Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji travelled to Washington on Sunday for talks with U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey.

On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly reiterated that the Obama administration expects from Lebanon and the Lebanese Armed Forces to fulfill their commitment to implement U.N. Security Council resolution 1701.

Former Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir said Sunday that he doesn’t reject Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s remarks on Hizbullah’s arms and the situation in Syria, stressing that he is “not against” the head of the Maronite church.

In remarks to Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3), Sfeir said: “We are with what he says and we are not against him.”

Speaker Nabih Berri has denied that he informed Premier Najib Miqati about the rejection of Hizbullah and Amal to fund the international tribunal, saying the cabinet would have a say on the issue when the draft state budget is discussed.

Berri’s visitors quoted him as saying that as long as the funding is mentioned in the 2012 budget, the cabinet would discuss the issue and the parliamentary majority would vote on it.

Speaker Nabih Berri will likely propose a solution to the wage dispute between business leaders and the General Labor Confederation if both parties weren’t able to reach an agreement by Tuesday, his visitors said.

Premier Najib Miqati held talks with Berri on Saturday in what was seen as a last-ditch effort and a race against time to solve the wage crisis ahead of Wednesday’s strike planned by the GLC.

Hizbullah has reiterated that it would not bargain on its decision to reject the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, An Nahar newspaper reported on Sunday.

Hizbullah “rejects any bargaining between the funding and other issues such as false witnesses or security appointments,” sources close to the Shiite party told the daily.

Sitting in a small barren classroom in the village of Fnaydiq, in northern Lebanon's remote Akkar region, 11-year-old Zeynab is eager to tackle the new school year.

But the odds are heavily stacked against her even making it to high school.

A letter sent by the U.N. to Lebanon asking it to fund the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will be referred to the justice ministry to put the country’s financial obligations to the court in the draft state budget in cooperation with the finance ministry, An Nahar daily reported Sunday.

The newspaper said that the premiership will refer the letter to the justice ministry in accordance with the protocol signed between the Lebanese government and the STL.

Two inmates at Amyoun prison in Koura began a riot on Saturday after security forces detained the mother of one of them for trying to smuggle drugs into the jail, the National News Agency reported.

Inmates Yehya al-Ayoubi and Haitham Allaw locked their cell from the inside and threatened to harm prisoners protesting on detaining the mother of Allaw.

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel stressed on Saturday that his party’s position on the Syrian infiltration into the Lebanese territories in the eastern Bekaa valley is a matter of principle.

“Sovereignty can’t be divided, it’s either complete or doesn’t exist, especially if a non-Lebanese army enters the Lebanese border and assault peoples’ privacy,” Gemayel said.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati said on Saturday that no one is against improving wages, but several issues must be taken into consideration before carrying out this demand.

“No one is against improving wages, however, we should take into consideration the consequences that might be behind this raise like inflation, unemployment and the state treasury,” Miqati said after meeting with speaker Nabih Berri.