General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim on Monday said that officers from his directorate met with representatives of the kidnappers of the Maalula nuns, in the presence of a Qatari delegation, as part of efforts to release the abducted women.

In an interview with An Nahar newspaper, of which excerpts were published in the afternoon, Ibrahim said he held talks at his office with the Qatari team that is tasked with following up on the ongoing negotiations.

The Phalange Party announced on Monday that it is more concerned with the policy statement of the new government rather than how many seats it obtains.

MP Sami Gemayel said after the party's weekly politburo meeting: “It would be impossible for us to take part in a cabinet that protects illegitimate arms and protects Hizbullah's fighting in Syria.”

An Israeli unit carried out on Monday some road work near the southern town of Rmeish, reported the National News Agency.

It said that the unit, comprised of a bulldozer, Merkava tank, and a number of soldiers, created a makeshift road in the Khillet al-Qatmoun area near the Rmeish border town.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon said Monday that its Trial Chamber will hold a session on Tuesday, January 14 to hear "preliminary submissions from the Prosecution and counsel for Hassan Habib Merhi on the possible joinder of the case against Mr. Merhi with the Ayyash et al. case."

Both cases relate to the February 14, 2005 bomb attack in Beirut, which killed 22 individuals, including former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and injured 226 others.

Naharnet feature

President Michel Suleiman's recent positions and political choices have sparked debates between the various Lebanese political factions. The president, who may have been “consensually” elected in 2008 through the Doha Accord that was brought about by Hizbullah's actions on May 7, 2008, is now in a semi-overt confrontation with the party over its internal and strategic choices.

The anti-drug unit of judicial police has arrested a Lebanese man for smuggling around half a kilogram of drugs in his minivan in the eastern city of Zahle, the Internal Security Forces announced Monday.

A communique issued by the ISF General Command said the unit monitored the passenger van after receiving information that he was smuggling drugs from the Bekaa town al-Hamoudiyeh to Beirut.

President Michel Suleiman called on Monday on the political foes to bridge the gap and seek the formation of an all-embracing cabinet by passing over the details.

“We must not let the social situation in the country deteriorate further or allow the diminution of the role of the state institutions,” Suleiman stressed.

Head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora described as “good” a meeting he held on Monday with Speaker Nabih Berri.

He said after the talks: “We had a good and beneficial meeting and we will continue consultations over the formation of a new government.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday voiced his country's support for forming an all-embracing cabinet in Lebanon, hoping for the activation of the economic agreements between the two countries, “especially after the lifting of the international sanctions” that were imposed on Tehran.

Zarif's remarks were voiced at the end of an official visit to Lebanon during which he met with President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam, caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

The Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau detained two gangs formed to carry out abduction operations, the state-run National News Agency reported on Monday.

According to NNA, a joint force comprised of the intelligence bureau and Jounieh police department detained overnight a three-member gang for abducting citizen Georges Simon al-Hawa.