Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Monday that reports that he had escaped an assassination attempt were only news broadcasted through BlackBerry phones.

He said on Twitter that he will not “give any more information” about those allegations.

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.”

The brothers of four Hizbullah members indicted in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination have informed Lebanese authorities that they don’t know the whereabouts of the suspects, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported on Sunday.

The newspaper said the involved Lebanese judicial and security institutions questioned in vain the brothers of Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Oneissi and Assad Sabra.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is expected to stress to various officials the need to resolve the possession of arms outside the authority of the Lebanese state during his trip to Beirut on January 13, reported al-Liwaa newspaper on Friday.

He is likely to stress the need to tackle this issue through dialogue, as well as by ensuring the liberation of all Lebanese territory.

The recent claims about the presence of al-Qaida in Lebanon have pushed U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to stir the issue of the demarcation of the Lebanese-Syrian border with top Lebanese officials next week, informed sources said Thursday.

The sources told An Nahar daily that Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn’s allegations that al-Qaida was operating in the eastern town of Arsal and the contradictory statements made by officials later on, have forced Ban to discuss with the Lebanese officials about a request to demarcate the border in accordance with U.N. Security Council resolution 1680.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel denied on Friday any al-Qaida presence in Lebanon, stressing that the country could be a route for the group but not a base.

He said during a press conference at the ministry that Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn’s statements on al-Qaida were taken out of context.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati is expected to head to Paris in January to meet with senior French officials including President Nicolas Sarkozy, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Friday.

According to the daily, he will discuss two issues during his stay in France, the first is related to the economy while the second is aimed at stressing the importance of the foreign support granted to the Lebanese army.

Speaker Nabih Berri expressed relief on Friday over the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon through the Higher Relief Council.

“I have already said that the payment will not be from the state’s budget and this is what happened… there might be other hidden issues related (to the funding) that will be unveiled soon,” Berri told An Nahar.

The Victims’ Participation Unit of the Registry of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has held a two and a half day training seminar for counsel who may represent victims participating in proceedings before the Tribunal, the STL said Thursday in a statement.

“The seminar was attended by 30 people, including 11 Lebanese counsel and 11 international counsel who are on the Tribunal's List of Victims' Counsel or who represent applicants for victims’ participation,” the court noted.

The Association of Banks in Lebanon announced on Thursday that it has granted the Higher Relief Council $32 million after the transfer of funds to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon were made through the council.

It said in a statement that it made this decision out of “its conviction to fortify the internal political stability.”