Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat said Sunday that the reconciliation with former Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir and the PSP’s participation in the March 14 forces had a positive impact on the party.

The reconciliation was “illuminating,” Jumblat said in a speech at his party’s general assembly in Aley.

Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi stressed on Sunday that the National Audiovisual Media Council does not have the right to ask Lebanese website hosts to register their sites at the Council.

Aridi, who is a former information minister, told al-Mustaqbal daily that the council is only an advisory board and cannot issue such decisions.

The General Security Department has confirmed the arrest of a Syrian national but said the man was seized on charges of weapons smuggling.

In a communiqué issued late Saturday, the department’s general directorate dismissed a report by Future TV that Amer Omar Adib was arrested “without any justification.”

A Kurdish official has said that the Armenian Tashnag party asked Syrian Kurds to leave several areas that have Armenian populations within Monday, warning them that they would pay LL3 million if they fail to abide by its orders.

The deputy head of the Kurdish Charity Mahmoud Siyala told al-Mustaqbal newspaper on Sunday that the Tashnag officials have given the Kurds the ultimatum to leave their houses in Bourj Hammoud, Dora and Nabaa by Monday for allegedly “drug use and acts that undermine public order.”

A meeting between U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jake Walles and Central Bank governor Riyad Salameh has led to fears that the U.S. would adopt sanctions against Lebanon, An Nahar daily reported on Sunday.

The newspaper said the meetings between Walles and Salameh in addition to President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri and Premier Najib Miqati have “jittered” the Lebanese banking sector.

Premier Najib Miqati stressed on Sunday that his cabinet’s main objective is to guarantee stability in Lebanon and expressed hope that consultations between Lebanese officials on the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon would lead to a “positive outcome.”

“One of the major objectives of this government is to achieve stability because it is the key to all proposed projects for reform, investment and economic growth,” Miqati told Tele Liban.

Russia has informed Hizbullah that the March 8 forces should resign from the government and form a new cabinet that remains committed to international resolutions if the Shiite party and its allies rejected to fund the international tribunal, diplomatic sources said.

The sources told An Nahar daily published Sunday that Moscow’s stance was announced during a meeting last week between the Russian deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, and a Hizbullah delegation led by MP Mohammed Raad.

The army launched a wide search operation for what is suspected to be an Israeli drone that crashed in Froun region in Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, the National News Agency reported on Saturday.

The UNIFIL operations unit informed the Lebanese army of the crash of an Israeli drone in Froun, the NNA said.

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel urged Turkey on Saturday to launch a practical measure that serves stability, security and coexistence in the region.

“We share the same vision with the Turkish officials concerning the developments in the region,” Gemayel said after meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

The diplomatic promotions proposal was referred to the cabinet waiting to be scheduled on the agenda of the discussions, Central News Agency reported on Saturday.

“The proposal prepared by Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour was referred to the cabinet in order to be discussed,” A diplomatic source told the news agency.