A phone call about the presence of a bomb in the vicinity of Khouri Hospital in Zahle turned out to be a hoax after security forces thoroughly combed the area on Wednesday, state-run National News Agency reported.

“The emergency room doctor at Khouri Hospital in Zahle received a phone call about the presence of a bomb in the hospital’s vicinity,” NNA said.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Wednesday described the new government as a “broad national coalition,” stressing that “it was not imposed by outside forces as some have claimed” and that it is not “one-sided.”

Following talks with Prime Minister Najib Miqati in Beirut’s Verdun district, Jumblat added: “The atmospheres are excellent despite the delay in forming the cabinet … Each of us has made sacrifices, each in his own way.”

The Loyalty to the Resistance bloc praised on Wednesday Speaker Nabih Berri’s “bold national stand” that helped establish a new government.

It said in a statement after a meeting headed by MP Mohammed Raad: “With the formation of a new government, the country has entered a new phase rife with challenges that require different policies that would be able to revitalize all state institutions and fields.”

A Dutch diplomat was kidnapped in Lebanon some ten days ago in a development that has raised European fears of the return of the abduction of foreigners in Lebanon that was prevalent during the civil war years.

A European diplomatic source told the Central News Agency on Wednesday that the Dutch diplomat, who resides in Damascus, was abducted by tribes from the Baalbek region as he was passing through the area.

After almost five months of bickering a Lebanese government was born out of a miraculous idea from one of the king makers of the March 8 coalition.

Speaker Nabih Berri decided to switch one of the three ministerial seats allocated to him from three Shiite ministers to two Shiites and one Sunni, thereby removing one of the last remaining major hurdles from the government birth.

Lebanese authorities are searching for a Syrian opposition figure who went missing three weeks ago and who may have been kidnapped, his daughter said on Wednesday.

Shebli al-Aysami, 86, is a co-founder of Syria's ruling Baath Party but fled his native Syria in 1966 over political differences with the group.

The March 14 forces vowed on Wednesday to confront alleged attempts by the new Lebanese cabinet to take Lebanon back to the era of Syrian hegemony and integrate the country’s institutions into Hizbullah’s statelet.

The general-secretariat of the coalition said after its weekly meeting that it would prevent Premier Najib Miqati’s government to “return Lebanon to the dark stage that the Cedar Revolution liberated” after ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination in February 2005.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stated on Wednesday that the new government is reminiscent of the period of Syrian hegemony over Lebanon, saying that at a time when people are revolting against oppressive regimes, Lebanon has become directly linked to one of them.

He said during a press conference: “The new government has gone against the tide of these revolts, and six years after the Cedar revolution, the cabinet came to remind us of the time of hegemony in the worst possible way.”

Israel’s foreign ministry said Wednesday the Jewish state hopes Lebanon's new government will respect international law and borders and contribute to regional stability.

After five months of negotiations, Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati announced a new government on Tuesday, with Israel’s arch-foe Hizbullah and its allies dominating the line-up.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stated during the new government’s first session that it “will work for the whole of Lebanon and all Lebanese without discrimination or spite,” Information Minister Walid al-Daouq quoted him as saying.

He said in a statement after the session: “Lebanon is the victor and we cannot ignore the sacrifices that were made, especially that of Speaker Nabih Berri who asserted Sunni-Shiite unity, preventing strife from coming between them.”