Former premier Saad Hariri condemned Wednesday what he called the “assassination” of three Lebanese young men at the hands of Syrian security forces in the northern Lebanese border area of Wadi Khaled.

In a statement issued by his press office, Hariri held Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s government responsible for “the frequent Syrian violations against Lebanese citizens and Lebanese sovereignty.”

A cautious calm prevailed in the Wadi Khaled area of the northern district of Akkar on Wednesday, a day after Syrian troops entered Lebanese territories and killed three men.

Kasser Hussein al-Zeit and his brother Ahmed, who hail from the Syrian town of Heit, and their cousin Maher Ali al-Zeit, who resides in Majdal in Wadi Khaled, were killed on Tuesday when the Syrian army intelligence members reached the outskirts of al-Mqaibleh and opened fire on their vehicle, An Nahar daily said.

A wage hike made by the cabinet last week will most likely not be published in the official gazette this year as the Shura Council failed to issue its stance on the decision ahead of the last government session for 2011.

The cabinet convened at Baabda palace at noon Wednesday to discuss 37 items placed on its agenda. President Michel Suleiman and Premier Najib Miqati held closed-door talks ahead of the session.

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said on Wednesday that Lebanon decided not to participate in the Arab League observer mission in Syria in order to “dissociate” itself from the crisis.

“Prime Minister Najib Miqati decided after discussing the issue with President Michel Suleiman not to participate in the mission,” Mansour told As Safir newspaper.

An explosion tore through a restaurant in the southern city of Tyre at dawn Wednesday in an alleged attempt to thwart its owner from holding New Year’s Eve celebrations and serving alcohol.

The explosion, which happened at around 5:00 am local time, was caused by a two kilogram bomb made of TNT that was left on the staircase of the seaside Tyros restaurant. There were no injuries.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday reiterated “France’s firm commitment towards respecting Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as a result of the special ties between the two countries.”

In a letter he sent to President Michel Suleiman, Sarkozy stressed that “Lebanon’s stability and freedom are now more vital than ever,” noting that “Lebanon and France, as usual, must stand by each other and demonstrate their common determination in the face of hardships.”

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Tuesday noted that embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had “launched reforms in March” in his revolt-hit country, calling for “closing all doors and windows in the face of the foreign plots against the Levant.”

Addressing a Syrian delegation from the coastal city of Tartous that visited him in Bkirki, al-Rahi said: “Together with you, we are looking forward to the implementation of the vital constitutional reforms Syria is in need of, and I know that the president launched those reforms in March.”

The Mustaqbal bloc condemned on Tuesday Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn’s statements last week that al-Qaida members had infiltrated the Bekaa town of Arsal and then headed to Syria, saying that he should not issue such claims without basing them on facts.

The bloc said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “We will resort to all possible democratic and parliamentary measures to hold the minister accountable for his accusations.”

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun revealed on Tuesday that armed individuals had infiltrated Lebanon in the east, indirectly implying that they had arrived from Syria.

He said after the Change and Reform bloc’s weekly meeting: “We will support Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s position on the possession of arms in Lebanon when the time comes.”

A delegation of Beirut MPs held talks on Tuesday with Prime Minister Najib Miqati on the need to establish an arms-free Beirut.

MP Ammar Houri revealed after the meeting that the premier had requested the concerned security forces to devise a plan on achieving this goal.