An explosion caused by a gas leak ripped through the Senses health club and spa in Kaslik, north of Beirut on Saturday, causing material damage only, the head of the Internal Security Forces in Mount Lebanon, Brig. Gen. Joseph Dwaihi said.

The investigation carried out by forensic teams and explosives experts at the seafront resort found that the incident was not a sabotage and was the result of a gas leak, the National News Agency quoted Dwaihi as saying.

The cabinet will most likely deliberate on a fourth decision on the wage hike next week as the Shura Council is inclined to disapprove a proposal made by Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas, An Nahar daily said Saturday.

The third government decision came last week after Nahhas made a proposal to set the minimum wage at LL868,000 – a sum that includes a LL236,000 transportation allowance.

The Syrian mission at the U.N. delivered a letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the “terrorist bombings” in Damascus in which it included statements made by Lebanese Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn on al-Qaida.

An Nahar daily said Saturday that the Lebanese foreign ministry was informed about the letter by Lebanon’s permanent mission to the U.N.

Speaker Nabih Berri has criticized Premier Najib Miqati for warning that he would confront any attempt to target the authorities of the prime minister.

Former Minister Albert Mansour on Friday quoted Berri as saying that “constitutionally, there is no institution called the premiership.”

President Michel Suleiman is seeking to relaunch the National Dialogue at Baabda Palace to discuss the country’s defense strategy which he sees should be based on “the positive investment of the resistance weapons,” his sources said.

The sources told As Safir daily published Saturday that Suleiman met with the presidential team involved in the all-party talks to discuss what the National Dialogue has achieved and the reasons preventing the implementation of previous decisions particularly the disarmament of Palestinian bases outside the camps.

Hizbullah is seeking to introduce a new national pact in Lebanon given the various regional developments that have taken place in 2011, reported Akhbar al-Yawm news agency on Friday.

An informed source told the news agency that the party does not believe that the Taif accord “is holy and should not be altered.”

Hundreds of protesters hit the streets in north Lebanon Friday to support the revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, organizing blood drives and marching towards the volatile border.

Some 500 Lebanese and Syrians rallied near a border crossing in the Akkar district of Wadi Khaled, which straddles the Syrian border, amid tight security.

A Palestinian, who was suspected of being behind the assassination of Palestinian Armed Struggle chief Mahmoud Issa, has been released, reported Voice of Lebanon radio on Friday.

Abed Abdullah al-Ghazi was released after the Lebanese judiciary interrogated him over his role in the murder of Amer Fustoq.

Security forces on Friday closed all the roads leading to the U.S. Embassy in Awkar because of a nearby rally that was held in celebration of the American withdrawal from Iraq, reported Voice of Lebanon radio.

A statement from the demonstrators praised “the Iraqi people and their resistance that contributed to the country’s liberation.”

President Michel Suleiman on Friday congratulated the Lebanese on the occasion of the New Year, hoping 2012 would be a year of dialogue, understanding and stability.

In a statement issued by his press office, Suleiman hoped “2012 would bring happiness and stability for the nation and would be a year of dialogue and understanding” that would contribute to the productivity of public institutions.