Syrian authorities have said in their official report on the probe into the death of a 16-year-old Lebanese fisherman that his boat was in Syrian territorial waters when he was shot, informed sources told An Nahar daily published Friday.

The sources said that the head of the Higher Syrian-Lebanese Council, Nasri Khoury, handed over the report to President Michel Suleiman on Thursday.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare didn’t disclose during his meetings with Lebanese senior officials if Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen will issue new indictments in the attacks on the three officials that have been linked to ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s murder, As Safir newspaper reported on Friday.

Later on Friday, Bellemare, accompanied by his team, visited the office of State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza where he met with MP Marwan Hamadeh, journalist May Chidiac and Suzy Madayan, the widow of slain former Communist party chief George Hawi.

The deadlock on judicial appointments hasn’t been solved yet as President Michel Suleiman and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun continue to hold onto their own candidates for the post of the head of the Higher Judicial Council.

An Nahar daily quoted Suleiman’s visitors as saying on Friday that the appointments should not be in a state of stalemate under any excuse. “Differences of opinion should not prevent the process of necessary appointments in the state.”

Israel's former army chief Gabi Ashkenazi said Thursday that no Sunni-led government will ever go as far with Iran and Hizbullah as Syrian President Bashar Assad did.

During the conference, which was organized by the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv University, the former army chief said that “there were vast and untrue estimates stating that the primary country equipping Hizbullah with weapons is Iran, while the truth was that Syria is equipping Hizbullah.”

A delegation from the Beirut and Tripoli Bar Associations, led by the Chairmen Nouhad Jabre and Bassam Daye, paid a visit to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Wednesday, announced the STL in a statement.

The participants were received by the President of the Tribunal and the three other Heads of Organ or their representatives.

The Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Major General Alberto Asarta Cuevas chaired on Thursday a regular tripartite meeting with senior officials from the Lebanese army and the Israel Defense Forces at the U.N. Position at Ras al-Naqoura crossing, said UNIFIL in a statement.

During the meeting all the issues relevant to the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 were discussed, including the situation along the Line of Withdrawal (Blue Line), the ongoing visible marking of the Blue Line, violations and incidents as well as the issue of withdrawal of Israeli forces from northern Ghajar, it added.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stressed on Thursday the importance of reaching a political solution to the Syrian crisis, adding that the Arab League deal is the only solution available, reported the Russian news agency Novosti.

“I discussed importance of a political solution according to the Arab League plan”, Jumblat said to LBC television later Thursday night, adding that “ I know that we have entered into violence and counter violence in Syria, But Russia has to condemn the Syrian regime for the violence because it was the initiator.”

Visiting Belgian Defense Minister Pieter De Crem stressed on Thursday his country’s support for Lebanon’s efforts to maintain security and develop the demining program.

He said after holding talks with his Lebanese counterpart Fayez Ghosn that Belgium is keen on Lebanon’s stability.

President Michel Suleiman voiced on Thursday his optimism with Lebanon’s future, saying that the economy will improve when oil and gas excavation begins.

He said before his visitors: “The regional developments that have been taking place for about a year should motivate us to fortify Lebanon’s democratic system.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea hoped on Thursday that a statement issued by the Syrian National Council would put Lebanese-Syrian relations on the right path and called for U.N. Security Council action if Lebanon comes under attack by Syria.

The Council, which is Syria’s leading opposition movement, said Wednesday that it wants to start a new chapter in the complex and often-troubled relationship with Lebanon.