Security forces found on Tuesday the body of the American, John Redwine, in the Zahta area in Sannine after he was reported missing on Monday, reported the National News Agency.

Redwine frequently carried out mountain-climbing trips in the area.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and Iranian Ambassador Ghazanfar Roknabadi discussed the preparations for the inter-religious dialogue that is scheduled to be held next month.

My “visit was aimed at discussing the Christian-Islamic dialogue conference that will be held on January 17, 2012 with the participation of delegations from the different countries in the Middle East and North Africa,” Roknabadi said after meeting al-Rahi in Bkirki.

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon ad interim Robert Watkins welcomed on Tuesday Lebanon’s continuing commitment to U.N. Security Council resolution 1701.

He said after holding talks with Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour: “Lebanon and Israel should be doing more to ensure that the remaining requirements of the resolution are met.”

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel stressed on Tuesday that not all the Lebanese factions would approve the Maronite leaders’ decision to back a proposal by the Orthodox Gathering to allow each sect to choose its own representatives during the 2013 parliamentary elections.

In remarks to Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3), Charbel said that his proposed draft law on proportional representation should be discussed because it has come based on a recommendation from the cabinet and its ministerial statement.

A Maronite delegation has told Free Patriotic Movement chief Michel Aoun that President Michel Suleiman should have a say in the appointments of civil servants in posts reserved for Christians, An Nahar daily reported Tuesday.

The newspaper said that former Ministers Michel Edde and Wadih Khazen, and Joseph Tarabay were delegated by Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi to resolve the issue of appointments.

A delegation from the Maronite Patriarchate visited Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Monday and discussed with him the latest developments locally and regionally.

The conferees “discussed the latest developments locally and regionally and agreed to continue their coordination on different issues,” a statement issued by Hizbullah’s press office said on Tuesday.

The cabinet is set to tackle the wage hike during its session on Wednesday amid intense contacts between the premiership, the economic committees and the General Labor Confederation to seek a solution for the controversial issue and avert a strike scheduled to be held next week.

“The wages issue will top the cabinet’s agenda on Wednesday,” Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s sources told As Safir newspaper on Tuesday.

Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan reportedly told Speaker Nabih Berri that the Maronite leaders’ decision to support the Orthodox Gathering’s proposal on the electoral draft law should be a foundation for a serious dialogue among Lebanese politicians.

An Nahar daily quoted Kanaan as telling Berri during a meeting held on Monday that the Christians refuse the status quo imposed on them since the adoption of the Taef Accord in 1989.

A delegation from Cyprus will arrive on Wednesday in Beirut to continue the discussions with Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour and Lebanese experts over the demarcation of the maritime borders between the two countries.

As Safir newspaper reported on Tuesday that the delegation will hold talks with Mansour as Cypriot experts will visit Lebanon later on.

President Michel Suleiman on Monday expressed his “relief” after Syria signed a protocol with the Arab League to allow observers to monitor the implementation of an Arab deal to end nine months of bloodshed, in comments carried by state-run National News Agency.

“Syria’s signing of the protocol with the Arab League would pave the ground for addressing all the aspects of the ongoing crisis, putting the democratic system into practice in a full manner, and restoring security and civil peace,” Suleiman said.