A Free Patriotic Movement delegation led by Energy Minister Jebran Bassil informed Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi that an electoral draft-law approved by the cabinet earlier in the week would lead to a good representation of Christians, An Nahar daily reported on Saturday.

The delegation, which also included Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan, told al-Rahi on Friday that the draft-law guarantees the election of 14 new MPs through the votes of Christians, upping the number of Christian lawmakers elected by members of the same sect to 48, the newspaper said.

Hizbullah has informed Lebanese authorities that it hasn’t adopted the stance of MP Mohammed Raad on the arrest of former Minister Michel Samaha, informed sources told An Nahar daily on Saturday.

The sources said the Hizbullah leadership told the concerned officials that Raad’s pledge not to remain silent to Samaha’s arrest did not represent the stance of the Shiite party.

President Michel Suleiman does not intend to postpone a national dialogue session next week if the March 14 opposition coalition boycotts it for the second time in a row, An Nahar daily reported Saturday.

The newspaper said the session will be held on Thursday at Beiteddine palace whether March 14 officials attend or not but Suleiman would not brief the conferees on his view of the country’s defense strategy in case of another boycott.

The army is seeking to sue al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Moeen al-Merehbi “on charges of inciting sectarian strife,” media reports said on Friday.

MTV said “the army asked the public prosecution to take legal action against MP Moein al-Merehbi on charged of inciting sectarian strife.”

The U.S. Embassy in Beirut said Friday that it has “received reports of an increased possibility of attacks against U.S. citizens in Lebanon.”

“Possible threats include kidnapping, the potential for an upsurge in violence, the escalation of family or neighborhood disputes, as well as U.S. citizens being the target of terrorist attacks in Lebanon,” the embassy said in a warning for U.S. citizens published on its website.

President Michel Suleiman on Friday visited Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat at the al-Mukhtara palace, days after the Druze leader rejected the draft electoral law adopted by the government.

The two-hour meeting tackled the general political situations and was followed by a dinner banquet, according to state-run National News Agency. It was attended by Jumblat’s son Taimour and ministers Ghazi Aridi, Alaeddine Terro and Wael Abu Faour.

Head of the opposition Syrian National Council Abdel Basset Sayda on Friday called on Hizbullah to “prepare for the post-Assad era,” urging it to engage in national dialogue aimed at “building “a strong state for all the Lebanese.”

“Hizbullah must seize the chance, integrate into the Lebanese society and engage in dialogue in order to contribute to building a strong state for all the Lebanese that would be in the interest of the Lebanese and Syrian peoples,” Sayda said in an interview on MTV.

Clashes renewed on Friday between residents from the rival towns of Akroum and Beit Jaafar in the northern district of Akkar near the border with Syria, after a man was killed in previous fighting on Wednesday.

NBN television said the sounds of RPGs and medium weapons echoed across the area.

The United States fears Hizbullah may be planning imminent attacks in Europe and around the world, a senior security official in Washington said Friday.

"Our assessment is that Hizbullah and Iran will both continue to maintain a heightened level of terrorist activity and operations in the near future," said Daniel Benjamin, the U.S. State Department's counter-terrorism coordinator.

Young men who arrived on motorcycles on Friday blocked the Ring-Ashrafiyeh highway near Burj al-Ghazal Tower with burning tires in protest at power cuts.

LBCI said the protesters reportedly belong to AMAL Movement.