The National Struggle Front leader, MP Walid Jumblat, urged Lebanese officials to steer clear of regional conflicts and return to the dialogue table.

“It would be better to stay away from regional conflicts as much as possible and resume dialogue,” Jumblat told As Safir daily in remarks published Friday.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea criticized on Thursday the equation of the army-people-Resistance, saying that the idea of a state and Resistance cannot exist at the same time.

He stated: “The other camp’s statements indicate that their idea of a nation is the resistance, while the nation we are seeking to establish is insignificant to them.”

Former Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh has reportedly told ex-U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman that he was ready to mediate between the diplomat and Hizbullah.

However, Feltman rejected the offer saying “we don’t send messages to Hizbullah” which the U.S. considers a terrorist organization.

The March 14 General Secretariat commended on Wednesday the security forces’ efforts in confronting the recent security incidents in Lebanon, noting that the instability “justifies the March 14 demand to end the possession of arms outside the state’s authority.”

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “Besides being a threat to stability, the security incidents are political messages from internal and external sides once again aimed at using Lebanon as a vessel to deliver political messages.”

A final agreement on the cabinet lineup awaits a meeting between Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, a March 8 source said despite reports that Aoun continued to hold onto his demand for 11 cabinet ministers, including the interior ministry portfolio.

“The meeting between Sayyed Nasrallah and General Aoun hopefully will pave the way for the formation of a government,” the source told The Daily Star in remarks published Wednesday.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea revealed to then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michele Sison that some 10,000 LF fighters were ready to combat Hizbullah if the need arrives, said a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar newspaper on Tuesday.

Geagea told Sison during a surprise visit to the U.S. Embassy that the fighters “may need to be provided with weapons”, said the WikiLeaks cable dated May 9, 2008.

Al-Qaida operatives and Hizbullah members are in Brazil planning attacks, raising money and recruiting followers, a leading Brazilian news magazine reported over the weekend.

Veja magazine said that at least 20 people affiliated with the al-Qaida terrorist network as well as Hizbullah and Hamas have been hiding out in the south American country.

Contacts aimed at forming the new government made a “serious progress” on the differences over the Sunni representation and the share of Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc, As Safir daily reported Saturday.

An Nahar newspaper also said that intense meetings between Premier-designate Najib Miqati and March 8 officials led to an agreement on the shares of each side but the leaders are staying mum on the issue.

Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Kamel al-Rifai stated on Friday that the government formation process is underway even though Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati is adopting a cautious approach in the matter.

He told Akhbar al-Yawm news agency: “Efforts are being made to overcome the obstacles that were hindering his progress.”

The Israeli military held a set of war games this week aimed at preparing the army for all-out war with Hizbullah, Syria and Hamas, the Jerusalem Post reported.

The drill did not include soldiers or live-fire exercises, but was held to drill commanders and their decisions in the event of a large-scale war on multiple fronts, it said.