Former Premier Saad Hariri held talks with Saudi King Abdullah in Mecca on Tuesday morning to extend his Eid al-Fitr greetings to him, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

SPA said that the two men met at al-Safa palace after attending prayers at the Holy Mosque.

Premier Najib Miqati rejected threats made by Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun to withdraw his ministers from the cabinet if it didn’t approve the electricity plan, saying this could create a precedence that would turn the government useless.

In remarks to As Safir daily published Monday, Miqati said: “This equation is totally rejected. Accepting it would create a dangerous precedence on the level of institutional work.”

A delegation from the Saudi royal family arrived Saturday in Mogadishu on a one-day visit to see how best to assist the Horn of Africa country hit by famine and drought, officials said.

The delegation, led by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a nephew of King Abdullah and one of the kingdom's wealthiest men, arrived in late morning and visited camps for those displaced by the crisis and Banadir hospital, where acutely malnourished children have been dying in large numbers.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati will probably meet with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz during his visit to the country to perform the Omra.

Sources told al-Liwaa newspaper on Friday that the Lebanese officials are observing how the official Saudi reception of the PM will be.

Premier Najib Miqati travelled to Mecca for Omra on Wednesday after a 10-minute cabinet session held at Baabda palace to discuss the controversial electricity bill.

Following the session, Miqati held talks with Speaker Nabih Berri at the parliament building. Both men agreed on postponing a parliamentary session that was set to endorse the electricity bill had the cabinet approved it.

Saudi King Abdullah held talks with former Lebanese Premier Saad Hariri, the first meeting between the two since the collapse of Hariri’s cabinet in January.

Hariri’s meeting with Abdullah was held at al-Safa Palace in Mecca. The discussion continued over an Iftar banquet thrown by the king, in the presence of a number of senior Saudi officials, the former prime minister’s press office said Tuesday.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other governments should call on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, but declined to make that call herself.

"It's not going to be any news if the United States says Assad needs to go," Clinton said, suggesting the world's reaction to such a move would be, "Ok, fine. What's next?"

Twenty three tribesmen were killed in overnight clashes with troops loyal to embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Arhab, northeast of the capital, a tribal source said Tuesday.

"Twenty three of our fighters were killed in fierce overnight clashes with the Republican Guard," said the source, adding that the worst fighting was concentrated in the area of Sheheb Arhab.

Stock markets in the Gulf, except Saudi Arabia, opened up on Sunday after a volatile week trailing the behavior of global markets hit by uncertainty over European and U.S. economic woes.

The Dubai Financial Market index continued its rise on Sunday after returning to the green in the latter part of last week.

U.S. President Barack Obama joined key British and Saudi allies Saturday in demanding that the Syrian regime "immediately" halt its brutal crackdown on protesters.

During a telephone conversation, Obama and Saudi King Abdullah expressed their "shared, deep concerns about the Syrian government's use of violence against its citizens," the White House said in a statement.