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.

Hizbullah International Relations official Ammar Moussawi held talks on Friday with a French presidential aide in Beirut, months after the European Union listed the party's military wing as a terrorist organization.

Hizbullah said Moussawi discussed regional and local developments with Emmanuel Bonne, French President Francois Hollande's adviser for Middle East affairs.

Investigations are underway to determine whether a young man who hails from the southern city of Sidon is the suicide bomber who blew up an explosives-rigged car in the Bekaa town of Hermel, after preliminary investigations revealed that only one person was killed in the explosion.

“Preliminary investigations – which are being conducted by security agencies under the supervision of State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr – have revealed that only one person was martyred in the Hermel Square bombing that occurred yesterday,” state-run National News Agency reported.

The defense lawyers of the four suspects accused of carrying out the assassination of late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri stated on Friday that the crime is still “motiveless,” complaining also about the “noncooperation” of Lebanese authorities.

“Until this day, the General Prosecutor has not given any motives that could have triggered carrying out the assassination of Hariri,” suspect Mustafa Badreddine's lead counsel Antoine Korkmaz said at a press conference in The Hague.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Friday announced that he is showing positivity in the cabinet formation process, noting that Hizbullah is a political party that is leading a “big coalition.”

“We are positive regarding the cabinet formation process. This is something good for the country and for stability in the country,” Hariri said in an interview.