Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stated on Thursday that Prime Minister Najib Miqati is attempting to assume his responsibilities regarding the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, adding that even if the government were to be transformed into a caretaking one, it wouldn’t be able to escape funding the international court.

He said: “The government will incur negative consequences if it shies away from its duty to fund the STL.”

Public transportation drivers held a strike on Wednesday to protest the government’s alleged negligence of their demands.

President of the Syndicate of Taxi Drivers and Public Transport Workers Marwan Fayad told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) “the transportation sector strike is to express the rights (of the public transportation drivers) to achieve their demands.”

Speaker Nabih Berri and Premier Najib Miqati have discussed ways to pay Lebanon’s share of the funding for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, a ministerial source said.

The source told al-Liwaa newspaper that part of the discussions held between top officials on Wednesday, including talks between Berri and Miqati, lied on how to meet the STL’s demand.

Energy Minister Jebran Bassil said the approval of the electricity project was not a victory for any party inside the cabinet but a victory for Lebanon and the government itself.

On Wednesday, the cabinet approved the electricity project proposed by him with several amendments including the allocation of the $1.2 billion funds in four installments, rather than in one payment.

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams ruled out and Israeli attack on Lebanon, noting that Lebanon is the only country around the world that its sovereignty is being violated on a daily basis.

Williams told al-Joumhouria newspaper on Thursday that Lebanon’s commitment to Security Council resolution 1701 was flawless, praising the current and previous Prime Ministers’ commitment to the international resolutions.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati has said that the cabinet made a very important achievement for the state and the citizen to gradually provide 24 hour electricity to the country.

“I'm relieved: Lebanon will gradually get Power 24/7. Objective: better public utilities & services at lower prices,” he tweeted on Wednesday after the government approved the controversial electricity project.

Premier Najib Miqati’s cabinet overcame on Wednesday the most difficult test that it confronted two months after receiving parliament’s vote of confidence as it approved an electricity project to generate 700 Megawatts of electricity.

However, the cabinet session held at the Baabda palace wasn’t free of wrangling mainly between Miqati and Energy Minister Jebran Bassil who had proposed the plan.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Wednesday asked France and other world powers why doesn’t the international community force “the implementation of resolutions issued by the U.N. Security Council in order to strip Hizbullah of excuses” to possess arms, LBC television reported.

LBC quoted al-Rahi as saying that “Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must be given a chance because he is implementing reforms in Syria.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s government approved Wednesday an electricity plan proposed by Energy and Water Minister Jebran Bassil, “agreeing that it would be funded through four annual installments beginning in 2011 and ending in 2014,” Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi announced.

The plan entails the allocation of $1.2 billion to the energy and water ministry to generate 700 Megawatts of electricity.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon Defense Office published on Wednesday the List of Counsel, it announced in a statement.

“Currently, 120 have been admitted to the List, out of a total of 145 applicants. One hundred and eighteen names have been made public, along with information about the primary jurisdiction in which they are admitted,” it revealed.