers to Iraq, helped Shiite rebels rise to power in Yemen and threatened Bahrain over its abuse of the Shiite majority.

But the regional aspirations also are taking a heavy toll and threatening to undermine Hizbullah's support at home. The group has suffered significant casualties, there is talk of becoming overstretched, and judging by the events of recent days, even a vague sense that the appetite for fighting the Israelis is waning.

Kataeb Party leader Amin Gemayel is expected to hand over the party's leadership post to his son MP Sami Gemayel in the summer, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The daily said Gemayel the father will make the announcement during the party's conference, which Kataeb is compelled to hold every four years in accordance to its by-laws.