Bishop Samir Mazloum has denied that a conference of Maronite MPs that was set to be held in Bkirki next month was postponed to avoid a meeting between Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea.

In remarks to Akhbar Alyawm news agency on Monday, Mazloum stressed that the April 3 meeting was postponed after the committee tasked with drafting a law on the parliamentary elections failed to complete its mission.

The cabinet is not likely to approve a draft-law on extra-budgetary spending in 2006-2010 this week after a ministerial committee tasked with studying the issue failed to agree on the plan proposed by Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi.

The committee met under Premier Najib Miqati at the Grand Serail on Monday. But its members were incapable of overcoming their differences on the details of the spending made by the governments of ex-Premiers Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri.

Bahraini opposition activists on Monday staged a sit-in outside the headquarters of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (U.N.-ESCWA) in Beirut, condemning “the Saudi interference in Bahrain” and urging the international community to “shoulder its historic responsibilities regarding this illegitimate interference which represents a blatant occupation.”

According to a statement carried by Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, activists delivered a letter to U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly urging the United Nations to “demand the Saudi forces to withdraw from Bahrain for violating the U.N. Charter, especially the articles related to the sovereignty of nations over their territories and the prevention of interference in the domestic affairs of the countries.”

The Phalange Party praised on Monday the discovery of a ‘takfiri’ cell in the Lebanese army, which was seeking to carry out attacks against the army.

It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: “We condemn attempts to harm the military institution because it represents national unity and the country’s sovereignty.”

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour stated on Monday that the developments in Syria are not linked to the country’s opposition, reported the National News Agency.

He said: “The crisis is an excuse to settle scores with the ruling regime.”

U.S. Special Coordinator for Regional Affairs Frederic Hof visited Lebanon on Monday where he held talks with Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Miqati and other senior government officials, announced the U.S. Embassy in a statement.

He renewed his country’s commitment to a stable, sovereign, and independent Lebanon, encouraging it to continue its efforts to resolve the dispute over its maritime boundaries.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday accused Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun of waging a “campaign” against him personally and his party because of “the LF’s central role at the domestic and regional levels,” and to “deviate attention from his ministerial team’s catastrophic failure.”

“The other camp’s stances on Bkirki and the patriarch are well-known by all the Lebanese, as it has never cared for (Bkirki), especially that it has a lot of irreligious people among its ranks,” Geagea said in an interview with the privately-owned Central News Agency.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat rejected on Monday Syrian President Bashar Assad’s remarks that his regime will remain, “but Syria will be divided.”

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “The political solution that calls for the end of the Syrian regime is the only way to settle the crisis.”

Lebanon First MP Khaled al-Daher rejected on Monday the “great lie” of the existence of a salafist Islamic cell within the Lebanese army.

He said in a statement from parliament: “We refuse to jump to conclusions in this matter before the official investigations in these claims are revealed.”

UNIFIL Commander Maj. Gen. Paolo Serra said on Monday that the peacekeepers were able to successfully achieve some key mandated objectives but stressed challenges remain.

“In the period ahead, my focus will be to assist the parties to maintain and solidify the cessation of hostilities and respect (Security Council) resolution 1701,” Serra said at a ceremony at the mission headquarters in Naqoura to observe the 34th anniversary of the peacekeepers’ presence in southern Lebanon.