U.S. ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly stressed during her meeting with Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn on the role of the Lebanese Armed Forces in protecting the Syrian opposition residing in Lebanon.

Sources told An Nahar newspaper on Wednesday that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey will reiterate the U.S. position to Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji during his upcoming visit to the U.S.

Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, who is Speaker Nabih Berri’s top aide, has unveiled that an Israeli raid killed two soldiers who were taken captive by Hizbullah fighters in a deadly cross border attack in July 2006.

In his memoirs of the 2006 summer war between Israel and Hizbullah published by As-Safir daily, Khalil said that Hizbullah official Hussein Khalil informed him about the death of the two soldiers in “one of the biggest secrets” of the conflict.

Syrian troops infiltrated into Lebanese territory on Tuesday and raided the homes of two brothers in the eastern town of Arsal, the third such infiltration in two weeks.

An Nahar daily on Wednesday quoted an eyewitness identified by his initials as H.S. as saying that two BTR-type armored personnel carriers along with a pickup carrying Syrian soldiers crossed the border at around 4:00 pm in the area of Kherbet Daoud.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat said on Wednesday that if he held talks with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri the meeting will be announced and would not be “secret.”

“We didn’t hold a meeting, why are you making a big fuss out of it?” he wondered in remarks published in al-Liwaa newspaper.

The March 14 forces have criticized the government for remaining silent on the infiltration of Syrian troops into territories in eastern Lebanon, saying they will question the cabinet over its behavior.

High-ranking March 14 sources told An Nahar daily published on Wednesday that the official stance from Syrian infringement on Lebanese sovereignty is similar to “hiding the head in the sand rather than taking the initiative to give information and adopting the right approach” to solve the problem.

A man and woman in Mali were arrested on Tuesday and charged with “human trafficking” mainly of young women, police sources in Mali told Agence France Presse.

The trafficking was occurring between Lebanon and Mali, the source added.

The Mustaqbal bloc stressed on Tuesday that the executive authority and government in Lebanon are obligated to fund the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “This issue is not open for discussion.”

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun voiced on Tuesday his objection to the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, criticizing Premier Najib Miqati for pledging to fund it.

He said after the Change and Reform bloc’s weekly meeting: “No one, not even Miqati, has the right to vow to anyone that Lebanon will commit to funding the tribunal.”

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah held talks on Tuesday with Energy Minister Jebran Bassil on the latest developments in Lebanon, announced the party’s media department in a statement.

The meeting addressed the latest local and regional political developments, as well as issues expected to be addressed by cabinet.

Military Examining Magistrate Fadi Sawan issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday against a Hizb ut-Tahrir member for distributing leaflets slandering the Lebanese army and Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.

Hundreds of leaflets have been found with the suspect, the National News Agency reported.