A cabinet decision to increase wages has led to a new crisis in Lebanon after it angered some labor unions for not meeting its expectations and drew strong criticism from business leaders over their fears that the government’s move would shatter the Lebanese economy.

The cabinet will now have to confront the chaos that resulted from its decision on Tuesday to increase the minimum wage to LL700,000 from LL500,000. It also raised by LL200,000 the wages of workers earning less than LL1 million and by LL300,000 those earning between LL1 million and LL1.8 million.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Registrar Herman Von Hebel expected from Lebanon to pay its share of the tribunal funding by the end of October, An Nahar newspaper reported on Thursday.

“Lebanon has 30 days to pay its share,” Von Hebel said during a press conference in New York.

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel expressed his concern over the repeated Syrian violations of the Lebanese territories which have become disturbing on the national, security and sovereign levels.

In an interview with Radio "Voice of Lebanon" (100.3-100.5), Gemayel stressed that the government and the security forces should tell the people who " have a right to know what is going on", about these violations.

Lebanese police have information implicating Damascus' embassy in Beirut in the disappearance of a Syrian opposition figure last seen in May, an MP Sami Gemayel said on Wednesday.

Police chief Ashraf Rifi told a parliamentary committee on human rights that he had collected "dangerous information" pointing to the embassy in the disappearance of Shebli al-Aysami, Gemayel told Agence France Presse.

A Syrian army unit entered Lebanon on Wednesday and headed towards the Wadi Anjar region in the Bekaa where it set up base past the sand barrier which the Lebanese army had set up years ago to mark the borders, reported Voice of Lebanon radio.

The coordination and cooperation office between the two armies began their contacts to tackle the matter, with the army command demanding that the Syrian troops withdraw from Lebanon.

The March 14 General Secretariat condemned on Wednesday the Syrian army’s recent incursions into Lebanese territory, demanding that the parliamentary defense council convene with the defense minister and army command to tackle the affair.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “Syria’s violations should be brought up before all Arab and international forums.”

A meeting was held on Tuesday between Christian and Muslim figures at the residence of former MP Mikhael al-Daher in response to the “Lady of the Mountain” meeting that is scheduled to be held on Oct. 23.

The meeting was held in the presence of former Ministers and MPs from the tenure of ex-Presidents Emile Lahoud and Elias al-Hrawi.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stated on Wednesday that an agreement must be reached over Hizbullah’s possession of arms, reiterating past statements that it is not normal for one Lebanese political group to possess weapons and be part of cabinet and parliament.

He said: “Some sides interpreted these remarks as a sign that I support the party’s positions, but all I wanted to say is that the international community is also responsible for this issue as Hizbullah’s arms are not only a Lebanese matter, but an international one.”

The head of the Beirut Merchant Association Nicolas Shammas said Wednesday that the private sector would adopt a tough response to a government approval to boost wages.

Representatives of the public sector are scheduled to hold a meeting at 3:00 pm to voice their outrage at the wage increase over fears that companies will have to lay off workers and even shut down their businesses.

Internal Security forces thwarted on Wednesday an attempt by six prisoners to flee from Amyoun prison in Koura, north Lebanon, the National News Agency reported.

Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) said that the inmates held cellular phones and the prison cells keys’ before the ISF and the prison wardens obstructed their attempt.