Speaker Nabih Berri reiterated on Friday the call for dialogue between the Lebanese foes during the “critical” stage that the country and the region are passing through.

“The developments in Lebanon and the region require all the parties to join the national dialogue and this is what I informed (al-Mustaqbal bloc leader MP Fouad) Saniora,” Berri told An Nahar newspaper.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Thursday warned his supporters that the opposition March 14 camp and its regional and international backers “might spend $3 billion” in the 2013 parliamentary elections to “isolate us.”

“Our enemies had more money than us but they failed to isolate us, then they spent a billion dollars to no avail, and nothing prevents them from spending three billions in 2013 to isolate us,” Aoun said at a ceremony to launch the O Card, which allows supporters to contribute financially to the FPM’s mouthpiece OTV.

A wounded Syrian has transported to Lebanon through al-Qaa border crossing in the Bekaa region, reported the National News Agency on Thursday.

The Syrian national has been transferred to al-Salam Hospital in al-Qobeiyyat for treatment.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi is scheduled to visit the northern city of Tripoli on November 12 as part of his ongoing tour of various Lebanese regions, reported the Central News Agency on Thursday.

It said that he is set to hold talks with a number of the city’s official, sectarian, and political figures.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stated on Thursday that Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had committed “in principle” to the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

He told BBC television in an interview set to be broadcast later on Thursday: “Nasrallah never said ‘no’ to the tribunal. Of course the party has its reservations on the STL, but he left it up to the constitutional institutions to assume their duties in this matter.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea noted on Thursday that the Syrian regime cannot go ahead with the Arab League proposal even though it had announced its acceptance of the initiative “without reservations.”

He added: “The regime has only made a political maneuver and it cannot withdraw its troops from the streets and it will not allow the media and rights groups to enter Syria.”

Libyan National Transitional Council chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil said on Thursday that revealing the fate of Imam Moussa al-Sadr is a priority for the Libyan authorities.

On the sidelines of a news conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi in the Libyan city of Benghazi, Abdel Jalil said: "One of the priorities of the new government is to investigate what Gadhafi did to the Libyan people and people from different nations."

Military examining magistrate Judge Fadi Sawan issued arrest warrants against three Syrians on charges of arms trade, the National News Agency reported Thursday.

NNA said Sawan questioned two Syrians and issued the warrants against them.

The Maronite Bishops Council condemned on Thursday the ongoing political divide in Lebanon, urging the Lebanese to commit to their country and reject any foreign meddling.

It said in a statement after its monthly meeting: “The political divide pains us and we call on the Lebanese to reject any attempts to drive the country towards a confrontation with the international community.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat confirmed on Thursday his decision to step down from the leadership of his party, As Safir newspaper reported.

He stressed that he will not discuss the matter even if he was pressured by the party members to reconsider his position.