Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese newspapers Monday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.

Al-Joumhouria: Mansour: Assad told me [Syria] crisis is short-lived

All eyes focused on Syria Sunday as events in the battleground moved fast as a result of the escalating confrontation between the regime and opponents. Reports said Syrian army tanks raided Deir al-Zour and Houla near Homs, killing at least 70 civilians and wounding dozens.

Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar Assad stressed that the crisis in Syria is “short-lived and that Syria will soon come out of it, pointing out that Syria had previously experienced a similar crisis and had managed to overcome it,” Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour told Al-Joumhouria

Mansour’s remarks came following talks with Assad Sunday.

Mansour will brief Cabinet of the outcome of his talks in Damascus during Monday’s meeting under Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the Grand Serail.

Mansour also held talks with Syrian Vice President Walid Moallem who raised the issue of arms being smuggled to Syria via Lebanon.

Mansour said Moallem informed him that Syria foiled 30 weapons smuggling attempts and arrested the smugglers, adding that several arms caches had also been uncovered.

Al-Akhbar: Jumblatt meets Hariri in coming days

Cabinet convenes Monday at the Grand Serail to discuss the remaining items on its agenda. Ministerial sources said the meeting will be confined to this framework and will not address other issues such as the [long-awaited] public appointments.

Meanwhile, MP Walid Jumblatt returned Sunday from a visit to Turkey. However, the purpose of the trip remained unclear. Well-informed sources said the Syrian crisis was likely the main issue of discussions with Turkish officials. The sources stressed that Jumblatt will meet former Prime Minister Saad Hariri in the “coming days,” likely in France.

March 14 forces continued their attacks against the [Lebanese] government’s position on the Security Council statement that condemned violence in Syria.

MP Jamal Jarrah criticized the “Hezbollah government’s position regarding the popular movement in Syria where this government placed Lebanon in a confrontation with the international community when it opposed the unanimous decision to condemn the violence practiced by the Syrian regime against its people.”

Separately, Hezbollah official Hisham Safeiddine attacked the opposition [March 14], noting that “we are facing a political camp which only seems to be … in the service of the U.S. position and Israel’s interest and seek to use Lebanon in a bid to target both the Syrian regime and its people.”

As-Safir: Jumblatt praises Turkish stance on Lebanon, Arab issues

“Lebanese message of solidarity” to Damascus

MP Walid Jumblatt returned Sunday to Beirut from a trip to Turkey where he met Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Jumblatt told As-Safir that he discussed with Turkish officials the situation in Lebanon and the events in Syria, in addition to the Palestinian reconciliation. Jumblatt praised Turkey’s position regarding these issues.

“The Justice and Development Party has always stood and still stands firmly by the Arab cause and the Palestinian cause,” Jumblatt said.

Meanwhile, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai visited the southern port city of Sidon before moving to the Chouf region where he met President Michel Sleiman at Beiteddine Palace for talks that included the issue of reviving national dialogue.

A source at the church said Sleiman and Rai mulled the possibility of turning national dialogue into a national dialogue conference that would include all the political figures and representatives of the Lebanese spectrum.

An-Nahar: No [public] appointments in Cabinet’s Monday meeting

Rai calls for national conference

Cabinet will hold a regular meeting at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Grand Serail and [public] appointments are unlikely to be approved pending agreement on the priorities related to this issue.

However, Cabinet is likely to discuss the appointments of some governors, starting from a governor for Beirut, which has been confirmed by Interior Minister Marwan Charbel who said governors will be appointed in line with the mechanism that had been previously approved by Cabinet.

Meanwhile, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai visited the Chouf Mountains Sunday.

Although Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt and National Liberal Party chief Dory Chamoun were not present at the ceremony in Deir al-Qamar, both being outside the country, the political presence varied as Jumblatt was represented by his son, Taymour, along with members of his parliamentary bloc.

Jumblatt, accompanied by Cabinet Minister Ghazi Aridi, returned Sunday evening from a visit to Turkey.

Separately, An-Nahar has learned that judicial authorities have finalized a report to be submitted to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon before the Aug. 11 deadline. The report includes a detailed presentation of what Lebanese authorities and security services have accomplished with regards to the arrest of the four suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.