The Kataeb Party on Monday vowed to “resist any attempt to undermine Lebanon's sovereignty and independence or to silence and oppress the Lebanese.”

“The party promises the Lebanese to defend right and freedom no matter what that may cost. It also pledges to confront all threats and intimidation attempts and any apparatus that tries to revive the Syrian occupation era,” said Kataeb in a statement issued after its political bureau's weekly meeting.

Prominent talk show host Marcel Ghanem will be interrogated on December 18 over hosting Saudi journalists who branded the Lebanese president and parliament speaker as "terrorists" during one of his show's episodes.

“The lawyer Joy Lahoud, representing MP Butros Harb's law firm, appeared before Baabda First Examining Magistrate Nicolas Mansour and submitted the firm's authorization to represent the journalist Marcel Ghanem,” the National News Agency reported.

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq on Monday referred to the Council of Ministers the draft bylaws of the Electoral Supervisory Commission that will oversee the upcoming parliamentary elections.

As part of the ministry's preparations for the elections, Mashnouq also presided over a periodic meeting for senior ministry officials to “follow up on the preparations and give instructions,” the National News Agency said.

During talks with al-Mustaqbal Movement officials, Hizbullah has shown “flexibility” in approaching “any format” of Lebanon's dissociation policy “inspired by the ministerial statement that it had already approved,” al-Ittihad newspaper reported on Monday.

The newspaper said that lengthy consecutive meetings were held recently between Hizbullah secretary-general's political aide Hussein Khalil and Nader Hariri, senior aide of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, with the aim of finding common ground regarding the “dissociation policy concept.”

Lebanon's Armed Forces seized on Monday ample amounts of narcotics, cannabis and weapons in the outskirts of the eastern town of Hermel, the National News Agency reported on Monday.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri is expected on Monday to call the ministers for a meeting this week to tackle the “government statement” following a political crisis that paralyzed the country after his shock resignation on November 4, al-Joumhouria daily reported.

France will host the International Lebanon Support Group at the Quai d'Orsay on Friday at the level of foreign ministers to discuss the political crisis that emerged in in the country, An Nahar daily reported on Monday.

Lebanon's delegation will be led by Prime Minister Saad Hariri and French Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian will lead the French side, it added.

Speaker Nabih Berri is insisting on “reassuring Saudi Arabia” in the statement that will be issued by the government next week as part of the new settlement between the political forces, a media report said.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Free Patriotic Movement chief and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil have met in Paris to put the “final touches” on a new political settlement that will be announced next week, a media report published Sunday said.

MP Qassem Hashem of Speaker Nabih Berri’s Development and Liberation bloc announced Sunday that the Cabinet “will remain as it is,” denying reports of an imminent Cabinet reshuffle.