The line-up of the new government is expected to be announced Monday or Tuesday, a media report published Sunday said.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, who voiced optimistic remarks on Saturday, will return Sunday evening to Beirut from Jordan to “make the final steps regarding the cabinet line-up,” An Nahar newspaper reported.

Fernando Haddad is the last hope for those dreading a far-right win in Brazil's presidential election, but the measured university professor lacks the charisma of his mentor, ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

In an election that is largely about the one candidate who cannot run -- the popular but imprisoned Lula, who is serving 12 years for corruption -- Haddad, 55, has struggled to fill the shoes of his one-time boss, who led Brazil through the boom years of 2003 to 2010, before both the country and his left-wing political project went bust.

Inspite of the growing “optimism” heralding a near government lineup, “probably on Sunday,” no indicators have shown that a solution is reached for an“obstacle” linked to the representation of a group of independent Sunni MPs, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

Speaker Nabih Berri reflected some “positivism” regarding a breakthrough in the formation of the government, noting a “serious progress” in discussions likely leading to a final agreement on Sunday, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

Concern of the new US sanctions imposed by the US administration on Hizbullah is not limited to the party, but also touches the entire Lebanese state for fear of negative repercussions on the country’s banks and economy, the Saudi Ashraq al-Awsat daily reported on Saturday.

Saudi charge d'affaires in Lebanon Walid Bukhari and UAE Ambassador to Lebanon Hamad al-Shamesi on Friday toured the Mount Lebanon region of Chouf where they inspected a number of institutions and met spiritual and political leaders.

The two envoys' tour included health and religious institutions and was concluded at the house of the head of al-Orfan Institution Sheikh Ali Zeineddine in a meeting attended by Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Naim Hassan and Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat.

Ex-minister Ghazi Aridi on Friday called on all political parties to follow the example of Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat so that the new government could be formed as soon as possible.

Speaking after a meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh, Aridi hoped the ongoing efforts will lead to the formation of a government soon, urging all parties to “realize the graveness of the circumstances we're going through.”

A French court Friday ordered a new probe into evidence allegedly linking a Lebanese-Canadian academic to the 1980 deadly bombing of a Paris synagogue before deciding whether to put him on trial.

The October 3, 1980, bombing of a synagogue on 24 Rue Copernic in Paris, which killed four people and injured 46, was the first fatal attack against Jews in France since the Nazi occupation in World War II.

Giant posters on the streets of Beirut's southern suburbs display an armed Hizbullah fighter in uniform, holding the group's yellow banner and Lebanon's national flag, along with phone numbers where supporters can make donations to the Iran-backed guerrilla force.

"He who equips a warrior is part of the battle," the posters declare, quoting a saying from Islam's Prophet Mohammed.

The Head of Defence Office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), Dorothée Le Fraper du Hellen, has concluded her first official visit to Lebanon, a statement released by the STL Defence Office said on Friday.