By Laila Bassam

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese authorities scrambled on Monday to pay overdue salaries to the army, a crisis that has laid bare the extent of paralysis in government and added to criticism of the politicians whose rivalries are to blame.

The salaries were due last week but were delayed because neither the cabinet nor parliament convened to pass a decree needed to transfer the funds. Both bodies have been riven by political tensions linked to wider conflict in the region.

The finance minister said on Monday the problem had been resolved for this month with an exceptional measure that bypasses normal legislative channels. That leaves open the possibility that the problem could recur if the government does not convene to approve longer-term arrangements.

BEIRUT – A shootout erupted early Monday as Lebanese forces raided a nightclub north of Beirut, leaving eight people dead, including two officers and at least one member of a notorious crime family, the state-run news agency and the Lebanese army said.

The purpose of the raid at the White Night Club in the city of Jounieh was to apprehend fugitives, the reports said, without providing details. Four officers were also wounded in the firefight.

Beirut (AFP) - Lebanon's political stalemate has not only left uncollected garbage piling up in the streets, but now risks losing millions in international loans for key development projects because of a paralysed parliament.

To secure the funds, Lebanon's parliament is required to approve loan deals or pass legislation on which the money is conditioned.

But the legislature, deeply divided over issues ranging from minor domestic disagreements to the conflict in neighbouring Syria, has not met since May 2014.

The World Bank warns that Lebanon could lose half a portfolio worth $1.1 billion (1 billion euros) if parliament fails to ratify loan agreements before December 31.

Around half that money is for the Bisri Dam project in southern Lebanon, which is intended to provide 1.6 million people with water for drinking and irrigation.

Legislative inaction has already led France to cancel 46.5 million euros for building schools and 70 million euros for the electricity sector, in a country where chronic power outages continue 25 years after the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.