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.

Speaker Nabih Berri has promised to put a $5.9 billion 2011 spending bill on the agenda of a parliamentary session during an extraordinary round that lasts till March 19.

Ministerial sources told Beirut dailies on Tuesday that cabinet ministers deliberated the issue during a session held at Baabda palace a day earlier.

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour on Monday said he was confident that missing Imam Moussa al-Sadr and his two companions were still alive, upon his return from a several-day visit to Libya, where the three were last seen.

“The Libyan leaders expressed their readiness to closely follow up on the case,” Mansour said in an interview with NBN television.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has warned that revolt-hit Syria might “descend into civil war if the bloodshed continues,” stressing that the Arab peoples “can no longer tolerate autocratic parties and rulers.”

In his weekly column in his party’s Al-Anbaa newspaper to be published Tuesday, Jumblat said: “The Arab peoples can no longer tolerate autocratic parties and rulers, and the freedom fighters and revolutionaries in all countries do not buy anymore the obsolete rhetoric that was used for years to control the masses.”

An Internal Security Forces member was injured in a gunfight with robbers of a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in the southern city of Sidon at dawn Monday, the National News Agency reported.

NNA said that gunmen had stolen around 10 million liras from KFC and were fleeing at around 3:30 am when they were taken by surprise by an ISF patrol.

Thai authorities charged on Monday a Lebanese Hizbullah suspect with illegally possessing explosive materials. He faces up to five years in prison.

Atris Hussein was detained by police Thursday at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport, trying to leave the country. Police are still looking for another Lebanese suspect.

The cabinet session scheduled to be held at the Baabda Palace will not tackle the wage boost dispute as parties involved in the matter failed to reach consensus, according to newspapers published on Monday.

Speaker Nabih Berri voiced his support to the deal between the Economic Committees and the General Labor Confederation that was sponsored by Prime Minister Najib Miqati at the Baabda Palace in December.

A ceremony will be held at the Grand Serail on Tuesday to launch the 300-million-dollar Litani river project to irrigate agricultural land in southern Lebanon, As Safir daily reported.

The newspaper said that Premier Najib Miqati, Speaker Nabih Berri and MPs from the Development and Liberation bloc will attend the event. Representatives of Arab funds, particularly the Kuwaiti Fund, will also be present.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stressed on Monday the importance of maintaining stability in Lebanon to avert any repercussions the Syrian crisis may have on the country.

Jumblat told As Safir newspaper that his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Saturday tackled the Lebanese local situation.

The discussion of diplomatic appointments by the cabinet on Monday hinges on a last-minute deal among top officials on taking the measure in a single step or on several stages, informed sources said.

The sources told As Safir daily that linking the appointments of civil servants from all ranks would hinder the process.