The residents of the Bekaa town of al-Yammouneh staged on Saturday a sit-in in protest against the destruction of cannabis crops in the region, reported the daily al-Mustaqbal on Sunday.

The residents blocked with burning tires the three entrances leading to the town and its fields, setting up a tent in the middle of the road to protest the army and security forces’ destruction of the cannabis crops.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili is scheduled to visit Lebanon on Monday where he is expected to meet with a number of senior officials, various media reports said on Sunday.

The pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat stated that the talks will focus on the developments in Syria, with some sources describing his meetings as “crisis talks” given the escalation of events in the neighboring country.

President Michel Suleiman stressed on Saturday that the tripartite formula of the people, army and the resistance requires some clarification, noting that the goal behind the defense strategy is to “confronting Israeli aggression against Lebanese territories.”

“We have already stressed several times in ministerial statements the importance of the cooperation among the people, the army and the resistance but we need to clarify the means of cooperation,” Suleiman said from his summer residence in Beiteddine.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel advised bickering Lebanese politicians on Saturday to sign a political document that would lift the cover off gunmen in Beirut and the northern city of Tripoli.

In remarks to Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3), Charbel said the national dialogue participants who are scheduled to meet at President Michel Suleiman’s summer residence in Beiteddine on Aug. 16 should sign the document pending the withdrawal of arms from the streets.

The Lebanese authorities decided to stop deporting Syrians following local and international pressure on the government in the aftermath of the deportation of 14 people by the General Security Department, An Nahar daily reported on Saturday.

The newspaper said that an agreement was reached among President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri and the major political parties in the government to stop the deportations even if some judicial cases allow such a move.

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc MP Ahmed Fatfat denied on Saturday that he is holding talks with March 14 national dialogue participants to get their signatures on a memo he seeks to hand over to President Michel Suleiman.

“We are seeking to get the signatures on a petition to denounce the Syrian violation along the Lebanese border,” Fatfat tolf the Central News Agency.

Energy Minister Jebran Bassil hailed on Friday Electricity du Liban's board of directors for its decision to preserve the state’s authority during the three-month strike held by the contract workers.

“Although the board of directors had to relocate to Zouk power plant, it maintained through it's decisions the state’s authority,” Bassil told reporters.

President Michel Suleiman on Wednesday threw his weight behind the Lebanese army’s decision to bring to trial those who target the military and rejected arms spread randomly across the country.

In his Army Day speech at the Shukri Ghanem barracks in Fayyadiyeh, a suburb of Beirut, Suleiman said: “The judiciary should issue verdicts against those who targeted the army without any fear.”

The women’s quota for the parliamentary elections was among several issues that cabinet ministers didn’t agree on during a session held at Baabda Palace on Tuesday, media reports said.

The government approved around 55 articles out of 123 of the electoral draft-law proposed by Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and discussions on the remaining controversial issues were referred to a session that is set to be held at Beiteddine palace next Monday.

The cabinet failed for the second day in a row on Tuesday to agree on an electoral law based on proportionality proposed by Interior Minister Marwan Charbel over disagreements on the division of districts and the voting of Lebanese expatriates.

“Proportionality and the number of districts need more discussions,” Information Minister Walid al-Daouq said following a cabinet session held at Baabda palace.