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.

Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau thwarted a break out attempt by an inmate at Roumieh prison, the National News Agency reported on Saturday.

The inmate was being transferred from the prison to Dahr al-Basheq Hospital after he injured himself with a sharp object, the NNA said.

Daylight-saving time will end at midnight on Saturday.

As per a government decree, clocks will have to be returned to wintertime at midnight on October 29 by setting them back one hour.

The Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Major General Alberto Asarta will end his tenure at the head of the mission on January 28, 2012, reported As Safire newspaper on Saturday.

It said that he will likely return to Spain where he will assume a high-ranking official position.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero stressed that Lebanon is obligated to fund the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, noting that Prime Minister Najib Miqati had pledged before the United Nations Security Council to fund it.

He told the daily An Nahar in remarks published on Saturday that France will make sure that Lebanon implement its international commitment before the end of the year.