A Foreign Ministry source told Akhbar al-Yawm news agency that caretaker Foreign Minister Ali Shami will continue on coordinating his positions with Speaker Nabih Berri, while protocol requires him to consult with the prime minister and president.

This position came in light of Shami’s request on Tuesday from Lebanon’s Ambassador to the U.N. Nawwaf Salam not to approve a Security Council statement condemning the use of violence against protestors in Syria.

March 14 General Secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid criticized on Wednesday Speaker Nabih Berri’s recent statements on Syria, saying that they “involve Lebanon in Syria’s internal affairs in a very dangerous manner.”

He said after the general secretariat’s weekly meeting: “His statements expose Lebanon on all levels and we question such remarks seeing as they were issued from a man of state such as Nabih Berri.”

Speaker Nabih Berri questioned on Wednesday the delay in the government formation, stressing the need for its establishment given the difficult situation Lebanon and the region are going through.

He said during his weekly meeting with MPs at parliament that all sides should exercise diligence to confront the challenges facing Lebanon and the Lebanese.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said Wednesday that it hasn’t been informed by Italy about its intention to reduce the number of its troops in the south.

“UNIFIL hasn’t been officially notified about Italy’s intention to downsize its troops,” UNIFIL Spokesman Neeraj Singh told Akhbar al-Yawm agency.

Premier-designate Najib Miqati was reportedly readying a cabinet lineup had Hizbullah agreed to name its ministers but the Shiite group stressed that a solution to the bickering between President Michel Suleiman and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun should be found before making that step.

As Safir daily said Wednesday that Hizbullah’s stance was seen as a covert support for Aoun who is demanding the interior ministry portfolio as part of his share in the new government. But Suleiman is adamant on keeping the ministry which is headed by Ziad Baroud in the caretaker cabinet.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stressed the need for renewing contacts between caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri and between Speaker Nabih Berri and Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

The severance of contacts will only lead to more problems, he said.

Building violations on state property have reached dangerous proportions after violations neared the fence of Rafik Hariri international airport, An Nahar newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The daily said that violators had built illegally on state property near the new 16th seaside tarmac of the airport and the old number 17 runway, the daily said, warning that such a move could go all the way towards putting the facility on the international blacklist.

Caretaker Foreign Minister Ali al-Shami’s latest instructions to Lebanon’s ambassador to the U.N. drew the ire of the March 14 forces that accused him of overstepping President Michel Suleiman and Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri.

Al-Shami instructed Ambassador Nawaf Salam on Tuesday not to approve a draft Security Council statement criticizing Syria for its crackdown on anti-regime protesters.

More than 100 Lebanese activists, journalists and intellectuals signed a petition on Tuesday in solidarity with protesters in Syria, Beirut's former military and political power broker.

"We the undersigned... condemn the oppression of the Syrian people... and declare our solidarity with them in their battle to regain their freedom and dignity," read the petition, a copy of which was obtained by Agence France Presse.

France has said that all Lebanese parties should work together through dialogue to preserve the unity and sovereignty of their country.

“It is important that Lebanese parties work together with the mentality of dialogue and understanding to preserve the unity, sovereignty and independence of Lebanon,” the French foreign ministry spokesman said in response to a question on French Ambassador Denis Pietton’s call for consensus on the new cabinet.