Speaker Nabih Berri received on Tuesday a cable from French President Francois Hollande, confirming to him his country’s support for Lebanon.

He said: “Maintaining stability, peace, and democracy in Lebanon will be one of my top priorities.”

Iran accused world powers on Tuesday of dragging their feet in negotiations over its nuclear activities, as both sides were about to hold a new, downgraded round of talks in Istanbul.

Foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told a weekly briefing that, if the powers ignored Iran's nuclear "rights" and failed to bargain on equal terms, the negotiations could lead to an "impasse".

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday made a repeat trip to one of the four Pacific Kuril islands claimed by Japan, drawing new protests from Tokyo following years of unrelenting tensions.

Medvedev arrived on the island of Kunashir which lies just north of Japan's Hokkaido Island, pledging to improve the lives of the disputed chain's residents.

Syrian ambassador Ali Abdul Karim Ali hoped on Tuesday that Lebanese authorities would exert further efforts in controlling the border with Syria after blaming Syrian troops’ arrest of two Lebanese General Security members on a rocket attack from Lebanon on Syrian territories.

Following talks with Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour, Ali said: “When border guards are targeted or Syrian territories are targeted by fire from the Lebanese side, then the solution should come through coordination between the two countries” to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

Israel's interior ministry has approved the construction of a military academy on land in the Mount of Olives in Arab east Jerusalem, Israeli activists and officials told Agence France Presse on Tuesday.

The plan is likely to spark controversy and has already been dubbed a "provocation."

Georgia's new Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili named his first cabinet on Tuesday as the governing party prepares for crucial parliamentary polls in the ex-Soviet state in autumn.

Merabishvili appointed former defense minister Bacho Akhalaia as Georgia's interior ministry chief and former education minister Dmitri Shashkin to head defense, a presidency spokeswoman said.

The United States has moved new forces into the Gulf to keep strategic waterways open and strike deep within Iran in the event of a regional military escalation, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

The Times cited senior officials as saying the quiet build-up was aimed at reassuring Israel that Washington is serious about addressing Iran's nuclear program and keeping the Straits of Hormuz -- a key oil choke point -- open.

The Syrian Revolution General Commission (SRGC) has pulled out of an opposition conference in Cairo, citing political "disputes," a statement said on Tuesday.

The two-day conference opened on Monday in the Egyptian capital, under the auspices of the Arab League, to forge a common vision for a transition in the country after a blueprint was adopted by world powers on the weekend.

The Foreign Ministry established a hotline for Lebanese expatriates across the world in an attempt to enable them to contact the Lebanese authorities in case of emergencies.

The ministry issued a memorandum urging all Lebanese missions to follow up the complaints of the expats and resolving them.

Chinese police vowed Tuesday to crack down on protesters after riot officers clashed with hundreds of people rallying against a planned new metals plant over fears about its environmental impact.

The country's latest bout of social unrest broke out in the small city of Shifang, which is still trying to recover after being badly hit in a 2008 earthquake that killed 88,000 people in the southwest of the country.