Security reasons have been behind Speaker Nabih Berri’s absence from any public appearance, Ad-Diyar newspaper reported on Friday.

According to the daily, security agencies have been able to reveal new data regarding the assassination plot against Berri.

The thorny issue of the new wages scale for Syndicate Coordination Committee is heading towards settlement with the cabinet as the ministerial committee tasked with studying the demands of the public sector is expected to meet on Tuesday.

According to An Nahar newspaper published on Friday, the cabinet will approve the new salaries scale for all the public sector during its session next Thursday at the Grand Serail gradually in order to avoid inflation.

Hizbullah fighters have lately crossed the area of Hawsh al-Sayyed Ali in Hermel to Syria to help Syrian government troops in their fight against rebels, security sources said.

The sources told An Nahar daily published on Friday that the militants from the 910 unit of Hizbullah’s Jihad Council are fighting alongside the Syrian forces in the areas of al-Qussair, Homs and al-Rastan.

The four major Christian political parties have neared an agreement on the division of districts in a new electoral law based on proportional representation, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said.

The minister told al-Liwaa daily published on Friday that he has information that the Free Patriotic Movement, the Phalange party, the Lebanese Forces and Marada movement have almost completed their proposal on Charbel’s draft-law.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Thursday stressed to Prime Minister Najib Miqati his country’s support for Lebanon and inquired about the efforts that are being made by the Lebanese government to aid the Syrian refugees, the premier’s office said.

Miqati is in London to attend the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games. He is accompanied by Youth and Sports Minister Faisal Karami.

Members of the Internal Security Forces beat an Agence France Presse photographer on Thursday while he covered a clash that erupted during a sit-in organized by Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir on Sidon’s seaside road.

"When the protesters cut off Sidon's main road, a skirmish broke out between those participating in the sit-in and passers-by," said the photographer, Mahmoud Zayat.

MP Butros Harb on Thursday revealed that President Michel Suleiman has informed him that the relevant authorities “have decided to hand over the complete telecom data” to the security agencies probing the recent failed attempt on his life.

“A formula has been reached for that,” Harb said, adding that such a move would represent “a serious step towards unveiling the circumstances of the attempt on my life.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati headed on Thursday to London to join the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games as 10 Lebanese athletes will participate in various games.

According to An Nahar newspaper, the premier will be accompanied by Youth and Sports Minister Faisal Karami.

Ties between Speaker Nabih Berri and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun that deteriorated over the Electricite du Liban’s contract workers row are slowly getting back on track, a ministerial source said Thursday.

The source said a positive sign emerged on Wednesday when MP Simon Abi Ramia, who is a member of Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc, attended the meeting of the parliament’s secretariat and the head of legislative committees headed by Berri.

Head of Association of Public Secondary School Education Teachers Hanna Gharib criticized on Thursday Prime Minister Najib Miqati, revealing that the premier advised the Syndicate Coordination Committee to suspend the correction of the official exams if their demands were not carried out.

During one of the negotiation meetings with Miqati “he advised us to suspend the correction of the official exams if there was any delay in carrying out our demands,” Gharib told As Safir newspaper.