Head of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Defense Office Francois Roux stated that nothing is off limits in defending suspects in the trial of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, saying that their lawyers can bring up any matter related to the case, especially regarding the legitimacy of the court and the prosecutor’s evidence.

He noted however to the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper in remarks published on Sunday that the transparency of the court should not be questioned at the moment because it hasn’t conducted its judicial work yet.

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour criticized on Saturday claims of the widespread possession of arms in Lebanon, adding that “there are no weapons in Beirut’s southern suburbs.”

He said: “When we speak of weapons possession, it is as if we are saying that cities in Lebanon are filled to the brim with them.”

Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani declared Monday as the first day of Ramadan, the National News Agency reported.

Qabbani said on Saturday: “The new moon cannot be spotted anywhere tonight, therefore, Sunday is the last day of Shaaban (the pre-Ramadan month in Islam's lunar calendar) and Monday August 1 is the first day of Ramadan.”

Hizbullah denied on Saturday reports about casualties taking place in a gas canister explosion in the Rouwais neighborhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs a day earlier.

“No one was injured in the blast, but only material damage was incurred,” Hizbullah’s media relations department said in a statement.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati said on Saturday that the cabinet will meet all the needs of the army according to the plan that its “wise” leadership established, the National News Agency reported.

“The government will protect the army along with all the security institutions from any interference,” Miqati said in the Order of the Day issued on the 66th anniversary of Army Day on August 1.

Austria said Saturday it could send peacekeeping troops to Lebanon by the end of the year, as part of the UNIFIL mission here, following a request by New York.

"The (Austrian) army has built up expertise and experience in the region. A second pillar in the Middle East, on top of the Golan mission, is definitely conceivable," Defense Minister Norbert Darabos said in a statement.

Tawhid movement chief Wiam Wahhab urged President Michel Suleiman on Saturday to instruct involved ministries to resolve the extended U.S. decision to freeze his assets.

On Thursday, U.S. President Barack Obama extended a freeze of assets on persons, including Wahhab, threatening stability in Lebanon, targeting those seeking "to undermine Lebanon's legitimate and democratically elected government."

The Lebanese cabinet should deal responsibly with the indictment issued in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s murder case or else the country will witness a crisis in its ties with the international community, al-Mustaqbal bloc MPs warned on Saturday.

“In short, we urge the government to act responsibly towards a tribunal decision that received repeated Lebanese consensus at the national dialogue and in previous policy statements,” MP Nohad al-Mashnouq told An Nahar newspaper.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat and Phalange party chief Amin Gemayel have met over dinner in Bikfaya on Thursday night, An Nahar newspaper said.

The dinner banquet held for Jumblat came after Gemayel attended a similar dinner at Jumblat’s residence.

President Michel Suleiman is waiting for the return of opposition leader and former Premier Saad Hariri from France to discuss with him his invitation for all-party talks at Baabda palace, presidential sources told al-Joumhouria daily Saturday.

The sources said that Suleiman’s only “obsession” is to gather the bickering politicians at the dialogue table to consolidate the country against the “regional storm blowing on Lebanon.”