Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare’s amended indictment includes names of Syrian officials involved in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s Feb. 2005 assassination, said the French daily Le Figaro.

According to the article written by George Malbrunot, French intelligence agencies provided the STL with information about Syria’s involvement in the murder.

The U.N. special coordinator for the peace process has called for the rapid formation of a government in Lebanon, saying that almost four months after Premier-designate Najib Miqati’s nomination, consultations haven’t led to a deal.

Robert Serry told the Security Council on Thursday that with the exception of the grave incident in Maroun al-Ras on May 15, the overall situation in the area of operations of UNIFIL has remained generally stable over the past month.

Russia on Tuesday hosted an envoy of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, telling Tripoli to obey a U.N. resolution on Libya as Moscow seeks to position itself as a mediator in the conflict.

The visit to Moscow by Mouhammad Ahmed al-Sharif, general secretary of the World Islamic Call Society, the Libya-based group founded by Gadhafi, comes as Russia is also preparing to hold talks with rebels fighting the regime.

President Michel Suleiman held talks on Monday with U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly on the security and political repercussions of Sunday’s Nakba Day clashes between Lebanon, Syria, and Israel.

He called on the United States to urge the Jewish state to respect international laws and agreements, once again condemning its attack against unarmed civilians.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Friday against foreign intervention in Syria, calling on the Syrian opposition not to seek a repeat of the "Libya scenario".

"We are very worried that the process of reconciliation, the process of the start of dialogue ... is being slowed down by a desire of some participants to attract foreign forces to support their actions," Russian news agencies quoted Lavrov as saying.

The United States on Thursday raised allegations that Moammer Gadhafi's regime gives Viagra to troops to carry out rapes as the UN Security Council wrangled over coalition attacks in Libya, diplomats said.

Russia and other nations have argued that France, Britain, the United States and their allies patrolling a no-fly zone over Libya are going beyond the mandate given by U.N. Security Council resolutions.

The 15-nation U.N. Security Council failed on Wednesday to agree a statement to condemn the killing of Syrian protesters, diplomats said.

After talks ended in deadlock, western nations called for an immediate open meeting of the Security Council so that international anger over the crackdown by the Syrian government could be highlighted.

Italy wants to reduce its military deployment in Lebanon and Afghanistan and to end its presence in Kosovo following major budget cuts, Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa said.

"There are some budget requirements that are pushing us to reduce, as expected, our presence in international military missions," La Russa said Wednesday, adding that Italy would act in accordance with its foreign partners.

Yemeni police killed one man and wounded several other people on Tuesday when they opened fire on anti-regime demonstrators ahead of a government delegation meeting with Gulf foreign ministers in Abu Dhabi.

Police fired "indiscriminately" on protesters demanding the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the Wadi al-Qadi district of Taez, the second most-populated city of Yemen, south of Sanaa, according to witnesses.

Yemeni lawmakers, who split from the ruling General People's Congress party, have established a new political group calling for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a statement from the bloc said.

The new group, named "Justice and Building bloc", comprises former ministers and members of the parliament who had deserted GPC in protest to the heavy handed response by authorities to anti-Saleh demonstrations.