Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri stated on Friday that the Kingdom’s travel warning for its citizens against heading to Lebanon was related to events at the time, but now that matters have calmed down, it is no longer necessary.

The ambassador made his statements after holding talks with Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati.

British Foreign Minister William Hague refused to label the new government headed by Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati as a “Hizbullah government,” saying that the new premier is not affiliated with the party.

He told al-Watan Online that the Cabinet encompasses a wide alliance in Lebanon that does not strictly include Hizbullah, stressing that the government should be judged by its actions.

President Michel Suleiman is expected to hold talks on Saturday morning at the Baabda palace with Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati on the results of his consultations with parliamentary blocs and MPs.

Suleiman’s visitors reported him as saying that the issues of dispute between the Lebanese, especially those linked to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, should be resolved through dialogue.

A high-ranking European diplomatic denied that a French-Qatari deal was behind the appointment of Najib Miqati as prime minister-designate, saying that France, like other western countries, is monitoring the “worrisome situation” in Lebanon.

He told the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in remarks published on Saturday that Miqati is faced with a number of tests regarding the formation of a new Lebanese government, as well as challenges in how he deals with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

A Lebanese army helicopter made an emergency landing Friday on the outskirts of the Akkar town of Jdeidet al-Qaitaa due to a technical malfunction.

No one was hurt in the incident as a maintenance team from the Qleiat Air Base arrived on the scene.

Outgoing premier Saad Hariri held talks Friday evening at the Center House with U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams.

"We had a very good meeting. I underlined the importance of maintaining calm and stability in Lebanon during this period. As I have always said, all parties need to work together and engage in dialogue to resolve outstanding differences, no matter how sensitive," Williams said after the meeting.

A French man was killed in an avalanche on Lebanon's highest mountain peak on Friday while 10 other skiers escaped unharmed, officials and a witness said.

The French embassy confirmed to Agence France Presse that one of its citizens had been killed in an accident in Qornet al-Sawda, which overlooks the Cedars of north Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned on Friday that “no one and no country” should obstruct the functioning of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, calling on the Lebanese people and government to work on reaching political stability in their country.

He stressed during the World Economic Forum in Davos that the STL is “adopting an independent legal route.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea held talks on Friday with French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton on the postponement of the contact group meeting between France, the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey.

The French official explained that the meeting was not necessary at the moment because the tensions that had been predominant in Lebanon have eased, said a statement from Geagea’s media office.

The Lebanese army on Friday rescued 10 people, one of them critically injured, who had been trapped in an avalanche on Lebanon's highest mountain peak, a military spokesman said.

"Army special forces were deployed to Qornet al-Sawda to rescue 10 people, including French and Lebanese nationals, and all we know at present is that one of them is seriously injured," the spokesman told Agence France Presse.