Seventeen Syrian migrants who set sail from Lebanon aboard a small craft have declared that they intend to apply for asylum on the east Mediterranean island nation, Cypriot police said.

Police said Tuesday a patrol boat rescued the migrants — including five children — after authorities located their craft some 77 kilometers off the island's southeastern tip.

Caretaker Justice Minister Salim Jreissati on Tuesday filed a court case against ad-Diyar newspaper publisher and managing editor Charles Ayyoub, accusing him of harming Lebanon's relations with Saudi Arabia.

Ayyoub wrote a column blaming Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the deaths of civilians in Yemen. He called on the Saudi ambassador to leave Lebanon, and used the terms "dogs" and "pigs" 22 times in describing the two Saudi officials.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri visited the Baabda Palace Tuesday afternoon for a meeting with President Michel Aoun that was held away from reporters' eyes.

Sources close to Hariri told TV networks that the PM-designate "explained to Aoun his stance that rejects the appointment of a March 8 Sunni minister from his own share."

Caretaker Information Minister Melhem Riachi on Tuesday inspected the town of Miyeh Miyeh near Sidon which hosts a Palestinian refugee camp that has witnessed several rounds of deadly clashes in recent weeks.

“It is unacceptable for the residents of Miyeh Miyeh to flee their homes and it is unacceptable that arms are being used in the wrong place in a camp inhabited by our Palestinian brothers who fled their homeland,” Riachi said during the visit.

The so-called independent Sunni MPs held talks Tuesday with Speaker Nabih Berri and Hizbullah secretary-general's aide Hussein Khalil, as they maintained their insistence on getting a seat in the new government.

“We thank Hizbullah and (its leader) Sayyed (Hassan) Nasrallah for supporting our demand and we're optimistic that everyone will exert quick efforts to resolve the obstacles and form the government as soon as possible,” Karami said after the meeting.

The Kataeb party criticized on Tuesday the bickering between political parties over ministerial quotas, voicing hopes the performance of the future government does not resemble the ‘stumbling’ performance during the formation process.

Kataeb said: “Now that the government is close to being formed, the Lebanese wander over what were the political parties bickering, seeing that the bulk of the majority (of political parties) remained unchanged.”

Several suggestions were reportedly made in a bid to resolve a new obstacle facing the government formation and related to the representation of the Sunni MPs of March 8 camp, al-Joumhouria daily said on Tuesday.

A tentative and incomplete government line-up emerged Monday evening as a row over the representation of the Lebanese Forces – the main obstacle that was delaying the formation process -- was resolved.

Below is the line-up as reported by TV networks:

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Monday decried “time waste” in the cabinet formation process as “very costly and absurd.”

“The time that is being wasted in the final phase of the cabinet formation process is very costly and absurd,” Jumblat warned in a tweet.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard on Monday visited the Deir Ammar Power Station in north Lebanon which is operated by U.S. firm PrimeSouth.

The U.S. company has invested $75 million to rehabilitate the facility and an additional $45 million in the Zahrani Power Station over the past two years.