Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid denied that he had information about the possible formation of the new government in the next 24 hours, hoping that the parties would speed up the process.

“We have to speed up the cabinet formation and to take into consideration the repercussions of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and other issues,” Jumblat said in remarks published in newspapers on Thursday.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare has reached new leads in his investigation that accuses Syrian officials of involvement in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination, sources in The Hague told Naharnet.

They said Bellemare put his new information in the amended indictment that he filed to pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen last week.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati held talks Wednesday at his residence in Verdun with caretaker Energy and Water Minister Jebran Bassil, Speaker Nabih Berri's political aide MP Ali Hassan Khalil and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's political aide Hussein Khalil.

The quadrilateral meeting managed to achieve some progress concerning the cabinet formation process, Free Patriotic Movement's mouthpiece OTV reported. "But that does not mean that the cabinet will see light soon despite the positive atmospheres," the TV station noted.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon prosecutor’s spokeswoman, Sophie Boutaud de la Combe, stated on Wednesday that the new elements added by Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare to the indictment in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri does not mean that what had initially been sent was not good or sufficient.

She told al-Balad newspaper in remarks to be published on Thursday that Bellemare took the decision based on the course the investigation had taken and not at a request by Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen.

A security official revealed that Syria is “exerting great pressure on Beirut to prevent displaced Syrians from entering Lebanon,” reported UK’s the Guardian on Tuesday.

It also urged Lebanese authorities to halt alleged arms smuggling to Syrian protesters where the demonstrations have taken on the form of a sectarian rebellion, and not a revolution similar to others that had taken place in the Arab world, it added.

The March 14 General Secretariat stated on Wednesday that the March 8 camp "will not dare" form a government according to Hizbullah's demands.

It said after its weekly meeting that a Hizbullah-led Cabinet would set Lebanon in a confrontation with the international community by "validating the illegitimate arms and ending the cooperation protocol with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon."

The Maronite Bishops Council stressed on Wednesday the need to form a government capable of tackling the citizens’ concerns and thwarting dangers against Lebanon.

It said after its monthly meeting headed by Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi: “We hope that Thursday’s spiritual summit will provide a push towards achieving national unity and that the gatherers would seek to bolster coexistence between all sects.”

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has stressed on France’s commitment to Lebanese independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“We await and support a government that responds to the demands of the Lebanese people, according to the Taef accord and does not refute international agreements,” Juppe said on Tuesday after holding talks with head of al-Mustaqbal Movement bloc leader Fouad Saniora in the presence of Lebanon's ambassador to Paris Boutros Assaker.

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams said Wednesday that “challenges cannot be met without an active government particularly at a time of dramatic and rapid changes in the Arab region.”

After holding talks with FPM leader Michel Aoun in Rabiyeh, Williams said: “I reiterated my belief that the formation of a new government in Lebanon is needed as soon as possible to address the many challenges that the Lebanese people face.”

Some 1,200 inmates in Roumieh prison have continued their hunger strike for the third day in a row demanding a general pardon and improving the conditions in the prison, reported the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat on Wednesday.

The committee charged with following up the situation in Roumieh prison held a meeting on Tuesday headed by Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi in order to address the situation in the jail and follow up on its maintenance operations and the needs of the inmates, including increasing the number of doctors at the prison.