President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati signed on Friday a decree appointing Judge Salim Jreissati as the successor of former Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas, the National News Agency reported.

Miqati and Suleiman signed the decree at the Baabda Palace, a day after Nahhas officially resigned.

Speaker Nabih Berri expressed regret at the withdrawal of the March 14 opposition MPs from a parliamentary session on Thursday, saying he adjourned the meeting over his keenness on national cohesion.

“I am not satisfied with what happened even if the democratic game allows lawmakers to withdraw from the session,” Berri said in remarks published in Beirut dailies on Friday.

Senior Lebanese and Israeli military officials held a meeting on Thursday in Ras al-Naqoura under the supervision of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

UNIFIL Commander Maj.-Gen. Paolo Serra headed the meeting intended to boost security measures along the Blue Line and to halt any violations by both parties.

Tashnag Party MP Hagop Pakradounian on Thursday stressed that the relation between his party and MP Michel Murr was more than a mere political alliance, describing it as a “deep friendship at the national and political levels.”

For his part, Murr noted that the relation “went through some bumps” during the 2009 parliamentary elections, describing the rift as “a summer’s day cloud.”

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel said on Thursday that ending “statelets” and “closed security zones” would help build the Lebanese state.

He said: “Lebanon’s sovereignty cannot be established without eliminating the possession of illegitimate arms.”

President Michel Suleiman condemned on Thursday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent statements on Lebanon, saying that its existence will not be affected by his remarks.

He added in a statement: “Lebanon is the only country to have defeated Israel militarily and the Jewish state is still recovering from it.”

Some 1.3 tons of spoiled meat have been confiscated by Consumer Protection Directorate patrols, reported the National News Agency on Thursday.

It said that the meat was discovered in a warehouse of a commercial establishment in the industrial zone in al-Fanar region in Metn district.

A Srilankan maid killed her employer on Thursday at her house in Bourj al-Barajneh in Beirut, reported the National News Agency.

It said that the maid at first beat Nehmat Munthir, 70, several times with a flower pot before stabbing her several times with a knife.

Parliament approved to permanently lift the Value Added Tax on red and green diesel on Thursday, paving way for around a 10 percent drop in their prices.

The approval by the majority of votes came despite reservations expressed by Energy Minister Jebran Bassil.

Acting Labor Minister Nicolas Fattoush and President Michel Suleiman signed on Thursday the transportation allowance decree, which was a point of contention between ex-minister Charbel Nahhas and Prime Minister Najib Miqati.

Fattoush said following talks with Miqati at the Grand Serail that the PM informed him about his approval of the resignation of Nahhas and stressed the importance of “boosting the cabinet’s work.”