Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi on Tuesday said the cabinet will discuss Wednesday a new extra-budgetary spending bill, noting that “the 4,900 billion was slashed to 3,500 billion, including the public sector wages.”

Speaking during Tuesday’s cabinet session, Safadi added that a political decision has been taken to approve the budget, but noted that the obstacle still hindering the plan was the need to audit extra-budgetary spending made between 2006 and 2010 by the governments of Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri.

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc praised on Tuesday President Michel Suleiman’s call for the resumption of the national dialogue, noting that it is a proper way to tackle pending disputes.

It noted however after its weekly meeting: “Limiting the possession of arms to the state and forming an unbiased government are the basis for resuming the dialogue.”

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun stated on Tuesday that Electricite du Liban contract employees will not reach their goals through their latest actions.

He said after the Change and Reform bloc’s weekly meeting: “Some MPs, who we will not name, have been inciting the employees to action.”

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) held a ceremony on Tuesday to commemorate the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers that is observed every year on May 29, announced the force in a statement on Tuesday.

At UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura peacekeepers representing 39 different national contingents were joined by local authorities, officers of the Lebanese armed and security forces and diplomatic representatives

The mysterious case of 11 Lebanese Shiites who were taken hostage in Syria last week is raising fears of renewed street battles in Beirut as Lebanon increasingly gets drawn into the swirling chaos next door.

The Syrian crisis already has spilled across the border into Lebanon over the past three weeks, sparking deadly violence in a country that remains deeply divided over the 15-month-old uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali stated on Tuesday that the discovery of the Lutfallah II ship that was smuggling arms to Syria was among the factors that prompted the Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar al-Jaafari to send a letter to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon complaining about Lebanon’s alleged harboring of “terrorist elements.”

Ali stated after holding talks with Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour: “Jaafari’s letter is based on facts on the ground in Lebanon.”

President Michel Suleiman stressed on Saturday that targeting the army would pave way for strife, conspiracy and chaos in Lebanon.

“Officers and the military institution play an important role in maintaining security and stability,” he said during a meeting with senior army officers at the Defense Ministry in Yarze.

Electricite du Liban's contract employees escalated their protests on Tuesday as they held a sit-in at the company’s headquarters in Beirut’s Mar Mikhael area.

A dispute occurred between the Internal Security Forces after the riot police demanded protesters not to leave the sit-in hall and to stop using loudspeakers.

A Lebanese man was killed and five others were injured after Syrian troops opened fire on them near the eastern border town of Arsal at dawn Tuesday.

Abdul Ghani al-Jebbawi was shot dead by Syrian soldiers while he was hunting for rabbits at a farm on the Lebanese-Syrian border, Arsal municipal chief Ali al-Hujairi said.

The fate of the 11 abducted Lebanese pilgrims remains unknown as officials confirm that efforts are still ongoing to release the men and that they are in good condition.

“Contacts are ongoing with all sides to determine (the fate of the pilgrims) and we ensure their families that they are fine and safe,” Prime Minister Najib Miqati told As Safir on Tuesday.