Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Friday that he would not give up or make compromises on the “Resistance” word in the government's policy statement.

“I will not give up or reach a settlement on any single letter of (the resistance) letters,” Berri said in remarks published in As Safir newspaper after President Michel Suleiman and the March 14 alliance's cabinet ministers backed the Baabda Declaration as the basis of the policy statement.

The Maronite Catholic Church in the United States has ordained a married Lebanese priest for the first time in nearly a century, after Pope Francis gave his permission.

A ceremony at the ornate St. Raymond's Maronite Cathedral in St. Louis ordained Deacon Wissam Akiki on Thursday night.

The March 14 forces on Thursday handed the U.N. secretary-general's representative in Lebanon a petition demanding the expansion of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's mandate to cover all assassinations against March 14 figures.

“We handed the U.N. secretary-general's representative in Lebanon a petition signed by 69 MPs and demanding the expansion of the STL's jurisdiction to involve all assassination crimes that targeted Lebanese leaders, from the attempt on MP Marwan Hamadeh's life to the assassination of martyr minister Mohammed Shatah,” al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Atef Majdalani said after a March 14 delegation handed the petition to U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly.

Foreign Minister Jebra Bassil on Thursday asked Lebanon's envoy to the United Nations to file a complaint against Israel over the two airstrikes it waged on the Bekaa town of Janta.

"Bassil asked ambassador Nawaf Salam to hand over the complaint to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon,” the state-run National News Agency said.

Phalange Party Central Committee Coordinator MP Sami Gemayel criticized on Thursday reports saying the ministerial policy statement will include a clause on “Lebanese people's right to resist.”

"There is no consensus over the resistance. Who is going to resist?” Gemayel asked after holding talks with Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea slammed on Thursday a ministerial policy statement that seeks to respect all parties' stances, stating that “the problem lies in Hizbullah's fighting in Syria and that this reality must change.”

“Any talks to overcome the current security situation in the country necessitates a change in the reality of things and this is what's expected from the new cabinet. Any cabinet should adopt new policies,” Geagea said during a press conference held in Maarab.

President Michel Suleiman noted Thursday that "those who are currently objecting" against the Baabda Declaration "will start calling for its implementation in the future,” stressing that he would leave office even if the presidential vote was not held on time.

“Believe me, those who are currently objecting against the Declaration will start calling for its implementation later on,” Suleiman said in an interview with the al-Nashra magazine that is published by the Beirut Bar Association.

The March 14 General Secretariat condemned on Thursday Hizbullah's statement on the Israeli strike that targeted one of its positions on Monday, saying that the army is the sole protector of the Lebanese border.

It demanded in its weekly statement that “the Army Command issue a clear and honest communique over the details of the strike.”

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil hailed on Thursday the Bkirki charter, noting that it garnered the approval of all political powers.

He said: “The charter should serve as the main basis for dialogue and openness between the Lebanese people.”

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc hoped on Thursday that government's policy statement would focus on national principles that enjoyed consensus among the rival political powers.

It said after its weekly meeting: “The ministerial statement should adhere to the Baabda Declaration and Bkirki charter and commit to the policy of disassociation from regional crises.”