U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly praised on Friday discussions aimed at forming a new government in Lebanon, announced the U.S. Embassy in a statement.

She welcomed after holding talks with Prime Minister Najib Miqati “the efforts of responsible leaders, under President Michel Suleiman’s leadership, to discuss the way forward for a government that reflects the aspirations of the Lebanese people and strengthens Lebanon’s stability, sovereignty, and independence.

Speaker Nabih Berri urged on Friday the various heads of parliaments and unions to pressure Israel to end its assault against the Gaza Strip.

He called in a letter to the various presidents for holding emergency sessions “in order to launch a parliamentary campaign to pressure Israel to halt its aggression against the Palestinian people.”

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon announced on Friday that the Prosecution has filed its Pre-Trial Brief, the list of witnesses it intends to call at trial, and the list of exhibits it intends to offer into evidence in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination.

Thursday's filing is in accordance with a deadline set by the Pre-Trial Judge as part of the preparation for trial, the STL said in a statement.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed in a statement he delivered at the Annual Arab Banking Conference on Friday that the economy should not be exploited to achieve political gains.

In his statement the PM stressed that Lebanon has achieved a slight growth rate despite the changes fanning out in the Arab world.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati's visit to Paris on Monday falls within France's keenness to maintain stability in Lebanon and to continue discussions over the necessary measures that would resolve the political crisis in the country, media reports said.

Diplomatic sources told the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa newspaper published on Friday that Miqati's visit isn't to express France's support to his cabinet, which is confronting strong calls by the March 14 opposition to step down.

There is growing concern in the U.S. that Hizbullah has set up small training camps close to some of the chemical weapons depots in Syria, senior American officials said.

An alleged discovery that Hizbullah has established the camps close to some of the depots has renewed concern that as the chaos in Syria deepens, the country’s huge chemical weapons stockpiles could fall into “the wrong hands,” the officials told the New York Times.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday called on the Arab countries to supply battered Gaza with weapons and use the factor of oil to pressure the U.S. and Europe into ending their support for Israel.

“The aggression started with the assassination of a major jihadist leader and several people were martyred or wounded amid a strong defiance by the resistance,” said Nasrallah in a televised address marking the first day of the Shiite Ashoura religious ceremonies.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri slammed on Thursday the Israeli assault against the Gaza Strip, saying that it demonstrates the “hostile policy of Israel against the Palestinians and Arab people in general.”

He said in a statement: “The occurrence of the attack simultaneously with the ongoing Syrian revolution poses questions over its timing and is a sign of the clear intentions to thwart the revolt as much as possible.”

President Michel Suleiman reiterated on Thursday calls for international pressure on Israel to engage in peace talks with Palestinians, saying war does not contribute to democracy in the region.

In a statement issued by Baabda palace, Suleiman condemned the “barbarous aggression launched on the Gaza (Strip) by Israel, which only uses the language of killing and destruction.”

Around 3,000 Kalashnikov bullets were stolen from a depot for the Internal Security Forces in al-Beddawi in northern Lebanon, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Thursday.

According to the newspaper, authorities detained a sergeant and three policemen after suspecting that they had sold the ammunition to the Syrian opposition.