Israel and Hizbullah boosted security measures on Wednesday as tension soared along Lebanon's southern border tens days after an Israeli airstrike against a Hizbullah convoy, which killed six fighters.

The state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes have been flying over the eastern sector since 2:00 am. The drones flew over Arqoub, Hasbaya, Rashaya and Mount Hermon (Jabal al-Sheikh) heights.

Speaker Nabih Berri reached an understanding with Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil to resolve two controversial files that had been a point of contention between him and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, a report said Wednesday.

Berri and Bassil, who is Aoun's son-in-law and a top FPM official, held talks on Tuesday in Ain el-Tineh for more than 90 minutes.

Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil has revealed that he referred 55 employees from the Real Estate Registry to investigation over corruption allegations.

Khalil told An Nahar newspaper published on Wednesday that he took a decision to stop the permits of all staff members tasked with following up transactions at the registry.

The Lebanese authorities will kick off a campaign to remove all political and party posters, banners and flags that are erected in various areas across Lebanon, local newspapers reported on Wednesday.

The decision comes in light of the fourth dialogue session between al-Mustaqbal Movement and Hizbullah after the two parties agreed to further defuse the sectarian tension in the country and fortify the security situation.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam has regretted that the government's work has been paralyzed since the expiry of President Michel Suleiman's term in May last year, saying his patience is not a sign that things are on the right track.

Salam told al-Akhbar newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday that his cabinet “temporarily” began exercising the president’s prerogatives until the election of a new head of state.

Fugitive Salafist cleric Ahmed al-Asir will be appointed as the Emir of Lebanon by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a report published in al-Joumhouria newspaper said on Wednesday.

The daily said that ISIL will “soon” proclaim the establishment of an Islamic Emirate in Lebanon and appoint Asir as its head.

Clashes erupted Tuesday evening between the Syrian army, backed by Hizbullah, and Syrian gunmen opposite the outskirts of the Bekaa border town of Nahle.

Sky News Arabia reported that the clashes were taking place in Nahle's peripheries as OTV confirmed that “Hizbullah fighters are involved in the clashes.”

Casino du Liban was plunged into a major crisis on Tuesday after the board of directors sacked 191 contract employees in a step it described as a “salvation” move, which prompted the laid off workers to shut down the vital tourist attraction.

“Due to your lack of discipline and your irregular attendance at work, hence your lack of productivity at the Casino du Liban company, it has been decided to consider you dismissed from work at your full responsibility as of the evening of Friday, January 30, 2015,” the company said in a dismissal letter sent to the employees.

The Change and Reform bloc urged the army on Tuesday to finish its battle with extremist groups along the eastern border, saying it should bolster its positions and put an end to the infiltrations of terrorists.

Former Minister Salim Jreissati said at the end of the bloc's weekly meeting: “We call for cooperation between the Lebanese and Syrian armies to achieve this goal.”

Experts from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization inspected on Tuesday the Beirut slaughterhouse to assess the situation at the facility in light of its closure in November.

The team of three international experts, accompanied by Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb, toured the abattoir ahead of making the necessary recommendations to ensure that it meets the necessary modern and food safety standards.