French President Francois Hollande's adviser on North Africa and the Middle East Emmanuel Bonne stressed on Saturday his country's support to the Lebanese state institutions, calling for the swift formation of a new cabinet.

“Consultations are have intensified to reach a suitable lineup,” Bonne pointed out after talks with Free Patriotic Movement MP Michel Aoun.

The findings of a DNA test on a resident of the southern city of Sidon did not match those of the human remains at the bombing in the Bekaa town of al-Hermel, reported the National News Agency on Saturday.

The tests were performed on the mother of Hussien Ghandour did not match those of the remains.

Former PM Saad Hariri's stances on the formation of a nine-month stalled cabinet echoed positively as sources close to President Michel Suleiman described his position as a “step forward” in the formation process, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

Presidential Palace sources in Baabda described the stance as a step forward giving momentum to the strenuous efforts aiming to speed up the cabinet line-up and to facilitate the mission of PM-designate Tammam Salam in that regard.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat hailed former Prime Minister Saad Hariri's recent position in which he said that he would not be opposed to taking part in a cabinet that includes Hizbullah as a political party, reported As Safir newspaper on Saturday.

He told the daily: “We hope all sides would cooperate with Hariri's initiative in order to form an all-embracing government.”

The intensity of the fighting between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen in the northern city of Tripoli subsided on Saturday morning.

Sniper activity along the international highway in the Tabbaneh and Abou Ali roundabout persisted however.

Speaker Nabih Berri welcomed former Prime Minister Saad Hariri's announcement that he is willing to take part in a government that includes Hizbullah as a political party, reported As Safir newspaper on Saturday.

He hailed the former premier's national position, “which he set as a priority above all else despite the difficult situation in Lebanon.”

Three people were injured overnight when a number of rockets fired from the Syrian side of the border landed in the Bekaa regions of Arsal and Ras Baalbek.

Eleven rockets landed near Arsal, while three others landed in Ras Baalbek.

The Hague - Naharnet Exclusive

Defense counsel for the accused in the assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri emerged confused and divided from the first two days of the trial at the headquarters of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in The Hague.

Fierce clashes erupted in the northern city of Tripoli on Friday afternoon following the death of a Jabal Mohsen resident by gunfire.

"Sounds of gunfire shots were heard in Tripoli as sniper activity was recorded between (the city's neighborhoods of) Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh,” the state-run National News Agency reported.

The Hague - Naharnet Exclusive

The Prosecution of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Friday crowned its 2-day presentation about the outcome of investigations into the assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri by unveiling the route taken by the booby-trapped truck, the hierarchy of the assassination squad and a series of elements that might lead to major surprises as the trial moves forward.