President Michel Suleiman urged on Thursday politicians to prevent political disputes from affecting social affairs, “which are at the heart of democracy”, the National News Agency reported.

“There are many projects related to social affairs that are waiting to be approved,” he said during a meeting with General Labor Confederation Chief Ghassan Ghosn and an accompanying delegation.

Lebanese political forces are preparing to hold private and broad meetings to determine their stances on the new electoral law that the cabinet had pledged to finalize.

It vowed in its policy statement to finalize it a year before the parliamentary elections are to be held in 2013.

An agreement signed between the government of French Premier Francois Fillon and that that of former PM Saad Hariri to provide the Lebanese army with missiles has been temporarily suspended, revealed French sources to the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat on Thursday.

They said that the French government suspended it in order to determine a clear position from Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s cabinet, which Paris believes was formed at Syria and Hizbullah’s bidding.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati held talks on Thursday with State Minister for Administrative Development Mohammed Fneish on the basis that should be followed in the next installment of appointments.

An Nahar newspaper reported that the meeting will discuss the mechanism adopted in the appointment of high-ranking positions in state that include 65 vacant job: 27 for Christians, 28 for Muslims, 1 for minorities and 5 for updated posts.

Looking into the false witnesses issue once again is aimed at clearing the name of some political and security officials in order to pave the way for their running in the 2013 parliamentary elections, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Thursday.

Political sources told the daily that the issue is also being used to prevent some people from running in the elections by supposedly involving them in the case.

A heated debate erupted during Wednesday’s cabinet session over designating funds to be spent given the lack of an approved state budget, reported As Safir newspaper on Thursday.

The dispute had initially started during Monday’s cabinet session.

The dispute in the Jbeil District town of Lassa is not between political parties or movements, it is rather a property rights dispute and it will be tackled in a spirit of dialogue and coexistence, the media department of the Maronite Patriarchate said Thursday in a statement.

The statement was issued following a meeting in Bkirki on Wednesday for the follow-up committee that emerged from the recent broad Maronite meeting in Bkirki.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said on Thursday that he will not give up on Internal Security Chief Maj.-Gen. Ashraf Rifi, al-Mustaqbal newspaper reported.

“Rifi is one of the best officers committed to implementing the law,” he told the daily.

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Commander Major General Alberto Asarta revealed that he suggested that the international force act as a mediator between Lebanon and Israel in demarcating the maritime border.

He told Al-Akhbar newspaper in remarks published on Thursday that he hopes that this issue will be resolved during his tenure and that efforts would be made to completely designate the Blue Line as well.

The cabinet on Wednesday approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Lebanon’s energy and water ministry and Iran’s oil ministry, Information Minister Walid al-Daouq said.

The MOU includes “a cooperation agreement in the field of energy worth $50 million,” Al-Manar television reported.