Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat said Monday that “the challenges facing the new Egyptian president are many,” adding that the victory of Mohammed Morsi as Egypt’s president is a “gradual progress towards strengthening the achievements of the revolution which led to the uprooting of dictatorship, and paving the way for democracy.”

In his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine, Jumblat said that the Egyptian president faces many challenges to develop the country and its people “including the installation of the emerging democratic system and expanding the base of political participation, as well as economic challenges in terms of fighting against poverty and illiteracy.”

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel granted Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji on Wednesday the ministry’s competency medal as a token of appreciation for his efficiency.

Charbel praised the role played by the military institution in seeking to maintain stability and security in the country.

The firefighting department wrapped up on Monday its strike after Beirut’s municipality vowed to follow up their demands.

The firefighters threatened to continue their strike a week from now if their demands weren’t implemented.

Workers at the State Employees' Cooperative escalated their nationwide strike on Monday as they kicked off a sit-in near the institution’s headquarter in Karantina area.

The employees flocked from across Lebanon to Karantina announcing that they stopped receiving medical treatment applications.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel revealed that the security agencies will kick off on Wednesday a 1 month, 24 hours a day security plan.

He told reporters after chairing a meeting of the Central Security Council on Monday that the Internal Security Forces will set up check points starting from Beirut and reaching other areas across Lebanon.

March 14 opposition sources expected the country’s top leaders to “buy time” during a national dialogue session on Monday as the coalition seeks to integrate Hizbullah’s arms into the Lebanese army.

The sources told An Nahar daily that the leaders who met at Baabda palace under President Michel Suleiman are not expected to achieve tangible results.

The national dialogue was resumed on Monday with the gatherers voicing their rejection of the use of arms on the internal scene in Lebanon.

They said in a statement: “Political cover must be lifted off the use of weapons in Lebanon.”

Several people were wounded on Sunday in an armed clash in the northern town of Minieh between supporters of MP Kazem al-Kheir and partisans of Kamal al-Kheir, head of the National Gathering for Social Action, state-run National News Agency reported.

The wounded were transferred to nearby hospitals as the army launched raids to arrest the shooters, NNA said.

Deputy head of Hizbullah's Executive Council Sheikh Nabil Qaouq said Sunday that “certain groups are weakening Lebanon’s power in confronting the Israeli enemy by provoking civil strife and protecting gunmen fighting in Syria,” stressing that the government will not resign and should “shoulder its responsibilities.”

During a commemorative celebration in the southern town of Selaa, Qaouq said that March 14 forces “insist on provoking civil strife, while we are determined to defuse the tension and this is the reason behind our participation in national dialogue.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati advised Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to engage in dialogue with Syria to resolve the two countries’ lingering differences, the PM’s press office announced on Sunday.

Miqati made the remark after receiving a phone call from Davutoglu on Saturday night, it said.