A 16-year-old Lebanese boy was shot and fatally wounded after gunmen opened fire on a fishing boat on the maritime border with Syria on Saturday, his father and a local official told Agence France Presse.

"My wife crossed the border into Syria and has seen his body in the morgue of Bassel Assad hospital" in the coastal city of Tartus, said Ahmad Hamad of his son Maher.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati sent his adviser Issa al-Khoury to Bkirki on Friday in order to ease tensions with Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi over the government’s “slow” approach in settling the appointments file, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

Minister of Administrative Development Mohammed Fneish stressed that this issue requires political consensus in order to be resolved, reported As Safire newspaper on Saturday.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat described on Saturday his meeting with Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani as “friendly and positive,” reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

He told the daily: “The talks focused on the ongoing developments in the Arab world and Qatar’s role in supporting youth movements striving for freedom and democracy.”

Cabinet is expected to convene at the Baabda Palace on Monday and Tuesday in order to continue address the remaining articles on its previous agendas, most notably the Jal el-Dib bridge, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

The sessions are also expected to address the 2012 state budget, which was referred to the government my Finance Minister Mohammed al-Safadi months ago, but put on hold to await minister remarks on it, said the daily.

Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas reiterated on Saturday that he will not approve the transportation allowance taken by the cabinet because it’s "illegal."

Free Patriotic Movement Leader MP Michek “Aoun’s position is similar to mine” Nahhas told OTV after meeting with Aoun in Rabiyeh.

The committee tasked by the Bkirki Maronite Summit to follow up on the issue of drafting a new electoral law stressed Friday during talks with President Michel Suleiman its “keenness on real national partnership among the country’s components.”

It also emphasized its “adherence to coexistence, pluralism and equal power-sharing,” according to a statement it issued after the meeting at the Baabda Palace.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy stressed on Friday that his country will maintain its support for Lebanon, noting that French troops have been participating in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon for some 30 years.

He therefore warned that anyone who attacks a single French soldier will have to suffer the consequences of their action.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Friday the importance of Lebanon exploiting its petroleum wealth, saying that the oil will bring the country economic comfort.

He added before members of the Editors Syndicate: “The state appointments and formation of the petroleum regulatory authority should be a priority for the government.”

Thailand charged another Lebanese Hizbullah suspect identified as James Sammy Paolo, who is an alleged accomplice of Hussein Atris, for planning to carry out a terrorist activity.

The Criminal Court in Thailand issued on Thursday an arrest warrant against Paolo, 40, who will face the same charges as Atris, of possessing forbidden chemical substances.

A judge charged on Friday the owners of the building that collapsed in the Beirut neighborhood of Ashrafiyeh for causing the death of 27 people due to negligence.

Beirut Prosecutor Judge George Karam filed the charges against Michel and Claude Saadeh based on articles 564 and 565 of the criminal law.