A Syrian activist stressed the Syrian regime launched a wide money transfer operation to Lebanon and Iran since the beginning of the anti-regime protests in March, the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on Friday.

“The amount of money that was smuggled by (Syrian President Bashar) Assad and the Syrian regime as of the beginning of the popular uprising against him, reached more than $23 billion,” Secretary of the Syrian Conference for Change in Antalya Mohammed Karkouti told the daily.

The Higher Defense Council stressed on Friday consolidated measures to prevent arms smuggling and preserve the safety of U.N. peacekeepers deployed in the South.

The council, which met at Baabda palace under President Michel Suleiman, said in a short statement that “discussions focused on the security situation in the country in general and the role of the army, Internal Security Forces and the rest of security apparatuses in preserving the nation.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to head to Beirut next week to meet with top Lebanese officials, As Safir newspaper reported on Friday.

“Abbas will visit Lebanon on Aug. 16 and 17,” Palestinian sources told the daily.

An explosion that rocked the town of Antelias on Thursday was apparently the result of a personal dispute between car dealers. The blast killed two people who were in possession of an explosive device at the time of its detonation.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told the cabinet that the explosion was a result of a financial and personal dispute between several people, including some car dealers.

President Michel Suleiman on Thursday stressed that “participation in national dialogue is a matter of national will, not something imposed by outside forces,” noting that his recent national dialogue call was not aimed at “empowering a political camp at the expense of another political camp … but rather at seeking possible solutions to the problems before they worsen.”

In a speech at the annual Iftar banquet at the presidential palace in Baabda, Suleiman said that the recent talks and consultations he conducted with the various political parties “have demonstrated the need for further discussions and deliberations regarding (the re-launching of national) dialogue.”

A clash erupted Thursday outside the Syrian embassy in Beirut’s Hamra district between protesters belonging to the Jamaa Islamiya and supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, state-run National News Agency reported.

“A number of citizens had called for a rally outside the embassy’s building at 6:30 pm in solidarity with the Syrian people,” NNA added, noting that security forces immediately intervened to break up the brawl.

The joint U.N. and international investigators commission informed former ministers Elias Murr and Marwan Hamadeh and ex-LBCI anchorwoman May Chidiac that two of the Hizbullah suspects accused of being involved in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri are also involved in their assassination attempts, revealed widely informed sources to the Central News Agency on Thursday.

The commission also informed them that these same two suspects are also involved in the assassination of former Lebanese Communist Party leader George Hawi, who was killed in a bomb attack planted in his car on June 21, 2005.

Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea stated on Thursday that the meetings at the Justice Palace demonstrate that former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination is linked to the assassination attempts against former ministers Marwan Hamadeh and Elias Murr and ex-LBCI anchorwoman May Chidiac.

Meetings were held on Thursday between General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza and a Special Tribunal for Lebanon delegation with Murr, Hamadeh, and Chidiac.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon President Antonio Cassese issued on Thursday an open letter to the four suspects accused of being involved in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, informing them of their rights and urging them to appear in court, announced the STL press office.

He issued the letter in light of Lebanon’s informing of the STL that it has been unable to apprehend the suspects, adding that he is currently studying Lebanon’s report on the matter.

Two people were killed when a bomb they were reportedly trying to plant under the parked vehicle of a Lebanese judge in a parking lot in Antelias mistakenly went off, the Lebanese Red Cross said Thursday.

The men were identified as Hassan Nayef Nassar and Ihsan Ali Diya, who died after he was taken to hospital.