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.

An-Nahar

Tragedy of collapsed building prompts authorities to issue alert

Authorities to probe negligence, survey old buildings

The tragedy of the collapse Sunday of an old building in the Fassouh neighborhood of Ashrafieh, Beirut, prompted authorities to raise their level of alertness, mobilizing Civil Defense and Red Cross teams as well as firefighters and the Health Ministry.

As it turned out, Lebanese families lived on the first three floors of the building that dates back to the 1940s while foreign workers of different nationalities – Philippine, Egyptian and Sudanese – lived on the two top floors, which were added in later years.

Cracks had begun to surface after the construction of fourth and fifth floors, reports said.

A committee has been set up to probe the incident at the request of Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who also urged a survey into every building that experts fear may collapse.

Al-Liwaa

Tension between Mikati, Aoun threatens wages again

Cabinet will discuss during its Monday meeting the tragedy of the building that collapsed in Ashrafieh and the problem of other buildings across Lebanon that face the risk of collapse.

Cabinet is likely to set up a ministerial-municipalities’ committee to reconsider construction laws and assign technical committees to carry out periodic surveys on these buildings and take measures to protect its inhabitants.

The committee will also follow up investigations into the circumstances that caused the building to collapse, including measures to be taken to compensate the injured and the affected families and whether compensation will come from the government or owner of the building.

Meanwhile, the matter of the wage increase is unlikely to be discussed during Cabinet’s meeting Monday unless Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas had filed a request to debrief Cabinet of his meetings with the Price Index Committee.

The coordinating body of trade unions called for a strike Thursday to protest the delay on the issue of increasing salaries.

Ministerial source said the salary increase issue would be discussed during a private meeting between President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati ahead of the Cabinet meeting.

Sources said debating the wage issue in Cabinet’s Monday meeting awaits a signal from the Change and Reform bloc and noted that Monday’s session was devoted to issues related to the state budget and the Tourism Ministry.

Al-Mustaqbal

Hariri saw nothing new in Nasrallah’s speech, Geagea announces from Kurdistan that Christians alone decide their own fate

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Twitter that the aim of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s visit to Lebanon is related to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and the need to implement U.N. resolutions, in addition to supporting Lebanon’s independence.

Asked about his assessment of the latest speech by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, Hariri said: "It’s the exact same talk each time.”

“The problem is that the other team [March 8] does not want to acknowledge that there is a different opinion in the country in this regard," Hariri said.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said during a visit to Iraqi Kurdistan that “dictatorships were never a solution to problems.”

Focusing on Christians in the Levant, Geagea accused “many of exploiting the Christian minority in the Middle East for personal gain.”

While he hailed the atmosphere of freedom and tolerance in the province of Kurdistan, Geagea said “Christians alone decide their own fate.”

“Christians can manage their own affairs under democracy and equality,” he added.

Al-Joumhouria

Cabinet to meet amid difficult issues

The political scene over the weekend focused on three issues: separate talks between U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu with Lebanese officials and a speech by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah.

While Nasrallah stressed dialogue in solving the Syria crisis, he hit back at Ban, saying his party would hold on to its weapons.

Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told visitors that Ban did not tackle the Special Tribunal for Lebanon during talks with him, the president or the prime minister.

It was later found out that Ban only tackled the STL during talks with leaders of the March 14 coalition.

Cabinet is expected to discuss the outcome of Ban’s and Davutoglu’s visits to Lebanon during a meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda Monday afternoon amid the burden of difficult issues such as pay hikes and the collapse of the building in Ashrafieh.