An American official stressed that espionage will always be fraught with dangers, reported As Safir newspaper on Tuesday.

He told the newspaper that collecting information about enemies who are always trying to uncover spies within their ranks will always be a risky matter.

Head of the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, former premier Fouad Saniora, warned Monday that “those who disavow the Special Tribunal for Lebanon would be exposing Lebanon to danger.”

In an interview on MTV, Saniora said “financing is one of the aspects of dealing with the tribunal, but respecting the protocol signed between the Lebanese state and the STL is what’s important.”

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel on Monday announced the arrest of three people in connection with Wednesday’s ransacking of the Greek Orthodox Archbishopric in Beirut’s Ashrafieh district.

The incident “has no political or sectarian motivations and it was only aimed at theft,” Charbel told OTV.

President Michel Suleiman on Monday called for “adhering to international legitimacy” and honoring Lebanon’s commitments towards the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

In a televised address to the nation on the 68th anniversary of Lebanon’s independence, Suleiman said “there is a duty to adhere to international legitimacy, including to the STL, for the sake of justice rather than out of fear of sanctions.”

The Phalange Party hoped on Monday that Lebanon’s Independence Day on Tuesday would be an occasion for all sides to become aware of the meaning of independence for which thousands of Lebanese martyrs have died for.

It hoped in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting that the “Lebanese government would assume its responsibilities for Lebanon and the region during these critical moments.”

Hizbullah and the AMAL movement on Monday said they would continue to stand by Syria and Iran against "international conspiracies" and "threats", as global pressure mounts on the two countries.

"The current events in Syria are clearly an international conspiracy against Syria's support for Arab and Islamic resistance movements in the region," they said in a joint statement.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat voiced on Monday his support of the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, adding that the party understands Hizbullah’s insecurities over the matter.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “Keeping in mind its reservations, Hizbullah should cooperate positively with the issue of the funding in order to ease the tensions on the internal Lebanese scene.”

March 14 camp MPs withdrew on Monday from the parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee meeting over accusations Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan directed against the head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora, reported Voice of Lebanon radio.

It said that the MPs refuse to return to the committee before Kanaan issues an apology over his allegations.

Scores of relatives of prisoners asking for general amnesty stormed the Grand Serail’s outside courtyard on Monday to protest the government’s failure to reduce prison sentences of inmates in jails across the country .

MP Ghassan Mkhaiber told Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3) that the families of prisoners stormed the courtyard before the formation of a delegation that was set to meet with Premier Najib Miqati.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stressed on Monday on the importance of launching dialogue with the Muslims amid the developments in the region.

“We are looking forward to cooperate and launch dialogue with the Muslims … We are reaching for them to overcome challenges and difficulties in the East,” al-Rahi said at the opening of the Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops Council in its 45th annual meeting.