The Syrian opposition accused Hizbullah on Wednesday of preventing Russian officials from entering the Wadi Barada area near Damascus to assess water infrastructure damaged by clashes.

"A checkpoint belonging to the Hizbullah militia prevented the Russian officers from entering," Ahmed Ramadan of the National Coalition opposition body said in a message to journalists.

State Prosecutor Samir Hammoud on Wednesday sent a memo via the Justice Ministry to a Turkish prosecutor regarding the Istanbul nightclub massacre that left 39 people dead including three Lebanese, state-run National News Agency reported.

The Cabinet approved Wednesday the long-awaited oil and gas decrees and appointed two successors to Abdul Menhem Youssef -- the controversial director general of the OGERO telecom authority who was also serving as director general of investment and maintenance at the telecom ministry.

Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday warned against “procrastination” in finalizing the new electoral law, stressing that “proportional representation is the most appropriate and essential system for building a modern state in Lebanon.”

A terrorist cell loyal to fugitive militant Shadi al-Mawlawi and the jihadist al-Nusra Front group was charged Wednesday with plotting to stage terrorist acts on New Year's Eve among other serious charges.

The Council of Maronite Bishops on Wednesday called on the new government to pass “a new and fair electoral law that ensures correct representation for all the components of the Lebanese society.”

Internal Security Forces in south Lebanon arrested a two-member gang, both Lebanese, involved in counterfeiting and circulating foreign money notes, the state-run National News Agency said on Wednesday.

After a close observation, ISF were able to arrest the gang on the Nabatieh-Zefta road, NNA added.

Hand grenades were tossed overnight at the residence of Bzal municipality chief in the northern Akkar district, leaving no causalities, the National News Agency reported Wednesday.

Unknown assailants tossed two hand grenades, shortly after midnight, at the residence of Mayor Firas Moussa inflicting damages on vehicles that were parked in front of the house, NNA said.

The Kataeb Party on Tuesday condemned the political forces' failure to “deal with the electoral law as a priority,” warning that “the deadlines are nearing.”

The Change and Reform parliamentary bloc on Tuesday called for a “national plan for combating terrorism” in the wake of the carnage that hit an Istanbul nightclub, as it urged an electoral law that “enjoys the broadest consensus possible.”