A group of NGOs has condemned local police for arresting 27 men at a Beirut bathhouse over allegations of homosexual acts and "public indecency".

In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, the groups said 27 men were being held by police after being arrested at a Beirut hammam on August 9 and questioned about their sexual orientation.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat noted on Wednesday the sacrifices of the Islamic and national resistance throughout the years in its efforts to liberate Lebanon from Israeli occupation.

He said in a statement on the anniversary of the end of the July 2006 war: “No matter what the internal circumstances and Lebanese divisions over major and minor issues are, we should derive lessons from the July war that brought national solidarity with the residents of the South and the resistance.”

The March 14 General Secretariat called on Wednesday for a campaign to demand the Lebanese cabinet to address the possibility of controlling the country's border with Syria.

“We recommend the launching of a political-diplomatic-media campaign to press the government to discuss the possibility of deploying the Lebanese army and the international peacekeepers in accordance with (U.N. Security Council) resolution 1701,” the general secretariat said after its weekly meeting.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has said that he would back the extension of parliament's term if it was conditioned with the election of a president.

There could be a technical extension for a few months, if the rival parties agreed to hold the presidential elections, Jumblat told As Safir newspaper in remarks published on Wednesday.

Electricite du Liban contract workers closed the institution on Wednesday despite a claim by Energy Minister Arthur Nazarian that he was abiding by the law on their full-time employment.

The workers also began erecting tents at the company's different branches, including its headquarters in Beirut's Mar Mikhael area, as part of their call for an open-ended sit-in.

Head of al-Mustaqbal Movement and former premier MP Saad Hariri headed to Jeddah on Wednesday to discuss with Saudi officials the latest grant to Lebanese security forces.

In a statement issued by his press office, Hariri is expected to hold talks with senior Saudi officials concerning ways to spend the financial grant.

The Muslim Scholars Committee handed the premiership a videotape showing seven of the hostages taken by jihadists who overran the northeastern border town of Arsal earlier this month.

Sheikh Husam al-Ghali told several local stations about the move. It was not clear if the militants were making demands to release the captives – around 35 soldiers and policemen.

Speaker Nabih Berri has said that his rejection to extend parliament's term should be used as a “pressure card” to speed up the election of a new president.

Local dailies on Wednesday quoted Berri as saying that the vacuum at Baabda Palace would remain if the legislature's term was extended for the second time.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam expressed hope that the political arch-foes would reach a breakthrough regarding the political crises in the country, noting that it's the only way to resolve the controversial new pay hike for public employees.

“The solution lies in the agreement between the political powers to activate the work of the state,” Salam told An Nahar newspaper published on Wednesday.

The head of a Tripoli-based association was killed in Syrian troop shelling on al-Qalamun region in the neighboring country, media reports said on Tuesday.

"Head of al-Basha'er association Abou Mohammed al-Rifai and others were killed” in the latest battles in Syria, LBCI television said.