The cabinet on Wednesday agreed to lease power-generating vessels for a period of two years -- renewable for one year -- and stipulated a new invitation for tenders.

The cabinet also approved three uncontroversial administrative appointments and was inclined to postpone the discussion of the thorny issue of financial auditing for the years 2006 to 2010.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday stressed “his keenness on national unity” in Lebanon, stressing that revolt-hit Syria was “heading towards stability.”

During a meeting with ex-MP Faisal al-Daoud, head of the Arab Lebanese Struggle Movement, Assad said he was “reassured about the situation in Syria, which is heading towards stability and the implementation of reforms in a manner that would meet the aspirations of the Syrian people.”

The March 14 forces on Wednesday stressed rejection of “any violation” of Lebanon’s sovereignty “from whichever side it may come,” noting that the row over electricity will not force the collapse of Premier Najib Miqati’s government as “Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is the real head of government.”

Briefing reporters after the weekly meeting of the March 14 General-Secretariat in Ashrafiyeh, secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid said “the decision was taken by the general-secretariat to task Democratic Left chief Mr. Elias Atallah, National Liberal Party chief Mr. Dori Chamoun and MP Marwan Hamadeh with conducting all the necessary contacts -- inside and outside the March 14 forces – in order implement the mechanisms aimed at reforming the March 14” coalition.

British Ambassador Tom Fletcher on Monday hailed the Lebanese authorities’ efforts to maintain stability in the country by preventing any repercussions of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon.

Fletcher held a meeting with President Michel Suleiman on Wednesday at the Baabda Palace and discussed bilateral ties, the developments in the region, and the Arab League summit expected to be held in Baghdad on March 29.

Abu Mohammed Toufic Taha, the head the takfiri network that has been recently discovered in Lebanon, is one of the most active members of al-Qaida in Lebanon, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Wednesday.

It said that he is also in constant contact, through the internet, with al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri from whom he receives orders and directions.

The appointment of the head of the Higher Judicial Council is still a point of contention between Lebanese officials as President Michel Suleiman confirmed that the candidate proposed by Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi will not be suggested before the cabinet during its session on Wednesday.

“The candidate suggested by Qortbawi concerning the head of the HJC will not be discussed during the cabinet meeting,” Suleiman told An Nahar newspaper.

The army intercepted two vehicles carrying arms in the Bekaa border town of al-Qaa and detained four Lebanese and six Syrian nationals, local newspapers reported on Wednesday.

An Nahar daily said that the army discovered a van and a pickup truck that were carrying arms and confiscated a number of machine guns, grenades, and a grad rocket.

The head of the parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee MP Ibrahim Kanaan slammed Finance Minister Mohammed al-Safadi’s report on the extra-budgetary spending of the governments of former Premiers Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri, saying that he omitted various forms of revenue, such as grants and donations.

He told As Safir newspaper in remarks published on Wednesday: “It appears that the report is aimed at allowing a settlement to be reached over extra-budgetary spending.”

The cabinet is scheduled to convene on Wednesday with a crowded agenda with the electricity crisis expected to top the discussions.

An Nahar newspaper reported that Energy Minister Jebran Bassil, Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's advisor Hussein Khalil held a meeting on Wednesday night to coordinate the stances before the government session.

President Michel Suleiman stated that he refuses to take sides in the government dispute over resolving the electricity crisis, reported the daily An Nahar on Wednesday.

He told the daily: “I believe that Premier Najib Miqati took the appropriate stand because he found the cost of Energy Minister Jebran Bassil’s proposal to be too high.”