Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Wednesday the importance of the conference on the Christians in the Middle East that will be held at the Universite Saint-Esprit de Kaslik.

During his weekly meeting with lawmakers in parliament, Berri lauded the historic role of Christians whom he said are an essential component of the region’s people.

Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi has told National Struggle Front MP Akram Shehayyeb that the probe into the disappearance of Syrian opposition activist Shebli al-Aisamy was ongoing, An Nahar daily reported on Wednesday.

Shehayyeb visited Rifi on Tuesday, a day after heated arguments between March 8 and 14 lawmakers during the meeting of the parliamentary human rights committee that discussed the ISF chief’s report on the kidnapping of Syrian opposition members in Lebanon.

A visiting U.S. State Department official on Tuesday underscored “the need for Lebanon to meet all of its international obligations,” the U.S. embassy in Lebanon said.

“Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Jake Walles, visited Lebanon and met with senior officials to discuss the political, security, and economic situation in Lebanon, as well as the current situation in Syria,” the embassy said in a statement.

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday “strongly condemned the stance voiced yesterday by Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in which he reiterated his rejection and opposition to funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.”

“The Lebanese and the martyrs’ families were not surprised by Hizbullah’s position … especially as the party continues to protect its members,” who are wanted by the STL on charges of being involved in the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri, the bloc said.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi arrived Tuesday at the Vatican for a one-week visit, after wrapping up his pastoral trip to the United Stated.

Upon his arrival, al-Rahi called at the St. Maroun Church for “a profound prayer for the sake of Lebanon and peace in the Middle East.”

The telecommunications ministry on Tuesday denied that Hizbullah had installed a private telecom network in the town of Tarshish using state infrastructure.

“After the incident that happened in the town of Tarshish, Telecom Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui tasked a technical team with inspecting the works being executed as part of the national project for extending the fiber-optic network,” the ministry said in a statement.

Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani was admitted Tuesday to hospital after suffering a sudden illness, state-run National News Agency reported.

“Qabbani was admitted to the Clemenceau Medical Center in Beirut, where he is receiving the necessary treatment after suffering a medical emergency,” NNA said.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Najib Miqati of “breaking the laws and covering up major violations.”

OGERO chief “Abdul Monem Youssef is being treated as a saint because we do not want to upset the premier. It seems that the premier believes he can only get stronger through breaking the laws and covering up major violations,” Aoun said.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Tuesday said that “the session held Monday by the (parliamentary) human rights committee had witnessed a real charade, as the judiciary was used to cover up an operation whose chapters are still shrouded in mystery.”

Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal MPs wrangled on Monday at the committee meeting which witnessed curses, threats and counter accusations.

Grand Shiite Jaafarite Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan left for the Vatican at the head of an Islamic delegation on Tuesday to attend an interreligious prayer for peace.

The visit comes in response to an invitation by Pope Benedict XVI to take part in the 25th anniversary of the first such prayer.