State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr decided to disregard allegations that tape recordings presented as evidence to the court in the case of former Minister Michel Samaha are forged, the state-run National News Agency said on Monday.

Samaha's defense team had presented claims to the Military Court of Cassation that tape recordings in the case were fake.

General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim said on Monday that he will not stop the attempts to release the kidnapped soldiers after the set back suffered on Sunday due to the last minute impossible demands set by the kidnappers, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

“I will not stop working and striving. I will continue the efforts despite the policy of blackmail. Those are our sons and the sons of the nation and I will not give up on them,” he told the daily.

Negotiations to free the Lebanese servicemen who were abducted by al-Nusra Front suffered a setback on Sunday afternoon, after steps on the ground and media reports gave the impression earlier in the day that the exchange was imminent.

“Some obstacles emerged in the final moments but the negotiations have not stopped,” Qatari-owned Al-Jazeera television said.

Head of the al-Mustaqbal movement Saad Hariri and Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh continue their efforts to facilitate the hurdles of the latter's nomination for the post of the presidency, al-Akhbar daily reported on Monday.

Franjieh met on Sunday with head of the Free Patriotic Movement Jebran Bassil for over two hours, but the two men were unable to reach a common agreement on the controversial file of the presidency never the less expressing keenness to preserve the cohesion of the March 8 alliance, the daily added.

Unidentified attackers on Sunday set fire to parts of a school in the Baalbek district, state-run National News Agency reported.

“The assailants set the first and second floors ablaze after breaking their way into the Modern School in Baalbek's Ras al-Ain,” NNA said.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam on Sunday called off a trip to Paris in order to follow up on the ongoing negotiations to secure the release of the Lebanese servicemen who are being held hostage by al-Nusra Front, his office said.

“In light of the latest developments accompanying the efforts that are being exerted to secure the release of the al-Nusra Front-held servicemen, PM Tammam Salam has decided to cancel his Monday trip to Paris, where he was supposed to take part in the global climate summit,” the office said.

A son of senior Hizbullah official Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek died Sunday in a car crash in the South and Hizbullah “investigators” inspected the scene to determine if it was an accident or an act of sabotage, media reports said.

The son, Mohammed Baqer Yazbek, was killed as his wife and two daughters were admitted into intensive care after “a tragic traffic accident in the southern region of al-Zahrani,” state-run National News Agency reported.

The next round of talks between al-Mustaqbal movement and Hizbullah party are expected to resume on Monday, al-Mustaqbal daily reported Sunday.

Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal officials have been meeting in Ain el-Tineh under the auspices of Berri since December to defuse sectarian hostility linked to the war in Syria.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat will not withdraw the candidacy of his nominee MP Henri Helou for the post of president but at the same time prefers to wait until the picture clears up on the possible nomination of Marada leader MP Suleiman Franjieh for the post, al-Mustaqbal daily said on Sunday.

Sources of the Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc said that the bloc's chief Jumblat "prefers to wait up until the picture crystallizes,” they told the daily on condition of anonymity.

Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji stated that hopes are high on the release of the abducted servicemen and soldiers, an Nahar daily said on Sunday.

“The issue of the kidnapped soldiers is a top priority. I am following up closely on the latest developments related to their release,” Qahwaji told the daily.