A delegation that recently visited France to view the modern mechanisms in intercepting phone calls came back with results contradictory to what the government decided regarding allowing the security agencies to benefit from the telecom data to track crimes.

According to local newspapers published on Wednesday, French authorities pointed out that such a decision would violate the constitution and the privacy of the citizens.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday reassured that the security situation in Lebanon will not deteriorate further in the near future, noting that the regime in strife-torn Syria “must remain secular because there are religious minorities.”

“I don't see partitioning in Lebanon and the security situation will not deteriorate to an extent that exceeds what happened in the past few days,” Aoun said in an interview on his movement’s mouthpiece OTV.

Cautious calm engulfed the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp on Tuesday afternoon after an exchange of gunfire between two members of the Fatah Movement left one of them wounded, state-run National News Agency reported.

Moein Jabr, a bodyguard for prominent Fatah leader Munir al-Maqdah, was wounded as a personal dispute between him and Fatah member Alaa al-Rifai erupted into gunfire.

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc noted on Tuesday that the facts released by the media over the case of former minister Michel Samaha and Syrian security chief Ali al-Mamlouk revealed the “extent of the Syrian regime’s involvement” in destabilizing Lebanon.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “The revelations require the expulsion of Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali because he had proven his involvement in covering up and participating in crimes in Lebanon.”

The Change and Reform bloc defended on Tuesday Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi’s request to lift immunity off MP Moeen al-Merehbi, saying that he had acted according to the law.

MP Alain Aoun said after the bloc’s weekly meeting: “The campaign against the minister is politically-motivated and it should stop.”

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour stated on Tuesday that the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement must tackle their own problems among each other instead of resorting to foreign powers that seek to impose their own will against them.

He stressed: “Can we possibly leave a member state, such as Syria, as prey to unjust sanctions that have been imposed for unconvincing reasons because of its insistence to maintain its sovereign, political, and economic rights ?”

Hizbullah international relations officer Ammar Moussawi discussed on Tuesday the latest developments in Lebanon with deputy U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Robert Watkins, stressing the need to continue tackling pending issues that concern the Lebanese people.

A statement issued by Hizbullah said that the two officials “placed a priority on bolstering internal stability.”

Military Examining Magistrate Judge Riyad Abu Ghida heard on Tuesday the testimonies of ex-Minister Michel Samaha's bodyguard and driver over the bombing attacks plot.

Bodyguard Ali Mallah and driver Fares Barakat, who were arrested for questioning on Aug. 9 and later released, testified to Abu Ghida on the transfer of explosives from Syria in an attempt to carry out bombings in northern Lebanon.

President Michel Suleiman hoped on Tuesday that the abduction of the Kuwaiti national Walid al-Houti will not have an impact on the Lebanese-Kuwaiti bilateral relations.

“Kuwait has always supported Lebanon and offered help in various sectors,” Suleiman told Kuwaiti ambassador to Lebanon Abdul-Al al-Qenai.

A Syrian rocket landed on a farmhouse in a northeastern border region in Lebanon on Tuesday, injuring three Syrians, one of them seriously, the National News Agency reported.

NNA said the Syrians work in a farm that belongs to Tony Habib al-Toum in Masharih al-Qaa.