The Special Tribunal for Lebanon tweeted on Thursday a reminder that Friday is the deadline for the Defense to file motions challenging the jurisdiction of the Tribunal over the February 14, 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

It said via Twitter: “This will be another milestone towards trial in the case of Ayyash et al.”

The head of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Defense Office Francois Roux stated that he holds talks with various government officials whenever he visits Lebanon, reported the daily An Nahar on Tuesday.

He told the daily that he is open to meeting other political officials in order to explain to them the role of the Defense Office and STL.

Former chief U.N. investigator Nick Kaldas stressed that there is solid evidence and concrete facts in the assassination case of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The STL “isn’t politicized and the case is based on concrete evidence,” Kaldas told An Nahar newspaper on Monday.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon President Judge David Baragwanath is expected to preside a confidential meeting for the Appeals Chamber at 10:00 am Wednesday, al-Akhbar newspaper reported.

The meeting is set to tackle the defense team’s reservations on the final date set for the trials in absentia before receiving the complete accusation files.

The Appeals Chamber of the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon has ruled in a decision issued Wednesday that only relevant documents that may explain why former General Security chief Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed was detained or why he should have been released must be disclosed by the Prosecutor, the STL announced.

“The Judges directed that the relevant documents should be disclosed by 18 May at the latest. They also decided that the Prosecutor does not need to hand over exact copies of previously disclosed documents,” the STL said.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon said Wednesday that the decision of pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen to set a deadline for challenging the court’s jurisdiction is another milestone towards trial in the case of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination.

Four Hizbullah members - Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Oneissi and Assad Sabra – have been indicted by the STL in Hariri’s Feb. 2005 killing.

The deputy head of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s Defense Office, Alia Aoun, has informed the Registrar that she intends to return to practice as an attorney, the court said in a press release on Tuesday.

“Following the start of the judicial phase of the STL on 1 February 2012, it is now primarily for the Defense Counsel to ensure the protection of the rights of the accused and equitable justice,” the statement quoted Aoun as saying.

President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Sir Judge David Baragwanath has announced that Prosecutor Norman Farrell will visit Lebanon soon.

While Baragwanath refused to discuss the details of his talks with President Michel Suleiman and Premier Najib Miqati, he said his visit to Beirut was aimed at informing them about the latest developments linked to the court.

The United States denounced on Thursday the assassination attempt against Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and said Washington was concerned he may have been targeted because of his opposition to the Syrian regime.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Washington "condemns in the strongest terms what appears to be an assassination attempt targeting Lebanese politician Samir Geagea."

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly conveyed on Thursday to President Michel Suleiman the United States’ “deep concern over reports of an assassination attempt on a leading Lebanese political figure.

She noted that Lebanon’s embrace of and support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon demonstrates it has definitively rejected such practices.