Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi hoped in his Sunday sermon for the national dialogue that President Michel Suleiman has called for to be “fruitful.”

Suleiman has invited political leaders from across the political spectrum to attend the dialogue session at Baabda palace on Monday.

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi expressed concern over the situation in Lebanon but stressed the body will not make an initiative to resolve the security incidents in the country as long as Lebanese officials haven’t asked for assistance.

“Signs (that the situation) in Lebanon would ignite are very worrying,” al-Arabi told the Saudi Okaz daily in an interview published Sunday. “I hope that doesn’t happen.”

Speaker Nabih Berri said Sunday that hadn’t there been fears of sectarian strife in Lebanon, the parliament would have resorted to a vote of confidence against Premier Najib Miqati’s government.

In an interview with the Saudi Okaz newspaper, Berri said: “We will continue through the parliament to pressure the government to force it into speeding up” the procedures that would lead to oil exploration in Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

The northern city of Tripoli witnessed security violations on Saturday as mild sniper activity renewed in breach of the ceasefire while the army remained deployed in the city.

The National News Agency reported that a child was slightly wounded in sniper gunshots in Bab al-Tabbaneh.

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour expressed optimism on Saturday that the upcoming days would hold positive news concerning the 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims abducted last month in Syria.

“The video aired by al-Jazeera television relieved us,” Mansour told Voice of Lebanon Radio (93.3).

Jordan's King Abdullah II expressed his condolences on Saturday to the family of “Dean of Journalists” Ghassan Tueni.

"We express our sincerest sympathies for this profound affliction,” the king said in a letter sent to the Tueni family.

Secretary General of the Jordanian Foreign Ministry Mohammed Ali al-Zahir denied on Saturday that his country decided to temporarily “postpone” and “cancel” any official visits to Lebanon.

“The recent reports are false,” Zahir told reporters after holding talks with Prime Minister Najib Miqati at the Grand Serail.

The funeral of “Dean of Journalists” Ghassan Tueni was held on Saturday amid a heavy official and media presence.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati eulogized Tueni, saying: “I am honored to stand before you as we say farewell.”

The Internal Security Forces issued an order on Saturday to ban motorcycles from the northern city of Tripoli.

The decision includes registered and illegal vehicles.

Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh stated that he understands how Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah would send a representative to the national dialogue on Monday out of security fears, adding however he does not understand how others would want to follow suit, reported As Safir newspaper on Saturday.

He told the newspaper: “If Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea wants to send a representative for security reasons, then we will do the same.”