Hizbullah and the head of AMAL, Speaker Nabih Berri, back the extension of more than 20 officers in different posts despite a steadfast rejection by their March 8 ally, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported on Tuesday.

The daily said that several parties support such a decision amid the presidential vacuum and the delicate security situation that the country is passing through.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam has stressed that he would set a date for a new cabinet session when his contacts with the different parties represented in the cabinet reach solutions to the government paralysis.

Officials close to Salam said the premier backs any initiative that would facilitate the government's work.

A leading member of the Arab Democratic Party, Rifaat Eid, has been sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment over incitement of violence in the northern city of Tripoli.

The Permanent Military Court headed by Brig. Khalil Ibrahim issued on Monday the sentence against him, which included hard labor, after he was convicted of provoking strife between the rival Tripoli districts of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh.

Kataeb chief Amin Gemayel will reportedly step down as head of his party, clearing the way for his son MP Sami Gemayel to succeed him despite objections by some members.

According to al-Akhbar newspaper published on Tuesday, some members warned that Sami's leadership of the Kataeb puts the party at enormous risks.

General Security chief Major General Abbas Ibrahim is awaiting the green light to head to Istanbul to tackle the case of so-called Arsal captives, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Tuesday.

According to the daily, Ibrahim only traveled to the United Arab of Emirates, denying talks about his trip to Turkey where he allegedly met with Qatari intelligence chief Ghanim al-Kubaisi.

A U.S. Marine who vanished a decade ago in Iraq was sentenced Monday to two years in prison for leaving his post there and then fleeing to Lebanon after a brief return to the U.S.

The judge at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, Marine Maj. Nicholas Martz, ruled that Cpl. Wassef Hassoun was guilty of deserting when he disappeared in 2004 and 2005. Hassoun was also convicted of causing the loss of his service pistol.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam met Monday with al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri as part of his endeavor to find a solution to the crisis crippling the work of his cabinet.

Media outlets said Hariri did not make any statement after leaving the Grand Serail meeting.

Lebanese authorities have foiled an “unprecedented” attempt to smuggle a huge quantity of cannabis by sea to Libya, the Internal Security Forces announced on Monday.

“Following close surveillance and investigations, the anti-narcotics bureau of the Judicial Police managed to seize and foil the smuggling of around two tons of raw hashish,” the ISF said in a statement, noting that the operation occurred on Saturday.

Speaker Nabih Berri announced Monday that he is encouraging dialogue between Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, noting that he would endorse any agreement they might reach over the stalled presidential vote.

“We had a chance to Lebanonize the presidential election, especially as the foreign forces were preoccupied with their problems,” Berri told a delegation from the council of the Lebanese Press Syndicate that visited him in Ain al-Tineh.

Israeli forces opened fire Monday from a border settlement at Lebanese farmers who were cultivating their land in the southern town of Maroun al-Ras.

“Israeli enemy forces opened fire from the Avivim settlement at farmers in the border town of Maroun al-Ras,” Lebanon's National News Agency reported, noting that no one was injured in the incident.