Al-Mustaqbal Movement on Monday agreed with the Army Command on a plan for resolving the Arsal stand-off that would “preserve the dignity of the army and appease the town's residents,” a media report said.

The reported agreement was struck during a meeting between a Mustaqbal delegation and Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji on Monday afternoon in Yarze.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun pledged on Monday to uproot corruption in Lebanon, stressing the importance of controlling public funds in the country.

He said: “We are waging a war to liberate Lebanese society from corruption.”

The Phalange Party announced on Monday that it has devised a new parliamentary electoral law, which it will present to the electoral subcommittee.

The new law is based on the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems, revealed MP Sami Gemayel after the party's weekly politburo meeting.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat accused some “outsiders” of seeking to tarnish Arsal's image, demanding that all sides support the army and refrain from victimizing the Bekaa town.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa website: “Some small MPs and sons of MPs are exploiting the confusion within the Mustaqbal Movement in order to achieve governmental gain.”

A police adjutant was killed and three inmates were injured on Monday when a truck transporting prisoners overturned on the Dora highway leading to Beirut, the state-run National News Agency reported.

NNA identified the adjutant as Hashem H. It said the three prisoners were taken to the nearby St. Joseph hospital.

Suspected members of an armed group were on Monday charged in connection with the ambush of an army patrol in the northeastern town of Arsal that left two soldiers dead.

State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged 34 people and summoned Arsal municipal chief, Ali al-Hujairi, to question him as a witness, the state-run National News Agency said.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi will head to Iraq and Russia soon after he made a short visit to Syria over the weekend.

According to An Nahar newspaper published on Monday, al-Rahi will head to Iraq during the upcoming two weeks to attend the enthronement of Louis Sako, the new patriarch of the Chaldean church.

The cabinet on Wednesday is expected to witness a heated debate over a proposal by Interior Minister Marwan Charbel to begin the formation of an independent authority overseeing the elections, local newspapers reported.

According to As Safir newspaper published on Monday, the March 8 alliance completely rejects holding the upcoming parliamentary elections based on the 1960 winner-takes-all system, which indicates that sharp differences over the matter will loom during the session at the Baabda Palace.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati denied on Monday that the government would increase the Value Added Tax after a related article was put on the agenda of the cabinet that is set to meet later this week.

Both Miqati and Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi said in remarks to An Nahar daily that the article does not call for an increase in VAT from 10 to 12 percent. But it calls for amendments on taxes to provide incentives for companies.

The electoral subcommittee resumed talks on Monday to find common ground between rival parties on an electoral law that better represents all Lebanese factions and sects.

The subcommittee chairman MP Robert Ghanem told reporters gathered at the parliament after the first round of talks that “Tuesday is the last day to suggest amendments on the hybrid electoral law.”