Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun stated on Tuesday that Hizbullah's expansion of its telecommunications network can be attributed to the failure to address this issue back in 2008 when this case first arose.

He said after the Change and Reform bloc's weekly meeting: “Whoever allowed Hizbullah to expand its telecommunications network in the Bekaa town of Zahle must resolve this issue to prevent unrest similar to that of May 7, 2008.”

Al-Mustaqbal bloc leader Fouad Saniora said Monday that an initiative made by Speaker Nabih Berri to resolve the country's political crisis is a waste of time, stressing his rejection to discuss the shape of the government at the all-party talks.

In remarks to Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5), Saniora said the political foes should only discuss controversial strategic issues at the national dialogue table.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc MPs discussed with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Wednesday ways to speed up the formation of a new government and launch national dialogue to resolve controversial issues, the head of the bloc, MP Fouad Saniora, said.

“The ball is in the court of the president and PM-designate to find ways to form a cabinet that would be based on either their proposal or would be made up of non-political figures,” Saniora said in Bkirki after holding talks with al-Rahi at the head of an al-Mustaqbal delegation.

Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said he informed al-Mustaqbal bloc chief Fouad Saniora that his plan for arming municipal police to provide enhanced security across Lebanon would not pave way for the rise of militias.

Saniora “expressed fears that party members would take hold of municipal work but I reassured him that I set certain standards to guarantee the safety of this mission,” Charbel told An Nahar daily published Wednesday.

A meeting held over the weekend between President Michel Suleiman and al-Mustaqbal bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora ended with no results on the form of the new government, media reports said Tuesday.

Al-Liwaa daily said that Saniora visited Suleiman at Baabda palace on Sunday to inquire him on his latest call for an all-embracing government and the resumption of the national dialogue.

The Higher Defense Council convened at the Baabda Palace on Friday in order to discuss the blast that took place in Beirut's southern suburbs on Thursday.

It said after the meeting, chaired by President Michel Suleiman: “We requested that the security agencies exert all efforts in order to apprehend those behind terrorist attacks in Lebanon.”

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani warned on Thursday against strife and called for unity among Sunnis despite being snubbed by the sect's top political leaders.

Qabbani made the appeal during his Eid al-Fitr sermon at the Mohammed al-Amin mosque in downtown Beirut. No officials attended the prayers.

Former premier Fouad Saniora, head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, on Saturday voiced "concern and regret over the reasons that led the European Union to take the decision of putting Hizbullah's so-called military wing on its terror list."

"We had commented on this issue in the bloc's statement and voiced our regret and also our concern over the reasons that led the EU to take such a decision, especially that we in Lebanon have ties of solid friendship with 28 European countries, and thus none of us would have liked to see this happening," Saniora added in a statement.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc leader Fouad Saniora has informed President Michel Suleiman about the movement's readiness to participate in an unconditional national dialogue only after the formation of the new government.

A high-ranking source told As Safir newspaper published Wendesday that an al-Mustaqbal delegation headed by Saniora returned from talks with the movement's leader ex-PM Saad Hairri in Jeddah with three conclusions.

A meeting held on Sunday between former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and a delegation from al-Mustaqbal movement addressed the on going crises in Lebanon, local newspapers reported on Monday.

According to al-Joumhouria newspaper, discussions with the delegation, which is comprised of ex-PM Fouad Saniora and MPs Ahmed Fatfat and Nohad al-Mashnouq, focused on the formation of the cabinet and the resumption of the national dialogue.