The new Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Norman Farrell, and the new Appeals Chamber Judge, Daniel Nsereko, have been sworn in Monday afternoon, announced the STL in a statement.

“It is my devout hope and expectation that, with both Prosecution and Defense teams in place and the Chambers now back to full strength, we can together deliver justice in accordance with the law,” said Judge Sir David Baragwanath, the Tribunal’s president, in remarks delivered during the swearing in ceremony.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati called for an emergency meeting at the Grand Serail to tackle the rise in the discovery of spoiled food products in Lebanon, An Nahar newspaper reported on Monday.

Miqati in coordination with Economy Minister Nicolas Nahhas sought to hold a meeting on Wednesday with Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi, Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and high-ranking officials from the general security, the state security, the army intelligence and the customs.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Sunday slammed the Syrian regime, accusing it of committing "butchery against its people."

At least 8,500 people, most of them civilians, have been killed since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime began in March 2011, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

Security forces have raided a house near the coastal town of Jbeil in the search for the killer of two men whose bodies were found in a rented vehicle on the Tabarja highway, Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) reported Sunday.

The station said that the policemen raided the home of a man which it identified with his initials as J.K. VDL said however that the suspect hasn’t been found yet.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and the Phalange and National Liberal parties exchanged accusations on Sunday on the side that triggered a clash between student demonstrators and the security forces during a protest against a new history curriculum.

Charbel, who is currently in Tunisia at the head of a delegation representing Lebanon at the meeting of Arab interior ministers, told An Nahar daily that the clash broke out on Saturday when some demonstrators sought to allow a vehicle with a loudspeaker to go beyond the area specified for the protest.

Tens of thousands of Bahrainis flooded the streets of the capital Manama on Friday demanding political reforms, a year after authorities crushed an uprising, an activist said.

Policemen fired tear gas at a group of protesters but the rallies were largely peaceful and no one was arrested, said Nabil Rajab, an activist who heads the Bahraini Center for Human Rights.

The Army Command stressed on Friday that it will “strike down with an iron fist” any side that attempts to harm it, noting that the Lebanese are counting on it to prevent the eruption of strife.

It said in a statement: “The army will not tire in apprehending the sides that seek to destabilize the country, regardless of their affiliations.”

Syrian authorities demanded Lebanon officially on Friday to hand over the armed Syrian nationals that sought refuge in the eastern Bekaa area over the weekend, As Safir newspaper reported.

The Syrian Justice Ministry sent an official request to the Lebanese authorities demanding them to “hand over the armed groups that were detained in Lebanon,” informed sources told the daily.

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour on Wednesday voiced rejection of a call by U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly for the Lebanese authorities to provide protection for the members of the rebel Free Syrian Army who flee to Lebanon, as President Michel Suleiman called the Higher Defense Council to convene on Thursday to discuss the latest developments related to the Lebanese-Syrian border.

“Lebanon cannot heed such a request; it rather acts according to its interest, security situation and capabilities, and we cannot provide support to armed elements stationed in the Lebanese territory,” Mansour said in an interview on Al-Manar television.

Former Prime Minister Fouad Saniora noted on Wednesday that some sides in Lebanon who are accusing others of meddling in the Syrian crisis are in fact guilty of these charges.

He said: “Those calling for the freedom in Lebanon cannot do so while simultaneously supporting the Syrian regime.”