Canada has urged its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Lebanon and to completely refrain from visiting certain areas in the country over security concerns.

“Exercise a high degree of caution in Lebanon due to an unpredictable security situation and the risk of terrorist attack,” says a warning message published on the Canadian foreign ministry's website.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri arrived Monday in Tehran to take part in a conference for the Parliamentary Union of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) Member States.

“I congratulate the supreme guide (Ali Khamenei), the Iranian people and the Iranian shura council on their victory against the sedition,” Berri said upon his arrival, referring to the latest wave of protests in Iran.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri stressed Monday that the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf countries will always support Lebanon.

“Gulf states have always viewed Lebanon as a democratic country and they will always support the Lebanese people regardless of the political parties,” said Hariri during a ceremony to lay the cornerstone for the new building of the UAE embassy in Beirut, which he sponsored.

British Ambassador to Lebanon Hugo Shorter held talks Monday with Foreign Minister and Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil.

“I was pleased to meet Foreign Minister Bassil and to discuss upcoming international conferences for Lebanon’s security and prosperity,” Shorter said after the meeting.

Assurances that Lebanon is going to stage timely parliamentary elections is marred by rumors that it could be postponed for “circumstances beyond the State's will, or for technical reasons having to do with reforms,” while Speaker Nabih Berri stresses timely polls, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

Preparations at the political, administrative and field levels are underway to stage the May 6 polls, but a senior political source who spoke on condition of anonymity said “two reasons could delay the elections.”

Free Patriotic Movement chief and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Sunday warned of "foreign attempts" to meddle in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday urged “honest dialogue” among bickering politicians in Lebanon, amid an ongoing spat between President Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri.

State Minister for Planning Affairs Michel Pharaon said Saturday there is “near unanimity (among political parties) that there is no alternative to the parliamentary elections and no alternative to the new electoral law.”

The Internal Security Forces arrested 21-year old Syrian national who hacked into several social media accounts and threatened their users of sharing their photos, the ISF said in a statement on Saturday.

After the U.S. Justice Department announced that it is forming a team of prosecutors to investigate alleged drug trafficking and money laundering linked to Hizbullah, reports said the team is “expected to arrive in Beirut soon”, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

The unit will comprise specialists on money-laundering, drug trafficking, terrorism and organized crime, targeting Iran ally Hizbullah's sprawling network, whose reach extends across Africa and into Central and South America, the U.S. department said.