The Lebanese army command said Thursday there will be a temporary freeze to all arms licenses based on a decree issued by Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn.

Decree number 1199 called for a temporary freeze to all arms licenses throughout the country starting 12:00 am Wednesday.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora stressed on Thursday that the resumption the national dialogue requires several steps among them implementing what the foes agreed on during the previous all-party talks, As Safir newspaper reported.

Saniora said that Hizbullah’s arms are a critical issue that should be a priority on any dialogue table, followed by the defense strategy, “and not the other way around.”

The ringleader of the network that abducted the seven Estonian tourists in March, Wael Abbas, was on Thursday being questioned by the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch, judicial sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat.

The sources said Abbas was first questioned by the General Security Department and was then transferred to the Intelligence Branch.

Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kenaan stressed on Thursday that a law facilitating the return of Lebanese who fled to Israel will be implemented on all those who went to the Jewish state, including those who joined the South Lebanon Army militia or collaborated with it.

Parliament on Wednesday approved the draft law proposed by the bloc leader MP Michel Aoun to facilitate the return of Lebanese who went to Israel after its withdrawal from the South in May 2000.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Daniel Bellemare is suffering from an advanced stage of diabetes, the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported on Thursday.

Bellemare has isolated himself in a room in Canada away from the people’s sight over his “serious illness,” it said.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Wednesday called for “differentiating between those who collaborated with the Israeli enemy and those who had to flee” to the Jewish state following the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000.

Talking to reporters at the Beirut airport upon his return from a 2-day visit to Iraq, al-Rahi described his trip as “successful.”

The March 14 General Secretariat condemned on Wednesday Syria’s ongoing violations of Lebanon’s border in the East and West and its abduction and persecution of individuals in the country.

It said after weekly meeting: “We hold the Syrian regime, Hizbullah, and official security authorities responsible for the complete violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty by Syria.”

The Philippines said Wednesday it had banned Filipinos from travelling to work in 41 countries and territories, including Lebanon, that had allegedly failed to provide enough safeguards to protect them from abuse.

The Department of Labor and Employment in a board resolution posted on its website said the blacklisted countries failed to sign international conventions protecting foreign workers.

Wael Abbas, the suspected ringleader in the abduction of the seven Estonian cyclists, has been arrested, reported the National News Agency on Wednesday.

He was arrested by Syrian security forces as he was attempting to escape to the country through a false ID, it added.

Hizbullah has congratulated the Palestinians on winning UNESCO membership, slamming the United States as "racist" over its decision to vote against the move.

"Hizbullah congratulates the Palestinian people on gaining full UNESCO membership, which is their natural right," the Shiite group said.