Hizbullah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem on Wednesday stressed that former premier Saad Hariri was “not the sole representative” of the Sunni sect in Lebanon, noting that the May 7, 2008 events were “an armed clash between two parties.”

“We must work for the sake of Islamic unity and national unity,” Qassem said, stressing that “the disputes are not religious … but rather political, in which the religious slogan is being used for incitement due to their failure to propagate their (political) vision.”

Former prime minister Saad Hariri on Wednesday held talks in Riyadh with Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, after meeting in Doha on Monday with Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.

The talks in Riyadh were attended by Prince Saud bin Nayef, the head of the crown prince’s office and his private advisor, and his secretary Abdul Rahman bin Ali al-Rubaian.

The cabinet on Wednesday postponed the discussion of the thorny issue of financial spending to a session that will be held next Wednesday over lack of consensus among the government’s components.

During the cabinet session at the Baabda Palace, President Michel Suleiman “reiterated his rejection of signing the L.L.8,900 billion decree, while some ministers insisted that he should sign it,” NBN television reported, noting that the rhetoric was “totally calm” during the session despite the disagreement.

Deans and professors of a number of Lebanese universities have concluded a visit to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, announced the STL in a statement on Wednesday.

The visit, which lasted from 7 to 9 May, included discussions with STL President Judge Sir David Baragwanath, as well as other senior tribunal officials.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Wednesday that the government needs to adopt a new approach in order to tackle the various pending issues in Lebanon.

He said: “The continuation of the government’s current performance is unacceptable.”

The Lebanese army complained to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon on Wednesday over Israel’s removal of the barbed wire at the Fatima Gate in the South.

It issued a strong complaint to UNIFIL over the incident, which has left the border between Lebanon and Israel completely open and exposed to violations from either side, reported National News Agency.

Defense lawyers before the U.N.-backed court probing former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri's murder sought Wednesday to have the tribunal's creation declared illegal and unfit to judge their clients.

Lawyers for Salim Ayyash -- one of four men wanted for trial in connection with Hariri's car bomb death in 2005 -- asked "the trial chamber to find that the establishment of the court was not legal."

The March 14 General Secretariat condemned on Wednesday the government’s failure to cater to the needs of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, accusing it of imposing a military and security siege against them.

It announced in a statement after its weekly meeting that it will lead a delegation to visit the town of Arsal later this week “in order to break the siege and reject the government’s decision to distance itself from the refugees’ needs.”

A 70-year-old Lebanese woman was killed on Wednesday in a cross-border fire in eastern Lebanon’s al-Qaa village, the National News Agency reported.

Halima Suleiman Krombi was shot in the head and taken to Hermel state hospital, NNA said. But she later died from her wounds.

Premier Najib Miqati warned on Wednesday that the path to democracy is not an easy task, saying Lebanon is still improving its democratic system despite being a harbinger of freedom in the Arab world.

At the opening of the 27th ministerial session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Miqati said: “The uprisings and the popular movements demanding democracy are part of the historic development in the Arab region.”