China’s ambassador to the U.N., Li Baodong, has stressed that investigations carried out by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s Feb. 2005 assassination should be “objective and transparent.”

Li made the comment in response to a question by An Nahar daily during a press conference he held in New York on Wednesday.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that she supports continuing U.S. military aid to Lebanon following the appointment of Hizbullah-backed premier-designate Najib Miqati, U.S. daily The Washington Times reported.

"I believe still at this point that we should continue supporting the Lebanese armed forces," Clinton said during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. "I know that's been the subject of some debate here in the Congress."

The President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Judge Antonio Cassese, has delivered a copy of the Second Annual Report of the Tribunal to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and to the Government of Lebanon, STL's press office announced Wednesday.

"The Report explains the progress that has been made over the past year, as well as the challenges that the Tribunal has faced," the press office clarified.

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel stressed on Wednesday the need for the March 14 camp to adopt more organized and practical approaches, saying that it should take “clearer positions on Hizbullah’s arms, Palestinian refugees’ naturalization, and other contentious issues.”

He added before a student delegation: “March 14, 2011, will be an opportunity to announce our commitment to independence, sovereignty, and limiting arms possession to the Lebanese army and security forces.”

The Lebanese government has been aware of the gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea since 1969, reveal al-Balad French on Wednesday.

A source close to the White House said that the United States also knew of them.

France announced on Wednesday that it does not interfere in the government formation process in Lebanon, stressing however that the new Cabinet should respect the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero stated that his country has repeatedly emphasized the importance of Lebanese institutions functioning independently and democratically.

The March 14 general-secretariat on Wednesday “strongly condemned” four caretaker ministers for turning down requests from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon prosecutor to provide information and documents, saying this was tantamount to non-cooperation with the STL.

If Ministers Ghazi Aridi, Jebran Bassil, Ziad Baroud and Charbel Nahhas remain adamant in not cooperating with Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, they and their party backers would have to confront the Lebanese public which is calling for holding accountable ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassins, said the general-secretariat following its weekly meeting.

The Council of Maronite Bishops announced on Wednesday that the Synod of Maronite bishops will meet starting March 9 at 6:00 pm to elect a new patriarch.

Last week, Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir who is holding the post since 1986. The 90-year-old cardinal cited his old age in comments to the Lebanese media when he handed in his resignation.

Four caretaker ministers have turned down requests from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon prosecutor to provide information and documents, in breach of the cooperation protocol signed with the U.N., sources close to the STL told the English-language The Daily Star.

The requests made by Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare were sent last month from his office in Beirut to caretaker Premier Saad Hariri, who passed them on to Ministers Ghazi Aridi, Jebran Bassil, Ziad Baroud and Charbel Nahhas on February 24, the newspaper said Tuesday.

The crumbling of Moammar Gadhafi's regime could shed light on one of the most enduring mysteries in Lebanon: the fate of Moussa al-Sadr, a popular Shiite cleric who vanished 33 years ago during a trip to Libya.

Since the uprising began, members of Libya's opposition have broken a three-decade silence on the issue, with some saying the 82-year-old cleric is languishing in a Libyan prison.