Hizb ut-Tahrir’s media official, Ahmed Qasas accused Lebanese authorities of intimidation practices “that have turned Tripoli into a military barracks.”

He told the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in remarks published on Saturday: “They sought such tactics in order to deter the people from taking part in the demonstration that the party called for on Friday in support of the Syrian protests.”

The government is expected to be formed in the upcoming two weeks after Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati’s return from London from a private visit, reported As Safir newspaper Saturday.

President Michel Suleiman will discuss the cabinet lineup crisis on Sunday with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in a closed-door meeting during his participation in Easter mass in Bkirki, it said.

An MTV crew was assaulted on Friday in the Beirut southern suburb of Ghobeiri while it was filming a construction violation on land owned by the Holy See.

As reporter George Eid and cameraman Roger Hanna were starting to film the site, they were attacked by a number of locals who shouted at them and asked them to stop filming before shooting in the air to terrorize them.

Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is expected to make a speech in the next two days to address the recent developments in the case of the construction violations on public property, said media reports on Friday.

Al-Liwaa daily reported on Friday that the party is “uncomfortable and worried” about this file being addressed.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea was worried that the LBC television station would fall into the hands of pro-March 8 forces, revealed a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar newspaper on Friday.

The WikiLeaks cable, dated May 16, 2006, spoke of a meeting between Geagea and then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffery Feltman during which LBC’s ownership was brought up.

A leaked U.S. Embassy cable, dated November 2008, revealed that MP Butros Harb sought U.S. help in convincing three sides in Lebanon to support the March 14 camp.

The WikiLeaks cable, published exclusively in Al-Akhbar newspaper on Friday, spoke of a meeting between the MP and then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michele Sison.

MP Strida Geagea said that former U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman’s stances are pro-Islamic, according to a leaked U.S. embassy cable published in al-Akhbar newspaper on Friday.

“I wanted to ask him about his feelings” toward Muslims after September 11, Strida stated.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi expressed hope in his Easter message on Friday that Lebanon would overcome the crisis on the formation of the new government.

Al-Rahi hoped in a televised address that “the resurrection would be reflected in our national lives” and “the country would rise thanks to the goodwill” of officials in solving “the government formation crisis and the deteriorating situation that citizens are suffering from.”

The video of the seven Estonian tourists that was uploaded on YouTube was most probably shot in the first days of the March 23 kidnapping in the eastern Bekaa valley, a security source told As Safir daily.

The source said in remarks published Friday that the video wasn’t shot in the past few days.

Israeli intelligence sources revealed what they said were the names of top Hizbullah members who were part of a network operating abroad to carry out “terrorist operations.”

Israel Radio said on Friday that Talal Hmeih heads the Hizbullah network as Imad Mughniyeh’s successor. It said Ahmed al-Faed his main assistant, fled to Jordan 10 years ago after trying to target Israel with a Katyusha missile.