The Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Daniel Bellemare, filed an amended indictment on Friday, replacing the indictment of March 11, 2011, to include substantive new elements unavailable until recently.

The Prosecutor does not intend to make further amendments to the indictment, unless ordered to do so by the Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen, said the STL press office in a statement on Friday.

The spokesman for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Neeraj Singh stressed on Friday the close cooperation between the Lebanese army and international troops in order to implement U.N. Security Council resolution 1701.

He said that the army holds the main responsibility of maintaining security, the laws, and order in the area.

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams stressed on Friday the need for the formation of a functioning government “the sooner the better.”

He said after holding talks with Speaker Nabih Berri: “There are many concerns of importance to ordinary Lebanese people that need to be addressed, irrespective of their confession or their politics.”

Radical cleric Omar Bakri, on bail in Lebanon on charges including incitement to murder, has called for prayers to mourn Osama bin Laden in Lebanon and outside U.S. embassies around the world.

"We call on our followers in Europe, Canada and especially Britain to pray for his soul outside American embassies," Bakri, who was based in Britain for nearly two decades, told Agence France Presse.

Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri hoped on Friday that Lebanon would remain a beacon for democracy and freedom in the Arab world.

He said on the occasion of Martyrs Day: “Since 2004, Lebanon has been plagued with assassinations, the most notable of which took place on February 14, 2005, with the murder of former Premier Rafik Hariri.”

Lebanon Now MP Oqab Saqr has accused Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun of relying on militias on the street to achieve his political objectives.

Saqr told the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah daily in an interview published on Friday that Aoun’s latest statements were “very dangerous.” They give an impression that Premier-designate Najib Miqati is his “employee.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea expressed fear over carrying out deals under the table to form the new government and said that caretaker PM Saad Hariri might drop the agenda of the March 14 forces, a WikiLeaks cable published in al-Akhbar newspaper on Friday said.

The cable dated May 15, 2008 said that the LF leader described the caretaker PM’s words as “nonsense” and said that Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat is “scared” so they’re seeking a way out.

In a WikiLeaks cable dated May 24, 2008, caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri seemed defeated, distressed and still indecisive about announcing his candidacy for the premiership.

Hariri complained how the international community was ignoring Hizbullah’s ability to take control of most of Beirut in May 7, 2008.

Lebanese army officers who were on training programs in Syria have returned to Lebanon upon the request of the Syrian authorities, al-Liwaa daily reported on Friday.

The newspaper said several agreements signed between the Lebanese and Syrian armies stress on the exchange of expertise and attending training courses.

Premier-designate Najib Miqati has for now shelved efforts to form a de facto government and vowed to give the cabinet formation process more time after talks with Speaker Nabih Berri, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat and other mediators.

As part of intensified efforts to end the row between Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and President Michel Suleiman over the interior ministry portfolio, Miqati met Thursday night with Berri, Jumblat, the speaker’s advisor MP Ali Hassan Khalil, and Hussein Khalil, a political aide to Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.