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

Ad-Diyar

Pay hike deal: What did Mikati offer Gen. Michel Aoun?

$16 million to Bassil in Batroun and tourism facilitations

Cabinet’s approval of a pay hike package revealed a “tradeoff” between government’s majority and centrists, particularly in terms of approval of projects proposed by Aoun all the way to public appointments.

Meanwhile, fuel oil was found in abundance after a one-month subsidy deadline set by the government ended Thursday. This allowed the distribution of 8 million liters Thursday afternoon to companies and dealers at cheaper prices.

Fuel oil ceased to exist throughout the subsidy period.

The price of fuel oil fell LL3,000 last month after Cabinet removed the value-added tax on the fuel.

As-Safir

Fingerprint records: contract annulment or new government dispute?

A new chapter of political and security exposure has emerged after it was learned that fingerprint records of more than 4 million Lebanese turned out to be in the hands of a private French company, which is also partners with an Israeli military establishment.

Although Interior Minister Marwan Charbel confirmed that the Interior Ministry had details of fingerprint records of some 4 million Lebanese, adding that the records were being kept at the Central Bank, that does not exclude the possibility that such data may have fallen into the hands of the Israeli enemy some time ago.

In response to a question, Charbel denied any knowledge of the partnership between the French and Israeli companies.

Charbel told As-Safir that he would take the necessary measures to verify the authenticity of this report. He said if the report turned out to be true, he would immediately raise the issue in Cabinet to take appropriate action on this sensitive matter out of concern for the national interest.

Ministerial sources said Hezbollah ministers would also bring the issue up during Cabinet’s next meeting.

Al-Liwaa

Baabda stands in solidarity with Mikati: Ban did not request something that contradicts Lebanese policy

President Michel Sleiman has ruled out the possibility of closing the gap between himself and Gen. Michel Aoun over the dispute to appoint a new head of the Higher Judicial Council.

Sleiman also revealed that he was not planning on introducing any amendments to the protocol agreement between Lebanon and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and said talks with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon had focused on the U.N. mission in Lebanon.

In a show of solidarity with Prime Minister Najib Mikati after Syria, through its envoy in Lebanon – Ambassador Ali Abdel-Karim Ali, admonished the PM for the presence of smuggling of arms and militants across the border, Sleiman noted that Ban made stronger statements after he left Beirut.

Sleiman said neither Ban nor Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had made any specific requests that contradict Lebanese policy.

An-Nahar

Public appointments come to light after pay hike deal, Bkirki complains of delays

Jumblatt met Qatar’s Emir: I’m concerned about Syria, not the regime

With the closure of the wage hike issue, the government now faces the issue of public appointments that will perhaps meet a similar fate to that of the salary increase agreement, which took the government some four months to approve. Cabinet approved the wage hike package amid signs that obstacles linger over the issue of administrative appointments.

Meanwhile, a meeting in Doha Thursday between Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt and Qatar’s Emir was considered significant.

Jumblatt told Al-Jazeera satellite channel that “violence in Syria only begets violence," adding that “I am concerned about Syria, not the regime.”

He also warned of civil war in Syria and called on Iran and Russia to “take the initiative to save the country."