Former minister Farid al-Khazen reported Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir as saying on Monday that the indictment is an "opportunity to test the Lebanese in confronting its repercussions if any Lebanese side is accused of being involved in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri."

He urged the need to fortify the internal governmental situation so that it may be up to the task of tackling any development that may take place before the indictment's release.

Mimix, a technology that translates spoken and written words into sign language backed by a Lebanese team, is now in a standoff against Brazil's Mindle to win the Global Title.

Mimix won the regional award during YallaStartup weekend in Beirut. It then competed against 13 global cities and won the Global Startup Battle 2010.

Lebanon warned "Iran telecom" was taking over the country after uncovering a secret communications network used by Hizbullah two years ago, a U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks showed on Monday.

The Beirut government was shocked at the discovery in April 2008 of the extensive communications system used by the powerful Shiite party, which receives military and financial support from Iran, according to the cable.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri told former U.S. Ambassador Michele Sison he feared another war with Israel would mean the "death" of his pro-Western March 14 alliance, leaked cables showed Monday.

A document reportedly obtained by whistleblowing website WikiLeaks and published on the website of local daily al-Akhbar quoted Hariri as saying he believed Hizbullah would rise again should there be another round of violence.

A U.S. diplomatic source said the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was not just created for Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

"In the midst of the controversy over the indictment, we have forgotten that there was more than one victim," the source told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in remarks published Monday.

State Minister Jean Oghassabian on Monday accused the Hizbullah-led March 8 coalition of crippling the Government.

"We always call for separation between everything related to the International Tribunal and the political and day-to-day life of citizens," Oghassabian told LBC television station.

MP Qassem Hashem of Speaker Nabih Berri's AMAL Movement on Monday said the indictment by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has been "completed."

"The indictment has been completed and semi-finalized," he told al-Jadid television channel, adding that media leaks confirm that it will be issued before Dec. 15.

Hizbullah MP Ali al-Miqdad said leaks that the indictment in the Hariri murder case will be issued soon "aim at creating confusion in Lebanon."

Such leaks are an "attempt to explore how the situation will be dealt with after issuance of the indictment," Miqdad told al-Manar TV.

Hizbullah official Nabil Qaouq stated on Monday that the release of the indictment in the investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will mark a new phase in Lebanon.

He said: "History will note that the phase after the indictment is not the same as the phase preceding it."

Labor Minister Butros Harb stressed on Monday that Hizbullah and its allies' demands to uncover the truth in the false witnesses case can be achieved through the Lebanese judiciary.

He said after holding talks with the Swiss Ambassador to Lebanon Ruth Flint that these demands can be achieved through the normal judiciary, and not the justice council.