Shells fired from the Syrian side of the border targeted several towns in Akkar on Wednesday, hitting homes and an army patrol and sparking an exodus of residents.

"Ten shells have targeted the house of Mashta Hammoud resident Majed Sweid, which is uninhabited, and no casualties were reported," state-run National News Agency reported.

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly on Wednesday noted that the international support for Lebanon that was decided at the NY meeting is a “continuous process” that will be expanded “in due course,” revealing that the issue will be discussed in Washington during a World Bank meeting next week.

Following talks with Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain al-Tineh, Plumbly said he briefed the Lebanese leader on the inaugural meeting of the International Support Group for Lebanon in New York, describing it as “a strong indicator of the international commitment to supporting Lebanon during this difficult period.”

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abubaker al-Qirbi said on Wednesday that the exiled former South Yemeni president is living in Beirut under the protection of Hizbullah.

Qirbi's comments came as he was criticizing Ali Salem al-Baid in an interview in pan-Arab Al-Hayat newspaper.

The March 14 General Secretariat stressed in a statement on Wednesday that forming a cabinet is a national and constitutional responsibility, and called on President Michel Suleiman and PM designate Tammam Salam to line up one that is free from the restraints of Hizbullah and based on the Baabda declaration.

After their weekly meeting, the secretariat stressed that Hizbullah's involvement in the Syrian crisis have “burdened the Lebanese and linked their destiny to the turmoil in Syria following the party's inclusion on the list of terrorism in Europe, the Gulf, and the U.S.”

The Maronite Bishops Council lamented on Wednesday the Lebanese powers' failure to form a new government, criticizing their reliance on foreign powers and developments.

It said in a statement after its monthly meeting chaired by Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi: “Any government that is not strictly formed by Lebanese forced is aimed at dividing the country.”

Two members of a drug gang were wounded on Wednesday as security forces raided a Bekaa town in search of suspects, reported Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3).

One of the suspects is in critical condition in wake of a shootout that broke out between the Anti-Drug Bureau and the gang as it raided its location in the town of Hrabta.

An official Lebanese delegation will head on Wednesday to Indonesia to follow up the case of last week's asylum-seekers ferry sinking and to ensure the safe return of the survivors.

The members of the delegation were supposed to depart from Beirut's Rafik Hariri International airport at 11:50 a.m. however, the flight was postponed to 7:45 p.m. until their visas are ready.

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim warned that Lebanon is heading towards a “disaster” over the alarming influx of Syrian refugees into its territories.

He called on the international community to give a greater support to Lebanon, which has allowed more than 760,000 Syrian refugees to settle since fighting broke out in Syria more than two and a half years ago.

Investigations are underway in a Malaysian people-smuggling network similar to the one that led to the asylum-seekers' ferry sinking disaster last week, reported the daily An Nahar on Wednesday.

It said that the network is headed by Elie A. who owns a fake travel agency in Dekwaneh on the outskirts of Beirut and cooperates with Mohammed T., in the town of Mishmish in the northern region of Akkar, and Ahmed H., who works in the southern city of Sidon.

Caretaker Energy Minister Jebran Bassil lashed out on Wednesday at Israel, considering that it can't prevent Lebanon from protecting its oil reserves as he accused it of digging a well 5 kilometers from Lebanese offshore reserves.

“We will treat Israel as it is treating us. The Jewish state can't oblige us to commit to stances that it fails to keep,” Bassil said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.