March 14 General Secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid warned on Thursday that Lebanon is in danger because of the spread of arms in the country and attempts to link it to the developments in Syria.

He said: “Those destroying the state must return to it so we can build it without conditions imposed by militias.”

The United States encourages “all parties to exercise restraint and respect for Lebanon’s security and stability, consistent with United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday, in a statement marking the 8th assassination anniversary of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

“Those who initiated the killing sought to undermine Lebanon's sovereignty and independence. This act of cold blooded mass murder sent shivers throughout the region. I will never forget sitting in Beirut soon after for my meetings held next to a portrait of Hariri shrouded in black,” Kerry said, recalling his visit to Lebanon in 2005.

The March 14 opposition alliance was on Thursday gearing up to mark the 8th assassination anniversary of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri at the BIEL exhibition center in downtown Beirut in the absence of key leaders.

Under the slogan of “Our Dream Will Come True,” the coalition will stress its unity despite the latest differences among its different factions on the electoral draft-law, Hariri's al-Mustaqbal newspaper said.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea held a telephone conversation on Friday amid preparations to hold a ceremony marking the eighth anniversary of the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

It said that the two officials discussed the latest developments on efforts to reach an agreement over a new parliamentary electoral law.

The March 14 opposition alliance plans to commemorate the 8th anniversary of the assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri at the Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure Center BIEL on Feb 14 in a massive rally, media reports said.

Prominent political figures and MPs representing all parties of the alliance including cadres of al-Mustaqbal movement would participate in the event, reports quoted the secretary-general of the movement, Ahmad Hariri, as saying.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Norman Farrell filed on Wednesday a “confidential motion seeking amendments to the present indictment in the Ayyash et al. Case”, announced the STL on Thursday.

The proposed amendments set out certain clarifications.

The head of the defense office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Francois Roux, hinted on Wednesday that the trial of Hizbullah members accused of involvement in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri could be delayed.

In remarks to several Beirut newspapers during his visit to the Lebanese capital, Roux said Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen had set March 25 as a provisional date.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Registrar Herman von Hebel met with Prime Minister Najib Miqati at the Grand Serail on Monday as part of scheduled talks with other Lebanese officials this week.

The STL said that von Hebel will meet in addition to Miqati and Lebanese officials, various representatives of the diplomatic community in Lebanon and the Tribunal's staff in Beirut.

The spokesman of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Marten Youssef criticized on Sunday the recent leaks of the identities of the witnesses linked to the upcoming trial, reported Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3).

He told the radio that the STL is accustomed to criticism, but any leaks put the lives of the witnesses in danger and jeopardize international justice.

Defense counsel for the four accused Hizbullah members filed their Pre-Trial Briefs this week, challenging the Prosecutor’s allegations about the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, announced the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Friday.

The Defense disputes the Prosecution’s account of the attack and the alleged involvement of the four accused, it said in a statement.