Head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri will not appear in person at Saturday's ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri over security concerns, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Thursday.

Mustaqbal sources told the daily: “Security fears will thwart his personal participation at the event.”

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc voiced on Wednesday its support for the dialogue between Hizbullah and the Mustaqbal Movement and its decision to remove political banners in some regions of the country, hoping for “better” measures that would further ease tensions.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “We hope for more comprehensive and tangible measures that would tackle the spread of illegitimate weapons and armed groups in residential areas.”

Head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri is scheduled to make an address during a ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri on February 14, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Saturday.

His speech will likely tackle the contentious issues that have not been addressed during the Mustaqbal-Hizbullah dialogue, it reported.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat reportedly requested the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to delay his testimony before the tribunal in former Premier Rafik Hariri assassination in February 2005.

According to al-Akhabr newspaper published on Thursday, Jumblat filed a request before the STL to make him the last witness.

The head of al-Mustaqbal Movement and ex-Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, is expected to deliver a televised speech on February 14 to mark the assassination of his father and former premier Rafik Hariri.

The March 14 alliance is gearing up to mark the 10th assassination anniversary of Hariri at the BIEL exhibition center in downtown Beirut, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Saturday.

The Appeals Panel of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has unanimously decided that the court does have jurisdiction to hear cases of obstruction of justice against legal persons in the case against the journalist Ibrahim al-Amin and al-Akhbar newspaper, the STL said in a statement on Friday.

“Following an appeal by the Amicus Curiae Prosecutor, the Appeals Panel – composed of Judge Afif Chamseddine (presiding), Judge Janet Nosworthy and Judge Ivana Hrdlièková – reversed the Contempt Judge’s previous decision on jurisdiction where he held that Rule 60 bis of the Tribunal’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence – that governs contempt and obstruction of justice offenses -- only applies to natural persons,” the court announced.

Former MP Ghattas Khoury concluded on Wednesday his testimony before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, revealing that the Syrian regime did not heed calls to refrain from harming Lebanese officials.

He said in his cross-examination by the Defense: “The international community had warned Syria against harming former Premier Rafik Hariri and MP Walid Jumblat, but it ignored it.”

Former MP Ghattas Khoury concluded on Tuesday his testimony before the Prosecution at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, recounting the details of events that took place days before the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005.

He revealed that slain Minister Bassel Fleihan had warned the premier that there were serious threats against his life.

Former MP Ghattas Khoury continued on Friday his testimony before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, recounting how slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri began to ally himself with the emergent anti-Syria opposition in Lebanon in the aftermath of the extension of the term of President Emile Lahoud in September 2004.

The early signs of his joining of the opposition began with Hariri's rejection of the inclusion of pro-Syria figures on electoral lists devised for the 2005 parliamentary elections.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon canceled on Friday next week's sessions after head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc and close friend of assassinated Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Fouad Saniora, requested to postpone it for health-related reasons.