Political sources monitoring the formation of the new government revealed that the recent meeting Thursday night between Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati with Caretaker Energy Minister Jebran Bassil “has not overcome the several obstacles regarding FPM leader MP Michel Aoun’s demands over the new cabinet, including his demand for the interior ministry portfolio.”

They told the daily An Nahar in remarks published on Saturday that House Speaker Nabih Berri had proposed that Aoun be granted the foreign ministry, while the speaker would assume the energy and defense ministries and the president would retain the interior ministry, but the suggestion was rejected.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea noted that the current process of forming a new government is a “major embarrassment”.

He told the daily An Nahar in remarks published on Saturday that the current chaos over the cabinet formation will not threaten Lebanon even if it does take a long time to set up a government, explaining that the army, security forces, and justice system will prevent any instability.

Sources monitoring the Special Tribunal for Lebanon expected on Friday that the indictment in the investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will be issued in two weeks.

They told the Central News Agency that 70 days are available for approving the indictment, meaning that the indictment may be revealed at the end of March at the latest.

Israeli deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom threatened on Friday Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah by saying: “We are not keen on battle, but if it is imposed on us, them we will return you Nasrallah to the underground hideout where you will stay for years.”

“The Galilee is prospering and we are spending money on it for it to prosper,” he stated.

Israeli missions in Turkey have stopped working while security measures are implemented in response to threats by Hizbullah, an Israeli diplomatic source said Friday.

"Officially, we are not closed, but practically we are not functioning... because of security problems," the source told Agence France Presse.

UNIFIL Commander Maj. Gen. Alberto Asarta said Friday that the Lebanese army and peacekeepers have been able to implement the essential articles of Security Council resolution 1701.

“However, there are a lot of things that we should do before saying that UNIFIL’s mission was successfully implemented,” Asarta said during a ceremony honoring members of the Indian contingent at its base in Nqar Kawkaba.

A Lebanese military court sentenced a man to death on charges of spying for Israel's Mossad and providing the agency with information on Hizbullah, a judicial official said Friday.

"A military court has sentenced Amin Ibrahim al-Baba to death ... for contacting Israeli intelligence and providing information that aided Israeli attacks on Lebanon," the official told Agence France Presse.

Speaker Nabih Berri has brushed off criticism of the transfer of the parliamentary majority from the March 14 to the March 8 forces, saying there is no need for a tumult over the issue.

Berri’s visitors told An Nahar and As Safir dailies in remarks published Friday that it was not the first time power was transferred from one alliance to the other. It happened when Salim Hoss became premier instead of Rafik Hariri during ex-President Emile Lahoud’s term in office.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat said that the March 14 coalition has already made up its decision not to participate in Premier-designate Najib Miqati’s cabinet.

“March 14 has made up its mind and we have done so as well,” Jumblat told As Safir daily in remarks published Friday.

The process of the government formation has gone back to “square one” although the speeches of March 14 officials on ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination anniversary made it clear that the coalition won’t take part in Premier-designate Najib Miqati’s cabinet, informed political sources told An Nahar daily.

The newspaper ruled out the possibility of having a cabinet line-up ready by the end of February, saying Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun’s demands are crippling the government formation process despite efforts by some teams from the March 8 forces to facilitate Miqati’s task.