The head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad stressed in Friday the need for ongoing cooperation and coordination between Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement.

He stated after holding talks with FPM leader MP Michel Aoun: “Reports of tensions between us and the FPM are baseless.”

Syria slammed United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s recent report on the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1559, saying that it has not meddled in Lebanese affairs or infiltrated Lebanese territory, reported the daily An Nahar on Friday.

Syria’s permanent ambassador to the U.N. Bashar al-Jaafari informed Ban in a letter: “The majority of the information on Syria mentioned in the report is based on misleading and fabricated media sources.”

United Nations Security Council members urged the Lebanese cabinet to implement its international commitments, especially the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, An Nahar newspaper on Friday.

The members advised “Lebanon to implement its commitment to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and pay its dues,” the daily said.

Al-Akhbar newspaper denied on Friday that a meeting was held between Syrian president Bashar Assad and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

“The meeting was not held, the statements were not credible, and they are baseless,” the daily said.

Cabinet decided on Thursday to form a committee, headed by Prime Minister Najib Miqati, to address the State Council’s reservations on the government’s draft plan to increase minimum wage, reported the daily An Nahar on Friday.

Information Minister Walid al-Daouq quoted him as saying after the session: “We will consider the council’s position because we are keen on reaching an agreement that respects the laws and meets the employees’ demands.”

The government on Thursday approved a draft law proposed by Education Minister Hassan Diab on increasing the salaries of full-time Lebanese University professors, Information Minister Walid al-Daouq announced after a cabinet meeting.

The president of the League of Lebanese University Professors Charbel Kfoury told the daily An Nahar in remarks published on Friday: “In principle, we should be able to congratulate the Lebanese University and its professors on the achievement.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati denied on Friday that he had contacted any of the opposition figures to inquire about the decisions he takes.

“The premier’s constant approach (concerning all matters) is to stay away from any political dispute in order to achieve the Lebanese (citizens’) interests,” sources close to the PM told An Nahar newspaper.

MP Marwan Hamadeh revealed Thursday that ex-PM Saad Hariri was “unconvinced” with Premier Najib Miqati’s avowed commitment to funding the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

“Hariri is unconvinced with Miqati’s commitment to funding the STL, but we in the March 14 camp have not ruled out such a possibility,” Hamadeh said in an interview on MTV, when asked about Wednesday’s meeting in Riyadh between Hariri and a March 14 delegation.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun slammed Thursday the so-called “neutral” and “independent” politicians in the country, in an indirect attack against the ministers named by President Michel Suleiman, Premier Najib Miqati and Druze leader MP Walid Jumblat.

“Nowadays, nearly everyone is confronting us because we are changing the bad pattern into a good pattern. We are confronting the corrupts and we’re not afraid of them, as we’re ethically immunized and no one can accuse us of anything,” Aoun added at a student ceremony organized by the FPM in Dbaye.

Syrian troops early on Thursday were seen planting mines along a region bordering the northern Lebanese area of Wadi Khaled, a local Lebanese official told Agence France Presse.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said the troops began planting the mines at dawn in an area facing two Lebanese villages -- Knaysseh and al-Hnayder.