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

As-Safir

Washington acknowledges presence of groups sympathetic to Al-Qaeda in Lebanon

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri congratulated Lebanese for a job well done after Cabinet finally approved Wednesday decrees to implement an oil exploration law.

The approval of the decrees will open the door for the Cabinet to draw tenders to start oil exploration off the Lebanese coast.

However, the Cabinet remained deadlocked on far more pressing issues including an agreement over state administrative appointments and a decision to hike wages.

Energy Minister Gibran Bassil told As-Safir that Cabinet’s approval of the decrees “culminates more than a year of efforts by the Energy Ministry and three months of efforts by the ministerial energy committee.”

Ministerial sources, meanwhile, said the reason ministers did not bring up the issue of infiltration of [Al-Qaeda] gunmen into the Bekaa border town of Arsal was due to the absence of Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn from Cabinet’s meeting.

Remarks about Al-Qaeda made by Daniel Benjamin, Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the U.S. State Department Wednesday were interesting enough.

At a news conference in Washington, Benjamin acknowledged the presence of groups sympathetic to Al-Qaeda in Lebanon.

In response to a question, he said: “We have seen reports and I do not have any further comments on them. We know for sure that there are groups sympathetic to Al Qaeda in Lebanon, for many years.”

Benjamin brought to mind the 2007 war between the Lebanese Army and Al-Qaeda in the northern Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared.

“You may recall that the Lebanese Army entered a refugee camp a few years ago to deal with a group that had an ideology similar to Al-Qaeda. So, certainly, elements of this kind have entered in Lebanon over the years. If they have anything to do with what is happening in Syria, this is another matter entirely,” he said.

An-Nahar

Ban Ki-moon raises demarcation of border with Syria

Lebanon is getting ready for talks described as important with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during his planned visit to Lebanon on Jan. 13.

Well-informed sources said talks will focus on core issues, notably the prospects for renewal n March of the protocol agreement which established the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, border issues with both Syria and Israel and the situation of UNIFIL.

They said Ban will also discuss with Lebanese officials Resolution 1680 which calls for the demarcation of the Lebanon-Syria border.

The sources told An-Nahar that the March 14 coalition will hand Ban a letter calling for U.N. help to determine the fate of detainees in Syria, especially in light of the events taking place there.

They noted that the recent internal bickering over a controversial statement about the presence of Al-Qaeda in Lebanon prompted U.N. officials to return to the Lebanon-Syria border issue.

Al-Mustaqbal

Arsal calls for government protection ... Hariri ready for dialogue ‘but under the roof of Taif’ [accord]

Future Movement leader and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri expressed readiness via Twitter to engage in “serious dialogue” with the various political sides, “but under the roof of the Taif” accord.

Hariri said he believed that mismanagement of the issue of minimum wage reflects the lack of vision of the current Lebanese government.

"Instead of focusing on [how to] expand [the] economy and create employment opportunities for Lebanese graduates, members of the Lebanese government are competing among themselves to gain popular support," Hariri said.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani said "we will not accept [that anyone] damage the dignity of Arsal residents.”

Arsal dignitaries also renewed calls on the Lebanese government to protect them from “rampaging Hezbollah militias and the Syrian army.”