The northern district of Koura is likely to witness a tough electoral battle next month to fill the Greek Orthodox seat vacated by the death of Lebanese Forces MP Farid Habib in May.

The by-elections that are set to be held on July 15 will determine the orientation of the Koura residents in the parliamentary polls of 2013, deputy Speaker Farid Makari told An Nahar daily published Sunday.

The cabinet is set to tackle the electricity crisis in Lebanon next Wednesday after several weeks of frequent power cuts across the country caused road closures by angry residents.

An Nahar newspaper reported Sunday that the issue of electricity shortage is on the 74-item agenda of the cabinet that will most likely witness a heated session over Energy Minister Jebran Bassil’s scheduled briefing of the findings of a technical committee tasked with studying the leasing of power-generating vessels.

The latest consultations held between President Michel Suleiman and members of the national dialogue will likely lead to a second Baabda Declaration that is set to highlight what the March 8 forces and the opposition have in common on the country’s defense strategy, An Nahar daily reported Sunday.

The seventeen March 8 and 14 leaders are scheduled to meet at Baabda palace on Monday in the second round of all-party talks since their resumption on June 11 after a 19-month standstill. They are set to discuss the defense strategy and the proliferation of arms in Lebanese cities and towns.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun voiced his support on Saturday for an electoral law that unites all the Lebanese in their mission to abolish sectarianism.

“We should adopt an electoral law based on proportional representation throughout Lebanon,” Aoun said from Zahle.

Hizbullah MP Nawaf Moussawi urged on Saturday the cabinet to activate its productivity, slamming those who are calling for its collapse.

“Changing the cabinet at this point would make the country slip over into the turmoil in the region,” Moussawi said from the town of Ansar in southern Lebanon.

The body of a Syrian national was found at his apartment in northern Lebanon, the National News Agency reported on Saturday.

According to the NNA Marten Zuhair Yano was shot to death using a hunting rifle.

Hizbullah and AMAL stressed on Saturday the importance of maintaining security and stability in Lebanon, away from any tension between all the Lebanese foes, amid the increasing rate of security incidents in the country.

AMAL and Hizbullah’s representatives also urged in a statement, following a coordination meeting, all parties to voice their support to the national role played by the army as it remains the only guarantee for unity in the country.

A Lebanese judicial security committee tasked with following up the disappearance of revered Lebanese Shiite Imam Moussa al-Sadr and his two companions demanded on Saturday Libyan authorities not to disclose any information about the carried out investigations.

The committee described statements by Libyan National Transitional Council chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil regarding the case as inaccurate.

President Michel Suleiman held talks on Saturday with Prime Minister Najib Miqati who briefed him on his recent visit to Brazil.

According to the National News Agency, Miqati informed Suleiman on his meetings with officials in Rio de Janeiro and the Lebanese community there.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati slammed allegations that he is arming Salafist movements in the northern city of Tripoli, saying that such accusations are politically motivated.

He said before reporters during his trip to Brazil: “I support the mentality of openness, knowledge, and forgiveness, not that of arms or war.”