Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has unveiled that he held a telephone conversation with former Premier Saad Hariri thanking him for his latest stance on Jumblat.

The Druze leader told An Nahar daily published Friday that he heard “moving words” from Hariri but refused to give further details.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he hopes the Arab Spring will result in democracies in the Arab world, warning that an “Iranian-style dictatorship” would harm revolutions in the region.

"If there's genuine democracy in the Arab world, in the Arab countries, then there will be genuine peace. Because a genuine democracy reflects the desires of the people, and most people Arabs, Jews, anyone they don't want their sons and daughters dying on battlefields," Netanyahu told al-Arabiya satellite channel in an interview aired Thursday evening.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said that he had been informed that a search is underway for the four suspects in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination case.

In an interview with al-Hurra TV, Feltman said that the search for the four Hizbullah members against whom arrest warrants were issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was “the responsibility of the Lebanese government.”

Political upheaval in Syria, hit by months of opposition protests, is weighing heavily on neighboring Lebanon where it risks sparking inter-religious clashes, U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams warned Thursday.

"There is a great worry in Lebanon about this," said Williams, who raised the potential for "confessional clashes in Lebanon."

Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Hassan Fadlallah on Thursday said that Hizbullah was willing to engage in a national dialogue “on the basis of building a defense strategy for Lebanon, but not on the basis of dialogue over the Resistance and its weapons.”

“Because we don’t believe there’s a dialogue topic called weapons or the Resistance,” Fadlallah added, stressing Hizbullah’s keenness on “rapprochement, cooperation and understanding” among the Lebanese.

Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah met Thursday with Mohammad Reza Bahonar, Deputy Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran (parliament), who was accompanied by a parliamentary delegation, Hizbullah’s press office said.

The meeting, which was also attended by Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi, tackled the latest developments in Lebanon and the region and the means of possible cooperation between Lebanon and Iran, the press office added.

Lebanese Forces bloc MP Elie Kairouz on Thursday addressed a parliamentary question to the government via the parliament speaker on the circumstances of the abduction and release of the seven Estonians.

In a statement issued by his press office, Kairouz addressed a question to “Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi on the circumstances of the abduction, detention and release of the seven Estonian hostages … and the role of the Lebanese government and its judicial and military authorities in that operation.”

The Sharia committee of Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah Foundation announced Thursday that Islam's holy fasting month of Ramadan will begin on Monday, August 1.

“According to accurate scientific and astronomical calculations, the astronomical birth of the crescent of the holy month of Ramadan for the year 1432 A.H. will happen on Saturday, July 30 at 18:40 GMT (21:40 Beirut daylight saving time),” the foundation said in statement.

Speaker Nabih Berri said on Thursday that Lebanon won’t forget the United Nations Interim in Lebanon Force’s sacrifices for Lebanon.

He made his statement during a meeting with U.N. Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) chief Juha Kilpiä and an accompanying delegation.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi criticized on Thursday political disputes in Lebanon, hoping that they won’t obstruct the functioning of state institutions.

He said after meeting with a Phalange Party delegation: “We oppose political quarrels taking place at Lebanon’s expense because the country belongs to all Lebanese.”