Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday voiced regret over “the coma the Lebanese politicians are going through and the political practices that lead to destruction and poverty.”

In a sermon he delivered at a mass held in the Northern Metn town of Beit Mery, the patriarch noted that “the political authority is entrusted with the public money.”

Russia and China on Saturday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the Syrian government's murderous crackdown on protests for the second time.

Western governments reacted with fury to the new block on U.N. action over President Bashar Assad's 10 month-old assault on demonstrators which followed weeks of acrimonious negotiations over the text.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi urged on Saturday the Christians to hold onto their land no matter how small the properties are.

“The Christians should hold onto their land in Lebanon,” al-Rahi said in his pastoral visit to Beirut.

Syrian forces bombarded the protest city of Homs Saturday, killing more than 200 civilians in a "horrific massacre," activists said, as the army opened fire on funeral processions near Damascus, killing 12 people.

The Damascus government denied involvement in the pre-dawn assault, blaming groups trying to incite unrest ahead of a possible Security Council vote, as television images showed bodies and buildings destroyed in the city.

The removal of a wall, adjacent construction and moving groundwater are among the likely causes of a recent fatal building collapse in the Ashrafiyeh neighborhood of Fassouh, a preliminary report revealed on Friday.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel, who announced the report’s findings after heading a meeting for the follow-up committee tasked with probing the incident, said additional steps would be made before submitting a final report.

Hizbullah stressed on Friday the need for a productive government that can help alleviate the burdens of the Lebanese people, reported the National News Agency.

Hizbullah politburo member Ghaleb Abu Zainab stated: “It is therefore important for the governmental process to return to normal as soon as possible because its current paralysis will harm the Lebanese people.”

Protesters flooded towns and cities across Syria defying a brutal government crackdown on Friday to commemorate the notorious 1982 massacre in the city of Hama that killed tens of thousands.

At least 36 people were reported killed on Friday, including 11 soldiers and three army deserters, activists and a rights group said.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stated that the March 14-led opposition is capable of toppling the government through popular protests.

He added however: “The current circumstances are not suitable for such an action.”

An Electricite du Liban bill collector has claimed that two gunmen stole more than LL4 million from him in the area of Rweiss in Beirut’s southern suburbs, the National News Agency reported Friday.

NNA identified the bill collector by his initials as A.Y.

Progressive Socialist Party MP Walid Jumblat said Thursday that the fall of the Syrian regime will not result in Hizbollah handing over their weapons, and insisted on the adoption of a “political solution” in Syria rejecting a military intervention.

“It is crazy to bet that the fall of the Syrian regime will result in Hizbullah handing over its weapons,” he said during a talk show on LBC.