The cabinet tasked Premier Najib Miqati on Friday with preparing a draft-law on the details of the extra-budgetary spending made by previous governments between 2006 and 2010.

Information Minister Walid al-Daouq said following the cabinet session held at Baabda palace that Miqati will refer the draft-law to the government during its next session on Wednesday.

Those who are demanding a facilitation of the crossing of gunmen from and into Syria have “made the wrong request and knocked on the wrong door,” Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji has said.

In an interview with Al-Afkar magazine to be published Friday, Qahwaji stressed that the army had boosted its deployment in the northern area of Wadi Khaled, which borders Syria, noting that “the military forces are exerting utmost efforts to control the border, prevent smuggling in both directions, and thwart any infiltration attempt.”

The Higher Defense Council on Thursday expressed “relief” over the security situation in the country and decided to keep its resolutions confidential, following an emergency meeting at the Baabda Palace that tackled the issue of the Lebanese-Syrian border and the influx of refugees and gunmen from Syria.

The council “was briefed by the heads of the security agencies about the results of the security missions performed in several Lebanese regions and the border areas, expressing relief over the general security situation,” council spokesman Maj. Gen. Adnan Merheb announced after the meeting.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stated on Thursday that Lebanon “knows how to assume its responsibilities.”

He said ahead of his official visit to Jordan: “The Lebanese state does not need to take orders from others on how to run its affairs.”

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecution and Defense counsel have been asked to file written submissions to the Appeals Chamber on the crime of "criminal association" (under Article 335 of the Lebanese Criminal Code), announced the STL in a statement on Thursday.

The parties have until March 15 to submit their arguments to the Appeals Chamber along with arguments on whether an oral hearing should take place, it explained.

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly lamented on Thursday the poor number of women in official state positions in Lebanon.

He said after holding talks with Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour: “Let us hope that the 2013 parliamentary elections will result in a stronger participation and bigger representation of women in the political field here in the future.”

The head of the parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee MP Ibrahim Kanaan stated on Thursday that the government and the Lebanese people will not accept a settlement over the government spending dispute.

He said after holding talks with Prime Minister Najib Miqati: “Our position is clear on any draft-law that does not respect the constitution.”

A teenager who was kidnapped in Baalbek on Wednesday night has been released by his captors, reported Voice of Lebanon radio.

Ali Ahmed al-Mukh’s father told the radio that his son was released without ransom.

Finance Minister Mohammed al-Safadi stressed the bilateral ties between Lebanon and Cyprus during an official visit to the capital Nicosia, reiterating Lebanon’s will to defend its maritime border, the National News Agency reported on Thursday.

“The relations are based on mutual respect, interest, and the will to implement world peace, especially in the Mediterranean,” Safadi said at the end of his visit to Cyprus.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon conducted patrols along the Blue Line at the Wazzani-Ghajar area on Thursday after an Israeli army unit crossed the electronic fence and advanced towards the banks of the Wazzani River.

UNIFIL’s Spanish contingent intensified its patrols in the area and monitored the movement of Israeli troops on the other side of the border, the state-run National News Agency reported.