Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi was chosen as “Man of the Year 2011″ in a ceremony held in Dubai on Tuesday.

Rifi was awarded a Gold Medal in the field of security leadership excellence at the event organized by the Arab Organization for Administrative Development of the Arab League and the Academy of Excellence and Quality.

The leader of the opposition Syrian National Council, Burhan Ghalioun, has warned that Hizbullah and Iran are risking their future relations with Syria by supporting President Bashar Assad.

In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Ghalioun said: "The Syrian people stood completely by Hizbullah once. But today, they are surprised that Hizbullah did not return the favor and support the Syrian people’s struggle for freedom."

Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Tuesday hit back at Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun, without naming him, saying “not everyone preaching reform is necessarily a reformist!”

“People have the ability to differentiate between those seeking to put the country’s interest above all else and those continuously seeking to build personal loyalties,” Miqati said on the social networking website Twitter.

Two bodyguards of a current minister assaulted a man and his sister on the Nahr al-Mot-Zalka road on Tuesday.

Witnesses told Naharnet that the assault took place when the bodyguards believed that the man had attempted to block the minister’s car with his vehicle.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun warned on Tuesday that if the situation in Lebanon continues the way it does, then the government will collapse.

He said after the Change and Reform bloc’s weekly meeting: “We have not yet decided if we will participate in cabinet’s session on Wednesday.”

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday that the Jewish state is taking precautions and is tracking the possible transfer of arms from Syria to Hizbullah.

Touring the Golan Heights, Barak said Israel is concerned that Hizbullah is planning to move advanced weaponry out of Syria to prevent it from being captured by opposition groups if the Assad regime collapses.

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah appeared in public for the first time since 2008 on Tuesday stressing that his party’s fighters and arsenal were growing in numbers despite the efforts to disarm the group.

"I wanted to be with you for a few minutes ... to renew our pledge and for the world to hear us," Nasrallah said after he walked among the crowds with his bodyguards clearing the way for him to reach the stage in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

A delegation from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare’s office will visit Beirut soon to meet with General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza, Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi and Interior Minister Marwan Charbel, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The daily reported that the delegation is expected to inquire the Lebanese officials about the exerted efforts to detain four Hizbullah suspects indicted in ex-PM Rafik Hariri’s murder, and the difficulties hindering the implementation of the international arrest warrants.

The cabinet is set to discuss on Wednesday the controversial decrees proposed by Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas on the wage boost to Lebanon’s employees in the public and private sectors.

While the participation of Nahhas along with the other Free Patriotic Movement ministers in the session is not clear yet, the salary raise is on the meeting’s agenda.

Premier Najib Miqati has met with President Michel Suleiman to discuss the agenda of Wednesday’s cabinet session as Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun is expected to announce whether the ministers loyal to him would attend the meeting or not.

Suleiman’s sources told As Safir daily that the session should be held on time, saying the people’s needs should be prioritized rather than obstructing the government work.