United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon ad interim Robert Watkins revealed on Tuesday that preparations were underway for the next report on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701, which is due to be sent to the Security Council by the end of February.

He said after holding talks with Speaker Nabih Berri: “I praised the role the speaker and other Lebanese officials have played during the past months to safeguard Lebanon’s stability and security during a time of dramatic regional developments, which is also very important for the smooth implementation of resolution 1701.”

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri received on Tuesday a telephone call from Saudi King Abdullah to inquire about his health after he broke his leg last week.

Hariri is currently staying at the American Hospital in Paris where he is recuperating from surgery he had to his leg.

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour slammed on Tuesday Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat’s statements on Lebanon’s position at the Arab League meetings on Syria, saying that he does not need to “lectured by anyone on democratic conduct.”

He said: “If silence is the golden rule, then all sides are better off keeping quiet.”

A cabinet session that was initially aimed at discussing the 2012 draft state budget on Monday turned into a debate on the electricity crisis and the recent attack by the Syrian navy on three Lebanese fishermen off the coast of the northern town of Arida.

Premier Najib Miqati met with Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi on Tuesday to discuss his study on the draft budget.

The power crisis topped the discussions of cabinet ministers during a session held at Baabda palace on Monday as Energy Minister Jebran Bassil urged the Lebanese that are paying their electricity bills and suffering from severe rationing to resort to demonstrations.

Ministerial sources told An Nahar daily published Tuesday that the cabinet agreed to give priority to the electricity problem and urged Bassil to resolve the crisis and the rationing that has affected most regions except for Beirut.

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon appointed Italian Maj. Gen. Paolo Sera as the commander of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon to succeed Spain’s Maj. Gen. Alberto Asarta.

“Asarta will relinquish his post on 28 January,” spokesperson for the Secretary-General Martin Nesirky said on Monday.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati will head to Paris on February 10 on a three-day visit to meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and PM Francois Fillon, An Nahar newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Beirut and Paris have set the date for Miqati’s official visit to Paris, who will discuss the latest developments in the region and Lebanon, the bilateral ties and the future of the United Nations Interim Force in the South, the daily said.

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel on Monday ruled out an imminent collapse of Prime Minister Najib Miqati's government.

“The issue of changing the government is not on the table at the moment, given the concessions Hizbullah has been making to guarantee the survival of the government, which is vital to its alliance with Syria,” Gemayel said in an interview on MTV.

The Government tasked the Council of Development and Reconstruction on Monday with dismantling the metal bridge in Jal el-Dib and building a new one.

Following a session held at Baabda palace, Information Minister Walid al-Daouq said: “The Council of Ministers agreed to task the Council of Development and Reconstruction with removing the bridge and begin building a new bridge in a U form in accordance with the existing map.”

Phalange Party politburo condemned on Monday the statements of Iran's Quds Force, Brig. Gen. Qasem Soleimani on Lebanon, questioning the government’s silence on the matter.

It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting headed by party chief Amin Gemayel: “For how long will the state maintain such a cowardly approach?”