A group of independent Christian figures on Sunday held a meeting at the Basilica of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa to “discuss the national and political affairs and the outcome of the alignments and conflicts in Lebanon, inside and outside state institutes, and in the Arab world,” state-run National News Agency reported.

The conferees also discussed “the situations the Christians are going through, especially in the hotspots, and the repercussions of the sudden changes on their freedoms and existence.”

The Lebanese army command urged politicians on Sunday not to invest security issues for political objectives, saying they should preserve stability instead.

The communique said the army’s role in preserving the security of the Lebanese was above all consideration but “called for avoiding the discussion of highly dangerous security issues or using them for political purposes out of keenness on general stability.”

Lebanon aims to invite tenders to explore for offshore gas within three months, the energy minister said on Sunday, downplaying the risk of conflict with Israel despite a dispute over the maritime border.

"Our target is to begin within three months," Energy Minister Jebran Bassil told Agence France Presse.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi called on Sunday for the establishment of a civil and democratic state that takes as its starting point the National Pact which has laid the foundation of the country’s multi-confessional system.

Al-Rahi said in his sermon that Lebanon’s political and social system should be fair and respect all the Lebanese. All civil servants should put their personal and sectarian interests aside and serve their nation, he stressed.

Premier Najib Miqati is scheduled to bring the Economic Committees and the General Labor Confederation together on Monday after Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas proposed a new wage hike.

The Shura Council is now studying the wage boost proposal amid hopes that it would issue its decision ahead of a cabinet session that will be held under President Michel Suleiman at Baabda palace on Tuesday.

Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi confirmed on Sunday that relations between Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat and the Assad regime have reached a low point over the situation in Syria.

In remarks to pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat, Aridi said: “Contacts between MP Walid Jumblat and the Syrian regime have been cut over the differences on the situation in Syria.”

The Israeli army believes that by 2017 Hizbullah and Hamas will have a huge number of missiles that can hit any area in Israel, The Jerusalem Post reported.

It said both groups could have “about 1,600 missiles with a level of accuracy of a few hundred meters and 800 with a level of accuracy of just a few dozen meters, giving them the ability to hit what they want.”

Hizbullah has informed Premier Najib Miqati that it rejects the renewal of the cooperation protocol signed between the Lebanese government and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon but the PM stressed that Beirut has a limited role in this matter, a Lebanese official said.

The official, who was not identified, told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published Sunday that the Hizbullah stance was made during a meeting between Miqati and the party’s chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah before the holidays “because it believes that the cooperation protocol contradicts in some of its articles with (Lebanon’s) sovereignty.”

The brothers of four Hizbullah members indicted in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination have informed Lebanese authorities that they don’t know the whereabouts of the suspects, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported on Sunday.

The newspaper said the involved Lebanese judicial and security institutions questioned in vain the brothers of Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Oneissi and Assad Sabra.

March 14 General Secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid expressed surprise on Saturday over the presence of an armed branch affiliated in the Jamaa Islamiyah.

“We stress that the March 14 forces are struggling to move to the state which is the only competent side tasked with defending Lebanon,” a statement by Soaid said.