U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged Tehran to halt its nuclear program and to resume talks with Western powers, saying that the onus is on Iran to prove its good intentions.

"There is no other alternative to addressing this crisis than peaceful resolution through dialogue," said Ban the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting at the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon announced via Twitter on Wednesday that United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon will decide on how long its mandate will be extended after consulting with the Lebanese government and Security Council.

It said: “The agreement between the U.N. and Lebanon states that our mandate will be renewed if our work is not finished. Our work is not finished yet.”

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon ad interim Robert Watkins

expressed on Wednesday the world body’s readiness to share with the Lebanese government its expertise in disaster management policies.

United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon ad interim Robert Watkins revealed on Tuesday that U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is keen on visiting Lebanon, adding that the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 will be among the main issues of discussion with the various leaders.

He said after holding talks with Prime Minister Najib Miqati: “The U.N. chief is keen to visit Lebanon to show his continued strong interest in and commitment to Lebanon.

The U.N. Security Council this week returns to the battle over Syria's deadly crackdown on protests -- but opponents of U.N. action, led by Russia, keep trying to switch the debate to Libya.

Western nations have been infuriated and frustrated by demands by Russia and others for an inquiry into the NATO airstrikes in Libya which they use as a reason to oppose U.N. action in Syria. US ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, calls it a "bogus" move, hiding other motives.

Hizbullah has informed Premier Najib Miqati that it rejects the renewal of the cooperation protocol signed between the Lebanese government and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon but the PM stressed that Beirut has a limited role in this matter, a Lebanese official said.

The official, who was not identified, told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published Sunday that the Hizbullah stance was made during a meeting between Miqati and the party’s chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah before the holidays “because it believes that the cooperation protocol contradicts in some of its articles with (Lebanon’s) sovereignty.”

Syria finally gave its agreement Monday to an Arab observer mission to monitor a deal to end nine months of bloodshed, ending weeks of prevarication that had prompted the Arab League to adopt sanctions.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Maqdad and Arab League Assistant Secretary General Ahmed Ben Helli inked the document at League headquarters in Cairo, an Agence France Presse correspondent reported.

The U.N. Security Council on Friday lifted sanctions on Libya's central bank and a key investment bank freeing tens of billions of dollars to ease a post-Gadhafi cash crunch.

The United States immediately announced it would unblock more than $30 billion dollars of assets of the Central Bank of Libya and its subsidiary, the Libyan Foreign Bank (LFB). Britain said it would release more than $10 billion.

The Amal movement and Hizbullah leaderships have slammed what they called the “evil hands” that have targeted U.N. peacekeepers in the South and launched a rocket from Lebanese territories.

Following a meeting held by their leaderships at the movement’s offices in the city of Tyre, Amal and Hizbullah stressed commitment to the role of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon that supports the Lebanese army in accordance with Security Council resolution 1701.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon has no information about any decision by the countries that have contingents serving with the peacekeeping mission to downsize their troops, a UNIFIL spokesman, Andrea Tenenti, said.

“There is no information about any changes,” Tenenti told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat published on Wednesday.