The Lebanese Army turned away around 700 Syrians attempting to cross into Lebanon illegally over the past week, the military said in a statement on Wednesday.

Cyprus said Wednesday it dismantled a criminal human smuggling ring responsible for bringing boatloads of Syrian migrants from Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. The eastern Mediterranean island nation has seen almost daily migrant boat arrivals in recent days.

Cypriot police said three months of investigative work resulted in the arrest of five suspects following a raid by a combined force of 40 officers on several homes in the island's southeast.

Two Lebanese Army personnel were killed when a helicopter crashed during a training flight in the Hammana area on Wednesday, the army said in a statement.

"An air force helicopter crashed in the Hammana area during a training flight, killing two personnel and injuring one other," it said.

Carlos Ghosn, the former rock star businessman who fell from grace and fled authorities smuggled in a music instrument box, is getting what his dramatic story deserves — a multi-part documentary series.

"Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn" is the juicy real tale of how the auto executive went from attending red carpets as the head of both Nissan and Renault to fleeing to Lebanon with the help of a former U.S. Green Beret.

The Maronite church’s dismay over the French policy towards Lebanon was clearly reflected in the sermon of Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday, when he criticized the questions addressed by French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian to Lebanon’s MPs.

In remarks to ad-Diyar newspaper, Bkirki sources confirmed the dismay.

The discussions between Hezbollah and Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil are “serious” and have reached “many common denominators,” informed sources said.

“The issue of the president is in its final stages, which means that an agreement has been reached on (Suleiman) Franjieh’s nomination,” the sources told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper in remarks published Wednesday.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has accused caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Speaker Nabih Berri, without naming them, of obstructing gas exploration for years.

Transocean Barents drilling rig, which had arrived in Block 9 offshore Lebanon earlier this month, will start Thursday searching for gas.

The family of Elias Hasrouni, an ex-Lebanese Forces official who was abducted and killed in the southern town of Ain Ebel, on Wednesday met with caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi.

“The minister has information that is being followed up in the case and today we were reassured that things are on the right track to achieve justice,” the family said after the meeting.

An explosion was heard at dawn inside the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Helweh in the southern city of Sidon, the state-run National News Agency said.

The explosion resulted from “a hand grenade that was hurled near a school belonging to the UNRWA agency in the camp’s al-Fawqani street,” NNA said, adding that the incident caused no casualties.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi criticized Wednesday Lebanon's leaders who are calling for dialogue instead of electing a president.

"They are hiding behind dialogue and consensus, while there is only one constitutional solution," al-Rahi said, stressing that the solution is to elect a president in parliament.