Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi criticized on Sunday the political disputes in Lebanon that have crippled the country on the social and economic levels.

He said during his Sunday sermon: “We cannot accept the crippling of political life and its consequences on other fields in Lebanon.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat is preparing to hold a meeting with Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to inform him of his foreign visits and explain his recent positions that contradict Hizbullah’s, reported the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa newspaper on Sunday.

A leading March 14 camp official noted however that it is too soon to talk about Jumblat shifting his political positions.

France will retaliate “firmly” with any new attack against the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, French sources told the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in remarks published on Sunday.

“France is very upset with the recent attack against the international troops,” they added.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s circles voiced their satisfaction with international positions on the new government.

The premier had held talks on Saturday with Speaker Nabih Berri, in his first activity since returning to Lebanon from vacation.

Mustaqbal bloc MP Nohad al-Mashnouq described the government as being that of the suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri seeing as it includes Hizbullah members.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon released the first phase of its indictment in June, as well as arrest warrants against four Hizbullah members suspected of being involved in Hariri’s 2005 assassination.

Syrian President Bashar Assad requested from Energy Minister Jebran Bassil to allow Russian companies to handle drilling for oil and gas discovered in the Mediterranean Sea adjacent to Lebanon’s coast, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.

It said that Assad made his request when he held talks with the Lebanese minister in Damascus on Monday.

Revealing the names of the suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is part of a routine procedure aimed at exhausting all methods to inform the public about suspects, explained legal sources to the daily An Nahar in remarks published on Sunday.

This way, the public is given the opportunity to report any sighting of the suspects, they added.

The head of the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc former Prime Minister Fouad Saniora stated that the bloc supports national dialogue, but on condition that it have a purpose and be able to achieve its goals.

He told An Nahar daily in remarks published on Sunday: “This matter calls for restricting the talks to addressing Hizbullah’s possession of arms according to the dialogue that was held in March 2006.”

The blast that took place in the Rouwais area in Beirut’s southern suburbs was targeting former detainee in Israeli jail, Samir al-Qontar, revealed the daily An Nahar on Sunday from official security information.

It noted that the blast, which Hizbullah’s media department said was caused by the explosion of a gas canister, erupted in the neighborhood where the former prisoner lives.

Head of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Defense Office Francois Roux stated that nothing is off limits in defending suspects in the trial of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, saying that their lawyers can bring up any matter related to the case, especially regarding the legitimacy of the court and the prosecutor’s evidence.

He noted however to the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper in remarks published on Sunday that the transparency of the court should not be questioned at the moment because it hasn’t conducted its judicial work yet.