Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat said on Monday that igniting the north front and dragging the country into strife is the only alternative to dialogue “which certain political powers oddly refuse to participate in.”

In his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine, Jumblat expressed his concern over the security events erupting in the northern city of Tripoli, specifically the tit-for-tat abductions that took place Sunday night between Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen rival neighborhoods.

Almost 200 entrepreneurs have submitted Early Applications to the 2012 Seeqnce Accelerator Program, who have released an infographic that gives some insight on the current state of entrepreneurship in Lebanon.

The majority of applicants (57%) are Lebanese, some of which are living abroad and excited to relocate to Lebanon to found a tech startup. 43% of applicants are non-Lebanese Arab, European, and American nationals, highlighting the massive potential of Lebanon’s startup scene.

An Australian lawyer and a Lebanese interpreter detained after meeting Seif al-Islam were being investigated for the crime of spying and complicity, a Libyan official said as an International Criminal Court team arrived in Tripoli to try to secure their release.

"The delegation just arrived now to negotiate with the Libyan authorities and the prosecutor general for the (ICC) team's release," Ahmed Jehani, Libya's envoy to the international tribunal, said on Sunday.

Jordan's King Abdullah II expressed his condolences on Saturday to the family of “Dean of Journalists” Ghassan Tueni.

"We express our sincerest sympathies for this profound affliction,” the king said in a letter sent to the Tueni family.

Russia will not approve the use of force against the Syrian regime at the United Nations, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Saturday at a briefing in Moscow.

"We will not sanction the use of force at the United Nations Security Council," Lavrov said in televised remarks as he gave a briefing on Russia's proposal for an international conference on Syria.

Lebanon drew 1-1 with Uzbekistan on Friday in the second match of the final Asian qualifying round for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Jasur Hasanov gave Uzbekistan a 1-0 lead just 11 minutes into the match both sides needed to win to get their campaigns for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil back on track.

One person was killed and two others were wounded on Friday as exchange of gunfire renewed between the rival Tripoli neighborhoods of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh, in the latest such violation of a fragile ceasefire.

“Cautious calm engulfed the area after army units fired heavily for around 10 minutes at the sources of gunfire, silencing the sniper fire,” state-run National News Agency reported later on Friday.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Thursday held talks with top Lebanese leaders, stressing the need to “exert all efforts to prevent an importation of the Syrian conflict into Lebanon.”

The German diplomat called on the Lebanese political forces to shoulder their responsibilities in this regard.

Expressing horror at the latest massacre in Syria, U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan told the major powers on Thursday that it was time to threaten "consequences" if President Bashar Assad does not halt the strife.

Annan and U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon condemned the reported slaughter of dozens of people in the village of al-Qubeir on Wednesday, telling the 193-nation U.N. General Assembly it was time to increase pressure.

Sniper gunshots were fired on Wednesday at Syria Street, which separates the rival Tripoli neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, as a hand grenade exploded in the neighboring Baal Al-Darawish area, National News Agency reported.

No gunmen were visible in Bab al-Tabbaneh, amidst complete shutdown of shops and stores, reported NNA.