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.

An-Nahar: 65 vacant top [public] posts to be filled in batches
Bkirki meeting sets out gradual solution to Lassa
Cabinet on vacation till Aug. 2, Legislative session Aug. 3,4

Cabinet preparations are under way for the next phase of public appointments that will be broader and would include various administrative, security and diplomatic sectors. However, these appointments will be discussed during a Cabinet meeting on Aug. 2 as government goes on vacation. Prime Minister Najib Mikati will reportedly go on family leave as well as a number of ministers.
The appointments will be based on a mechanism that had been adopted by the previous government.
In light of this, there were no “rich” issues on Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting at Baabda Palace, where ministers discussed an ordinary 35-item agenda.

An-Nahar has learned that the attack on a Lebanese University official as well as the assault on the MTV crew in the Jbeil town of Lassa were discussed in Cabinet. President Michel Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati stressed the need to arrest the perpetrators and protect the victims.
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel briefed Cabinet on the efforts undertaken to deal with the Lassa issue, saying a solution for Lassa was being mulled at a Wednesday night meeting in Bkirki [seat of the Maronite church].
An-Nahar has also learned that a broad, discreet meeting was held in Bkirki Wednesday evening to discuss the events in Lassa.

Cabinet will convene again on August 2, a day after Army Day and on the eve of legislative sessions scheduled for Aug. 3 and 4.

An-Nahar has learned that Mikati will hold a meeting Thursday morning with State Minister for Administration Reform Mohammad Fneish to lay out the groundwork that will be adopted in the next batch of public appointments.
Mikati and Fneish were set to discuss a mechanism for top public posts to fill 65 vacant jobs – 27 positions for Christians, 28 for Muslims, one for minorities and five governors’ posts as well as newly established positions.
An-Nahar has learned that discussions focused on the historical claims over territory and agreed to examine the situation and complete the land survey in the territories with no suits filed against them, and then move to territories with suits filed against them and finally the issue of land-abuse. The atmosphere was reportedly good and a committee formed to deal with the Lassa dispute ascertained it would follow up on the land survey under the supervision of the Lebanese Army and security forces.
It was also decided to curb abuse of private land belonging to the Maronite Church.

As-Safir: Jumblat from Moscow: Syria is witnessing a revolution and Assad has to fulfill his promise

Government achieved Wednesday a "breakthrough" in life by approving a Memorandum of Understanding between the Energy and Water Ministry and Iran's Petroleum Ministry, which gives Lebanon an opportunity to take advantage of Iran’s skills.
The session witnessed discussions – on some occasions debate was heated – on how to approve spending in the absence of a state budget.

As Cabinet holds its next meeting at Baabda Palace on Aug.2 after Mikati’s return from a private trip to south France, Berri called for general legislative sessions for Aug. 3 and 4.
Meanwhile, MP Walid Jumblatt made significant comments from Moscow, particularly on Syria, describing the uprising there as a “revolution.”

Jumblatt said after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Lebanon was committed to decisions made by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon “but that does not allow any external interference in internal affairs.”
“There are forces in Lebanon that believe STL decisions are a conspiracy directed against them. Among them is Hezbollah which has representatives in both Parliament and government,” Jumblatt said, stressing the need to take these factors into account.

On Syria and the possibility of foreign intervention, Jumblatt said Syrian President Bashar Assad “should resort to reforms as soon as possible and release prisoners.”
Jumblatt rejected any foreign meddling in the Syrian uprising and stressed the need to “understand that what is happening in Syria is a revolution, and accept the idea that the Arab people want freedom.”
As Jumblatt also met with Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Mikhail Bgdanov, a source close to the head of the Progressive Socialist Party said the STL was no longer in the hands of the Lebanese state. Yet, the source added, justice must not overshadow stability.
He noted that it would be very difficult for Lebanon to hand over any “Lebanese” [suspect in the Hariri murder case] no matter what the results were.
 
Al-Mustaqbal: Charbel: Rifi one of the best officers … [police] intelligence a safety valve in security forest
March 14: No point in dialogue after wasting three years

The March 14 coalition said there was no point in national dialogue after wasting three years and emphasized that "a return to dialogue is conditional to putting Hezbollah weapons under state control within a specified time and the party’s approval of this measure in advance."
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel stressed in an interview with Al-Mustaqbal newspaper the need to "put all the weapons under the authority of the state."
Charbel praised police chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi, saying he is "one of the best law-abiding officers."
Charbel also hailed the role of the Lebanese police intelligence [locally known as Internal Security Force’s Information Branch] “which has succeeded in its tasks despite a few drawbacks,” describing it as a “safety valve in a jungle-like environment of security.”
 
Al-Joumhouria: Mikati considers readdressing false witnesses issue and Hezbollah to deal with STL step-by-step

Information made available to Al-Joumhouria indicates that Mikati plans to refer the issue of "false witnesses" issue to the Judicial Council in accordance with a plan prepared by Justice Minister Shakik Qortbawi in the first practical step contrary to Lebanon's commitment to  Resolution 1557 and the Protocol of Cooperation with the STL.
Pending the new positions to be announced by Hezbollah's secretary general on July 26 to mark “the victory" over Israel in the July 2006 war, Al-Joumhouria has learned that Hezbollah, which has repeatedly said that the party is not concerned with the STL, awaits the tribunal’s next move to make the appropriate step based on a step-by-step approach.