A Syrian court has sentenced two men to prison for giving "false testimony" implicating Damascus in the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, a Syrian newspaper said Thursday.

The Al-Watan newspaper, which is close to the government, said a court on Wednesday sentenced Murad Akram to 10 years in prison, including five years with hard labor, and Zuhair Mohamed Saeed Siddiq to 20 years in prison with 10 years of hard labor.

March 14's MPs announced Friday that they have decided to submit to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon a petition demanding the expansion of the jurisdiction of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to cover all the assassinations that targeted March 14 figures after Dec. 12, 2005 – the day MP Gebran Tueni was murdered.

The announcement was made during a mass rally commemorating the ninth anniversary of former premier Rafik Hariri's assassination at the BIEL exhibition center in Beirut.

The March 14 General-Secretariat on Wednesday noted that security measures alone cannot put an end to the wave of bombings that is hitting Lebanon, although it hailed the efforts of the army and security forces in the wake of the arrest of top Qaida-linked militant Naim Abbas.

The general-secretariat said it discussed “the state of security chaos that is moving from one region to another, the last of which was the discovery of booby-trapped cars and rockets that were prepared for firing in several areas in Beirut, Mount Lebanon and the Bekaa.”

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon suspended on Wednesday its sessions after the case of fifth suspect Hassan Merhi was joined to that of the four already convicted fugitives.

"We will announce the date of the upcoming session once Merhi's defense team has prepared all the necessary documents and is ready to take part in the trials,” STL Presiding Judge David Re announced.

A retired British police officer testified at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Friday on the operations that took place to recover pieces from the seabed in the vicinity of the area where ex-Premier Rafik Hariri was assassinated on Feb. 14, 2005.

Witness Malcolm Wilson, who used to work in the anti-terror unit of British police, briefed the court on a report he had written on the search of identified open sea area, swimming pool, and marina surrounding the St. Georges Yacht Club.

A protected witness from the Internal Security Forces resumed on Thursday his testimony before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on the role his bureau played in tackling the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005.

The witness' cross-examination was conducted by the Defense after he was interrogated on Wednesday by the Prosecution.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon heard on Wednesday the testimony of an Internal Security Forces officer, who claimed that several metal pieces recovered from the crater caused by the massive bombing on Feb. 14, 2005, belonged to a vehicle from the motorcade of ex-PM Rafik Hariri and the Mitsubishi van that the suicide bomber used.

The prosecution's witness, who went by a code number and whose identity remained protected, appeared via video link from Beirut.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon continued on Tuesday hearing the testimonies of various witnesses linked to the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005.

It listened to the testimony of Brigadier General Asaad Nohra who is an officer at the Internal Security Forces.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon continued on Tuesday hearing the testimonies of witnesses linked to the February 14, 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Firefighter at the Bashura sector in the Beirut Fire Department Khaled Toubaili continued the testimony he had started on Monday during which he recounted the details of the firefighting operations at the scene of the blast in Beirut.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon heard more witness testimonies on Friday a day after the defense team of four Hizbullah suspects claimed there was no conclusive evidence on the use of an explosives-laden Mitsubishi van to target the convoy of ex-PM Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005.

Several witnesses appeared before the court on Friday.