March 14 general-secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid has said that Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s keenness on the cabinet proves that the arms of the Shiite party have taken the country captive.

“The keenness that the man showed on the cabinet of Premier Najib Miqati confirms once again that Hizbullah puts the entire Lebanese republic under the captivity of its arms,” Soaid told An Nahar daily published Sunday.

Speaker Nabih Berri has said that Beirut was as calm as Norway’s capital Oslo when the Special Tribunal for Lebanon handed General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza a copy of the indictment in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination case.

In remarks to An Nahar daily published Sunday, Berri said that Shiites proved their “commitment to the instructions of the political and religious leaderships and were not shocked by the accusations against the four people.”

Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday ruled out the arrest of four members of his party indicted by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon for the 2005 assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafik Hariri.

In his first reaction to the charges by the STL, Nasrallah also rejected "each and every void accusation" made by the Netherlands-based court, which he said was heading for a trial in absentia.

The premiership received on Saturday Minister Talal Arslan’s written resignation from cabinet, reported LB television.

President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati will discuss this issue on Monday.

The head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad linked on Saturday the release of the indictment in the investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri to the formation of the new government.

“They were surprised with the cabinet lineup and they consequently had not choice but to release the indictment,” he said during an academic gathering.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati stated on Saturday that the new government will be discussed a parliament next week on the basis of a “realistic and practical” policy statement that includes suggestions and projects that can be applied in different fields.

He hoped before reporters at the Grand Serail that the parliament sessions dedicated to granting cabinet next week would be constructive to all Lebanese.

The U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon is "political" and "disreputable" and its indictment against Hizbullah members is of no importance, Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani said Saturday.

The Netherlands-based STL investigating the assassination of Rafik Hariri on Thursday charged four members of Hizbullah over the 2005 assassination of the former Lebanese premier.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri contacted U.N. Chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday, thanking him for his efforts in support of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination.

Hariri praised the U.N.’s efforts since the formation of the tribunal and up until the release of the indictment on Thursday.

Yediot Ahronot Israeli newspaper reported on Saturday that the international investigation committee in the 2005 assassination of ex-Premiere Rafik Hariri will “introduce a new list of accusations against Syrian security officials.”

The reports said that handing the names of the accused to Damascus has been “postponed due to the Syrian unrest.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s circles revealed on Saturday that the American administration had called on the Lebanese government to “respect” international resolutions, which is a word the March 14 forces had voiced reservations on.

The forces had criticized Miqati for saying that the government will “respect” resolutions instead of “committing” to them.