Former Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir on Monday said that if he made a trip to Syria, it could have interpreted that he is following its policies, whereas he only adheres to the Lebanese path.

In an interview to Future News, Sfeir expressed his belief that the Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's positions match those of the Vatican.

Syria's Grand Mufti Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, the country's highest religious authority, has warned Europe, the United States and Israel of suicide bombings if they attack his country.

"From the first round fired, the sons of Syria and Lebanon will become fighters who will carry out suicide attacks on the land of Europe and Palestine," the mufti said in a speech viewed on the Internet video-sharing website YouTube.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat condemned on Monday the riots that have taken place in Egypt over the weekend, voicing his confidence in the Egyptian security forces’ ability in restoring stability.

He warned in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “It’s necessary to prevent the unrest from developing into sectarian strife.”

Lebanese politicians and clergymen have condemned on Monday the riots between Christians and Muslims in Egypt, with some labeling them as being part of an American agenda to fragment the region, while others viewing them as an impediment to democracy.

Hizbullah voiced in a statement “its great pain and sorrow over the developments in Egypt”, saying they are part of the American agenda bent on “completely fragmenting the region along religious and racial lines.”

Judge Sir David Baragwanath has been unanimously elected President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and Presiding Judge of the Appeals Chamber after Judge Antonio Cassese resigned on health grounds, the STL said Monday.

Cassese will continue to serve as a Judge of the Appeals Chamber, it said.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel stated on Monday that the parliamentary electoral law that was agreed upon with the committee charged with devising a new law “does not resemble the old one any way shape or form.”

He said during a press conference: “An electoral law based on proportional representation is the best solution for Lebanon.”

Speaker Nabih Berri urged officials not to issue a final judgment on the 2012 draft state budget because he said it could be amended during discussions at the cabinet or parliament.

Berri told As Safir daily published Monday that the draft has some positive and negative aspects. Among the negative articles is a proposed 2 percent hike in Value Added Tax. VAT currently stands at 10 percent.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said on Monday that most officials discussing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon are missing out on its purpose which is related to justice, stressing that the silence over the Syrian infiltration in the eastern Bekaa valley can be considered a “national treason.”

“They are tackling it (the STL) from a technical point of view, but it is a moral compensation to the millions who lost their beloved ones… To stop the political crimes and to establish the civil peace,” Geagea told al-Joumhouria newspaper.

The General Labor Confederation was on Monday gearing up for a strike that it plans to hold later in the week as its demand for more than doubling the minimum wage is not likely to be approved by the government and business leaders.

GLC President Ghassan Ghosn told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) that labor unions would hold the nationwide strike on Wednesday if its calls for increasing wages to LL1,250,000 did not receive any support.

The March 14-led opposition warned against any attempt by the March 8 forces to obstruct the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, An Nahar newspaper reported on Monday.

High-ranking opposition sources said that March 8 is “trapping” PM Najib Miqati to subject the funding issue to vote in the cabinet or turn the file into the parliament.