U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly held talks on Tuesday with Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on the political and security situation in Lebanon and the current situation in Syria.

She stressed after the meeting “U.S. concerns that developments in Syria not contribute to instability in Lebanon.”

The decision has been taken to remove the Jal el-Dib bridge “as soon as possible” in order to avoid a possible “disaster,” Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said Tuesday, after the collapse of a building in Ashrafiyeh that left 27 people dead stirred fears of the possibility of similar disasters.

Numerous complaints have been made about the weary metal bridge on the Jal el-Dib highway, north of Beirut. But Charbel reassured that “there is no need to panic,” saying the relevant authorities had taken the “necessary precautions.”

Israel has serious concerns about what will happen to "huge stockpiles" of chemical and biological weapons in Syria when the Assad regime collapses, a senior military official said on Tuesday.

Major-General Amir Eshel, head of the Israeli military's planning division, said the working assumption was the regime of President Bashar Assad would eventually fall.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Speaker Nabih Berri launched on Tuesday the 300-million dollar Litani River project to irrigate land in southern Lebanon.

Miqati said at the launch at the Grand Serail: “Its success cannot be achieved without fortifying Lebanon’s stability.”

A Bangkok court ordered on Tuesday a Lebanese-Swedish Hizbullah suspect detained for 12 days for illegally possessing explosive materials.

Thai police charged Atris Hussein on Monday after he led them to a warehouse containing four tons of urea fertilizer and several gallons of liquid ammonium nitrate.

President Michel Suleiman vowed on Tuesday to resume the National Dialogue and said the success of the Arab initiative to resolve the Syrian crisis falls in Lebanon’s interest.

“I will continue to exert efforts to guarantee all the necessary conditions to resume dialogue between all parties to preserve the safety of the Lebanese” and achieve a national defense strategy, Suleiman told the diplomatic corps that was in Baabda palace for a protocol visit on the occasion of the New Year.

Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi revealed on Tuesday that the probe in the 2010 crash of the Ethiopian plane off the Lebanese coast, in which all 90 people on board died, points to a pilot error.

“The truth is in the Lebanese report, the pilot is completely responsible for the plane crash,” the minister said during a press conference held at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International airport.

Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel confirmed on Tuesday that he disagreed with his allies in the March 14 forces on the situation in Syria, saying Lebanon had no interest in shoving itself in the internal affairs of the neighboring country.

In an interview with As Safir newspaper, Gemayel said: “We have differences on how to deal with the Syrian issue and this is no secret.”

Rescuers have recovered 27 bodies from the rubble of a collapsed building in Ashrafiyeh amid fears that 20,000 structures could face a similar fate if the government doesn’t take quick action.

The rescue teams called off the search for survivors on Monday night after only finding bodies throughout the day. The dead included 11 Lebanese and 16 foreigners, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told Voice of Lebanon radio station on Tuesday.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said on Tuesday that the ongoing Syrian crisis poses a threat to the neighboring countries and the region in general.

“The 10-month revolt in Syria, seems endless after President Bashar Assad’s speech… which threatens the neighboring countries and the region,” Geagea said in remarks published in An Nahar newspaper.