Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed on Wednesday that Lebanon is required to establish a more liberal economy, maintain the role of the private sector, and achieve social stability.

He said: “We are facing major challenges and we should therefore cooperate in order to maintain Lebanon’s economic identity, which is based on economic freedom.”

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Judges are meeting on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss amendments to the court’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence, the STL said.

“The Judges of the STL are meeting today and tomorrow to discuss a number of proposed amendments to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, as well as other issues relating to the work of the Tribunal,” the STL said in a terse statement.

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly stressed on Wednesday that the U.N. remains committed to further consolidating was has been achieved since the adoption of Security Council resolution 1701.

He said after meeting with Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour: “The United Nations remains deeply committed to promoting the security and stability of Lebanon.”

Armed men intercepted a vehicle and kidnapped its driver in the Baabda district town of Tehwitat al-Ghadir, the National News Agency reported on Wednesday.

NNA said that the gunmen were riding a Mercedes and a BMW when they intercepted a Nissan carrying the license plate Z453380 near Cis college and al-Hilal restaurant.

Premier Najib Miqati has rejected to launch an initiative to resolve the cabinet crisis as Speaker Nabih Berri has also refused so far to mediate between him and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun.

Miqati’s sources told al-Akhbar daily published Wednesday that the PM “can no longer tolerate” the way ministers loyal to Aoun are dealing with him.

Speaker Nabih Berri slammed on Wednesday March 14 coalition MPs who have accused the Lebanese army of deploying in northern areas bordering Syria at the behest of the Assad regime.

“The army is carrying out the duties that its leader Gen. Jean Qahwaji has ordered,” Berri told An Nahar and As Safir dailies. “This is a patriotic institution that implements the government’s policy of distancing itself from the events in Syria.”

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour has made changes in the positions of 83 third rank diplomats and vowed to make more modifications in other posts.

Mansour’s decision on Tuesday included bringing back 13 diplomats from missions abroad into the foreign ministry in Beirut. It also gave 52 diplomats posts in Lebanese missions in different countries in the world.

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader Fouad Saniora revealed on Wednesday that he discussed with President Michel Suleiman a day earlier the controversial deployment of the Lebanese army in northern areas bordering Syria.

“We discussed a lot of issues, including the government (crisis), the situation in the region, the economy, the deployment of the army in the North, the security situation and (verbal) attacks on the president and the premier,” Saniora told An Nahar daily.

Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday stressed that “there will be no new government in Lebanon,” noting that contacts were underway to resolve a cabinet crisis that could force the collapse of Premier Najib Miqati’s government.

“We are keen on the survival of the government,” Nasrallah said in a televised address commemorating the birth of the Prophet Mohammed, adding that the current cabinet was providing political stability and security during this period.

The Mustaqbal bloc condemned on Tuesday the government’s practices and the ongoing “struggle for power” among its members.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “Meddling with the delicate distribution of power that has been designated by the constitution will not solve the dispute.”