Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel has warned that the trial of the suspects in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's 2005 assassination by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon early next year could make Lebanon's crisis worse.

In remarks to An Nahar daily during his official visit to Paris, Charbel said: “When trials start, there will be evidence that could affect the situation in Syria and could make the situation in Lebanon worse.”

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen completed the transfer of the entire file in the case of the 2005 assassination of former Premier RafikHariri to the Trial Chamber, announced the STL in a statement on Monday.

The case filed contains the evidence and all other documents that relate to the case.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon has announced the confirmation of an indictment accusing Hassan Habib Merhi of involvement in the 14 February 2005 Beirut attack for which four other accused are to be tried in absentia; that trial has a tentative start date of 13 January 2014, said STL President Judge David Baragwanath in a statement on Monday.

“The Lebanese authorities have so far been unable to locate Mr. Merhi. I have therefore ordered the service of the indictment in alternative modes, which include public advertisement. If, following such procedures, Mr. Merhi has not been brought under the Tribunal’s authority, the Trial Chamber will be asked to decide whether to initiate proceedings against him in absentia,” he added.

An Israeli website that is expert on terrorism revealed on Wednesday the identity of Hizbullah's new military commander, the successor of slain official Imad Mughnieh.

"Mustafa Amin Badreddine assumed his responsibilities as the party's new military commander,” the website, 910, said according to Palestinian news agency SAFA.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon made a public service announcement on Monday on the reveal of the fifth suspect linked to the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

"A new arrest warrant has been issued for Mr. Hassan Habib Merhi, who is accused to have been involved in the 14 February 2005 attack in Beirut,” it said.

Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel ruled out on Saturday that the indictment against Hassan Habib Merhi, the fifth Hizbullah member accused by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to be involved in the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, will not have negative repercussion locally.

“The indictment is linked to the tribunal's work and the Lebanese judicial authorities,”Charbel said in comments published in the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah newspaper.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen confirmed on Thursday an indictment against Hassan Habib Merhi who is accused of being involved in the February 14, 2005 Beirut attack that killed former Premier Rafik Hariri and 22 others.

The confirmed indictment and an arrest warrant were transmitted confidentially to the Lebanese authorities on August 6 so that they could search for, arrest and transfer the accused to STL custody, announced the tribunal in a statement on Thursday.

A new suspect linked to the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has been identified, reported the daily An Nahar on Tuesday.

It said that the identity of the suspect was determined based on the initial findings of former United Nations investigator in the case Detlev Mehlis.

Caretaker Finance Minister Mohammed al-Safadi called on Saturday on caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati to “exceptionally” approve the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon despite the resignation of the cabinet.

According to the state-run National News Agency, al-Safadi sent a letter to Miqati urging him to “exceptionally approve the payment of Lebanon's share to fund the STL for 2013 in three installments.”

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon has “convincing” evidence that Iran and the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad are involved in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, reported The New Yorker magazine.

It said that Hizbullah likely “pulled the trigger” in the assassination, but could not have done so without Syria and Iran's blessing and logistic support.