Prime Minister Najib Miqati has called for consolidating the nation against the repercussions of the upheaval in Syria.

During the Iftar of al-Makassed Islamic Foundation on Thursday, Miqati said: “Everyone reject bloodshed and support reforms.”

The March 14 forces leaderships will hold an extensive meeting next week as the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri published on Wednesday the indictment.

High-ranking sources told An Nahar newspaper on Thursday that the meeting will issue a “strict and critical” statement.

Al-Mustaqbal movement has urged supporters to gather at ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s graveside in downtown Beirut after Friday prayers.

The movement’s sources told As Safir daily that al-Mustaqbal “has never said it was convinced about killer sects and killed confessions.”

The United States retained Iran and its ally Syria as well as Sudan and Cuba on a list of alleged state sponsors of terrorism Thursday, after blacklisting the countries the previous year.

In an annual report, the State Department said "Iran remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism in 2010," citing "financial, material and logistic support" for militant groups in the Middle East and Central Asia.

The staff of the U.S. Treasury Department, which is in charge of following up on the financial activities of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s family and entourage, believe that they are getting closer to unveiling a link between Assad’s financial interests and Premier Najib Miqati and his brother Taha, who is also a businessman.

According to a U.S. report to be published Friday by the Kuwaiti daily al-Rai, the set of sanctions recently imposed on Syriatel -- Syria’s largest mobile phone operator owned by Assad’s cousin Rami Makhlouf -- were supposed to be expanded to include either Miqati or his brother Taha for their role in establishing the Syrian firm and introducing the cellphone technology to the Syrian market more than a decade ago.

Canada's security service identified possible Hizbullah reprisals over Hariri murder indictments as a national security threat, said a report Thursday.

A classified document cited by the Montreal French-language daily La Presse, entitled "Special Tribunal for Lebanon: does Hizbullah have recourse for violence in 2011?" outlines the concerns of Canada's Integrated Threat Assessment Center.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel on Thursday quoted the military expert probing the Antelias blast as saying that the explosion was caused by a Western-made defensive hand grenade.

A statement issued by the premiership following Thursday’s cabinet session said “the interior minister demonstrated the summary of a report prepared by the military expert tasked with probing the Antelias incident.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed Thursday the need to unveil the truth behind the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri “away from any politicization or vengeance.”

During a cabinet session held Thursday, Miqati said: “Some may evaluate the content of the indictment in different ways, but what concerns us the most is unveiling the truth behind the assassination of martyr premier Rafik Hariri and his companions away from any politicization or vengeance.”

The cabinet has decided to hold a special session Friday dedicated to pursuing its discussions on the issue of electricity, Information Minister Walid al-Daouq said after Thursday’s cabinet meeting.

“A ministerial meeting will be held tomorrow to discuss the issue of electricity,” Daouq told reporters after the weekly cabinet session.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Thursday stressed that “today we are before a momentous event which is the publishing of the first part of the indictment in the murder case of ex-PM Rafik Hariri and all the martyrs of the Cedar Revolution.”

During a meeting with a delegation of Lebanese expatriates living in America, Australia, Africa, Europe and the Gulf, Geagea added: “It was really a historic day … the Lebanese people -- through a persistent struggle that cost it a lot of efforts, tears and bloodshed, especially between 2005-2009 – was able to launch the process of fulfilling justice.”