Speaker Nabih Berri said he told PM-designate Najib Miqati that the March 8 forces would facilitate the government formation process that should not take more than a week or two if former Premier Saad Hariri’s camp wants to take part in the new cabinet.

In remarks to An Nahar and As Safir newspapers published Friday, Berri said the government should be formed “as soon as possible” to give the green light to projects that would help the Lebanese overcome their crises.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman stressed that U.N. Security Council members have expressed their keenness on seeing a Lebanese commitment to international resolutions following the formation of a new government led by Caretaker PM Najib Miqati.

Feltman told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in remarks published Friday that his talks with French officials in Paris touched on the developments in Lebanon. Security Council members have expressed to him their keenness on Lebanon’s commitment to resolutions 1701 and 1757, he said.

Israel's minister of strategic affairs said Thursday the Lebanese Hizbullah guerrilla group has infiltrated agents into the Gaza Strip to train Palestinian militants.

Gaza is ruled by the Hamas militant group, which, like Hezbollah, is sworn to Israel's destruction.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday held phone talks with Qatar's Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani on the political crisis in Lebanon, Turkey's foreign ministry announced in a statement.

The two men "exchanged points of view regarding the crisis in Lebanon and efforts made to form a new government."

Outgoing PM Saad Hariri and his Al-Mustaqbal Movement on Thursday demanded that PM-designate Najib Miqati clarify his position on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) before deciding on whether or not to join the new government.

MP Fouad Saniora, speaking on behalf of Al-Mustaqbal bloc, said Miqati was asked during consultations with Hariri to say clearly whether his government would cease all cooperation with the STL.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly held talks Thursday evening with outgoing premier Saad Hariri at his residence in downtown Beirut, the U.S. Embassy announced in a statement.

Connelly and Hariri discussed the ongoing parliamentary consultations and the position of the Mustaqbal bloc, said the statement.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on Thursday urged all political parties in Lebanon to join a new government headed by Najib Miqati and opposed by outgoing Premier Saad Hariri.

"We call on all parties to join the Miqati cabinet, and Syria is ready to cooperate with this government," Muallem told a joint news conference with his British counterpart William Hague.

MTV Lebanon, a leading independent media station in Lebanon and the MENA region, has selected Eurisko Mobility to develop various mobile applications for all major platforms (iPhone / iPad, BlackBerry, Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile).

Eurisko Mobility, (www.euriskomobility.com), will combine a wide range of advanced mobile techniques to develop a unique concept to be introduced by MTV for the first time in the Middle East and the world. The exact details of the application are being kept under a shroud of secrecy.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati's meeting with outgoing PM Saad Hariri on Wednesday as part of a series of protocol visits on former prime ministers lasted barely a few minutes, local media reported.

Footage aired on television stations showed the two men sitting silently.

German Foreign Ministry spokesman Andreas Peschke said the task given to Najib Miqati to form a new government is “not easy.”

He said his government is “carefully monitoring the developments in Lebanon since they have an impact on the region.”