Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi was discharged from the hospital on Monday after undergoing a minor brain surgery over the weekend.

Al-Rahi returned to the patriarchal seat in Bkirki after recovering at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Notre Dame de Secours in Jbeil where he underwent a “successful” surgery on Friday to remove a blood clot in the head.

Officials will kickstart this week a new round of negotiations to modify the retirement age of officers in leadership posts in the army, the Internal Security Forces and other security agencies despite reservations expressed by various political blocs and Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji.

Al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Monday that Prime Minister Tammam Salam is keen to push his cabinet to endorse the proposal and refer it to the parliament before the end of February when the tenure of the Higher Defense Council chief General Mohammed Kheir ends.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam has lamented that the government was suffering over the absence of a president despite his determination to improve its productivity.

As Safir daily on Monday quoted Salam as saying that “the work of the government has been transformed into a permanent suffering that takes several forms amid the presidential vacuum.”

Top Islamist fugitives Shadi al-Mawlawi and Osama Mansour have reportedly fled the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh to the northeastern border town of Arsal.

According to As Safir newspaper published on Monday, Mawlawi joined the terrorist groups that are entrenched on the outskirts of Arsal.

Interior Minister Nouhad Mashnouq stressed on Monday that the state will not back down on its demand to be handed over all fugitives who are taking the southern Palestinian camp of Ain el-Hilweh as their safe haven.

“The chance will be given in the first stage for any political solution, but we will not back down,” Mashnouq told As Safir newspaper.

Speaker Nabih Berri has discussed with al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri the talks between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal representatives, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Monday.

The daily said that Berri's short meeting with Hariri was held in Riyadh over the weekend when the speaker extended his condolences on the death of Saudi King Abdullah.

Israel has sent a strong warning to Lebanon that it would respond to any attack by Hizbullah on Israel whether on its territories or abroad, Western diplomatic sources said.

The sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published on Monday that the warning was delivered to the Lebanese authorities by several ambassadors based in Lebanon.

Security sources revealed that the Lebanese army was able to thwart the objective of Islamic State militias to set an “Islamic Emirate” on the outskirts of Ras Baalbek.

“The Lebanese army's heroic confrontation with armed groups in Tallet al-Hamra in the outskirts of Ras Baalbek prevented the militants from implementing their scheme,” An Nahar daily quoted the sources on Monday.

Director of the Department of the Middle East and North Africa at the French Foreign Ministry Jean-François Girault will visit Lebanon at the beginning of February to resume his initiative to resolve the ongoing presidential deadlock.

An Nahar newspaper reported on Monday that the French diplomat's visit aims at reviving his initiative and contacts with Lebanese officials.

The parties of the rival March 8 and March 14 camps closed ranks on Sunday to defeat independents led by Hanna Gharib in the elections of the league of public secondary school teachers.

However, the incumbent chief Gharib and another member managed to grab two seats.