The Syrian regime and opposition on Wednesday traded blame for the killing of a Christian cleric and a regional Syrian Red Crescent chief.

An "armed terrorist group" killed a priest in the protest hub of Hama in central Syria on Wednesday, state media said, as regime forces reportedly pounded the city for a second day.

The Syrian National Council stressed on Wednesday that it seeks to establish strong ties between Syria and Lebanon that respect the sovereignty and independence of each country.

It said in an open letter to the Lebanese people: “To this end, the Lebanese-Syrian Higher Council should be dissolved and agreements between the two countries should be revised.”

Ambassador Angelina Eichhorst, Head of the Delegation of the European Union, launched Wednesday during a press conference held at the EU Delegation the seventh edition of the "Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press" in the presence of Mrs Gisele Khoury-Kassir, President of Samir Kassir Foundation, and representatives from EU Member States

The "Samir Kassir Award for Freedom of the Press", which is awarded since 2006 by the European Union, honours the Lebanese journalist and writer Samir Kassir who was assassinated in 2005. The Award has grown in popularity since its creation, each year witnessing an ever increasing number of candidates from the Mediterranean region, the Middle East and the Gulf. This was particularly the case in 2011.

The March 14 General Secretariat condemned on Wednesday the government’s policy of “distancing itself” from the Syrian developments.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “It should instead work on fortifying Lebanon against the repercussions of the crisis.”

Syrian authorities on Tuesday released a Lebanese fishing boat the Syrian navy had seized on Saturday after an incident in which a 14-year-old Lebanese boy was killed and two sailors were arrested.

A Syrian fishing boat, escorted by Syrian coastguards, towed the Lebanese boat suffering an engine failure to the sea off the coast of the northern Lebanese town of al-Arida, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.

Syrian security forces killed 52 people across the country on Tuesday as troops stormed Hama following large protests in the flashpoint central city, activists said.

"The Syrian armed forces stormed the neighborhoods of Bab Qubli and al-Jarajmah in Hama, firing heavy machineguns," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Military Tribunal headed by Judge Alice Shabtini upheld on Tuesday retired General Fayez Karam’s sentence to two years in prison without stripping him of his civil rights.

Karam had been imprisoned on charges of collaborating with Israel.

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday expressed its condemnation and concern over what it called “the escalating violations by the Syrian regime’s forces against Lebanese sovereignty.”

In a statement issued after its weekly meeting under former premier Fouad Saniora, the bloc denounced “the attack against the three fishermen in al-Arida, which led to the martyrdom of teenager Maher Hamad,” warning that “suck attacks will leave the residents of the border areas without jobs.”

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel on Monday ruled out an imminent collapse of Prime Minister Najib Miqati's government.

“The issue of changing the government is not on the table at the moment, given the concessions Hizbullah has been making to guarantee the survival of the government, which is vital to its alliance with Syria,” Gemayel said in an interview on MTV.

The Government tasked the Council of Development and Reconstruction on Monday with dismantling the metal bridge in Jal el-Dib and building a new one.

Following a session held at Baabda palace, Information Minister Walid al-Daouq said: “The Council of Ministers agreed to task the Council of Development and Reconstruction with removing the bridge and begin building a new bridge in a U form in accordance with the existing map.”