Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said on Thursday that he will not give up on Internal Security Chief Maj.-Gen. Ashraf Rifi, al-Mustaqbal newspaper reported.

“Rifi is one of the best officers committed to implementing the law,” he told the daily.

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Commander Major General Alberto Asarta revealed that he suggested that the international force act as a mediator between Lebanon and Israel in demarcating the maritime border.

He told Al-Akhbar newspaper in remarks published on Thursday that he hopes that this issue will be resolved during his tenure and that efforts would be made to completely designate the Blue Line as well.

The cabinet on Wednesday approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Lebanon’s energy and water ministry and Iran’s oil ministry, Information Minister Walid al-Daouq said.

The MOU includes “a cooperation agreement in the field of energy worth $50 million,” Al-Manar television reported.

Prime Minister Fouad Saniora stated on Wednesday that the Mustaqbal bloc’s call that Hizbullah’s arms be the only issue at the national dialogue table cannot be considered as a precondition seeing as this is the only issue left to be discussed at the table.

Saniora said in a statement: “We are all aspiring for the rise of the fair and capable state, which controls the arms and is able of confronting Israel.”

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed that Lebanon is determined to defend its rights and it will not tolerate the violation of its land, water or oil wealth.

He declared during Wednesday’s parliamentary meeting that Lebanon will confront any Israeli attempt to take advantage of Lebanon’s maritime border and offshore resources.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly had an introductory courtesy call on Wednesday with Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour at the Minister's offices in Ashrafieh.

Connelly and Mansour discussed the ongoing areas of bilateral cooperation between the various ministries and agencies of the Lebanese government and the U.S. government.

The March 14 general-secretariat hinted on Wednesday that national dialogue became useless after the Syria-Hizbullah alliance decided on behalf of the Lebanese to prevent the state from owning arms.

“Dialogue became useless after three years of time wasting and after the regional-local axis decided on behalf of the Lebanese what their state should not possess,” the general-secretariat said following its weekly meeting.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat announced on Wednesday that Lebanon is committed to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s decisions, adding however that this does not mean that foreign meddling in Lebanon is permitted.

He made his statements after holding talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during his ongoing visit to Russia.

The American administration will likely determine its strategy towards the Lebanese government during the upcoming weeks based on Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s handling of the arrest warrants issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, revealed official American sources to the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat on Wednesday.

They added that the U.S. is adopting a “calm tone” in tackling the Lebanese file “seeing as it has other foreign priorities in the Arab world, such as the peace process and the situation in Egypt, Syria, Libya, and Yemen.”

The predominantly Shiite town of Lassa in the Jbeil district has been transformed into a Hizbullah military base, informed sources told al-Joumhouria daily on Wednesday.

The sources said that the Shiite party dig tunnels, set up shelters in the town and installed cameras that would take photos of vehicles and drivers.