A man died from a heart attack after he sought to mediate to end an armed dispute between his son and two other men in the north Metn town of Dekwaneh, the National News Agency reported on Monday.

NNA said that the father passed away at the Lebanese-Canadian Hospital after he was injured as he tried to mediate between his son Issam Kairouz, who works at a money exchange house, and two brothers from the Gedeon family.

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc MP Nabil de Freij stressed on Monday that the cabinet should have acted swiftly concerning Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas’ refusal to sign the transportation allowance decree and “withdrawn confidence” from him.

“The cabinet didn’t take so far a decision regarding Nahhas’ behavior while it should have taken a firm decision against him and maybe withdrawn its confidence,” de Freij told Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5).

Energy Minister Jebran Bassil sought on Monday to minimize the importance of signing a decree on transportation allowances by Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas, saying the issue will be resolved through parliament’s adoption of a draft law.

The issue will be resolved after parliament “approves a draft law proposed by MP Ibrahim Kanaan in agreement with the labor minister,” Bassil told An Nahar daily, saying “the signature of the transportation decree will remain a minor detail with regards to the importance of the law that will be issued next Wednesday.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati maintained a steady position regarding the suspension of the cabinet sessions if Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas doesn’t add his signature to the transportation allowance decree approved by the government, according to local newspapers published on Monday.

“The cabinet will not accept to discuss the issue before minister Nahhas (who is loyal to Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun) signs the decree,” Miqati’s sources told An Nahar newspaper on Monday.

Sources close to Speaker Nabih Berri expressed optimism that Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas would sign a controversial transportation allowances decree before a parliamentary session scheduled to be held on Wednesday.

The sources told An Nahar and As Safir dailies on Monday that Nahhas could sign the decree in the next few days, paving way for parliament to approve it and allowing the cabinet to annex it to a recent wage hike.

Iran is to supply Lebanon, Syria and Iraq with electricity after an economic memorandum of understanding was initialed to this effect between the four countries in Tehran on Saturday, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported on Sunday.

Senior Iranian energy ministry official Muhammad Bahzad, Iraqi Electricity official Adel Mahdi, Syria’s deputy energy minister Hisham Mushaffaj and Lebanese electricity official Najib Saleh put their initials on the MOU.

The snowstorm that has been lashing Lebanon since Friday will begin to subside on Sunday afternoon, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Sunday.

The storm caused heavy snow in a number of mountainous regions, with snow falling at altitudes as low as 600 meters and temperatures plunging to as low as five degree centigrade along the coast.

Discussions over the transportation allowance may be postponed until after Wednesday’s parliamentary session should political powers fail to reach a solution for the dispute, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s sources told the daily however that they expect the transportation allowance bill to be signed before Wednesday.

Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan stated that his proposal on the transportation allowance provides the basis for a long-term solution, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Sunday.

He told the daily: “My suggestion is more comprehensive than Mustaqbal MP Nabil de Freij’s and it also proposes that the allowance does not have to be part of the employee’s wage.”

President Michel Suleiman rejected claims that the government is comprised of a single political camp, noting that the disputes among its members demonstrate his point.

He told the daily al-Mustaqbal in remarks published on Sunday: “Whenever cabinet votes on a decision, a minister is obligated to approve it.”