Maan Karami, the brother of former Prime Minister Omar Karami, stated on Thursday that the family does not accept “charity” from any side in Lebanon.

He asked his nephew, Youth and Sports Minister Faisal, if he is content that “AMAL presented a major sacrifice of letting go of a ministerial position.”

Prime Minister Najib Miqati, who on Thursday entered the Grand Serail for the first time in six years, reiterated that his cabinet will not confront the international community.

“Lebanon is not in a confrontation with the Western community nor the international community,” Miqati told pan-Arab radio station Sawa.

The March 14 forces dubbed Premier Najib Miqati’s cabinet a “confrontational government” that will seek to consolidate itself against the repercussions of the indictment that will be issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

A high-ranking March 14 source told An Nahar newspaper published Tuesday that “the government of Hizbullah” was formed “given the critical situation in Syria.”

Civil defense firefighters, assisted by army helicopters and a specialized firefighting helicopter, managed Sunday to douse a huge fire that erupted across grasslands located within the premises of the Tripoli oil refinery in al-Beddawi area, state-run National News Agency reported.

Earlier Sunday, NNA reported that the fire quickly spread due to strong winds, gutting vast areas of grasslands and agricultural lands located near the refinery’s storage tanks.

Hundreds of students gathered amid tight security in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Friday to demand that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad step down.

"Take our blood if you want, but go," chanted around 400 students from the state-run Lebanese University -- including 50 Syrians -- who had gathered in the port city of Tripoli.

A Vatican expression of concern over the violence in Syria this week was the latest sign of deep misgivings in Catholic circles about Arab uprisings seen as a threat for Christian minorities.

"The pope has been rather silent on the Arab revolutions," said Marco Politi, a Vatican specialist for Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano.

Hundreds of supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad held a sit-in outside al-Omari mosque in downtown Beirut on Friday as anti-Assad protestors rallied inside the mosque against violence in the neighboring country.

The National News Agency said that around 200 people gathered outside the mosque shouting slogans in support of Assad and denouncing a sit-in organized by Hizb ut-Tahrir inside.

Premier-designate Najib Miqati has denied reports that a deal was reached to end the cabinet deadlock, saying he was still waiting for parliamentary blocs to provide him with the names of their candidates for the government seats.

“I haven’t been informed about anything,” Miqati told al-Akhbar daily in remarks published Friday.

A South African law firm is involved in talks to defend Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi against charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court, a newspaper said Tuesday.

According to The Times newspaper, Libyan officials entered into a "mandate agreement" with Langa Attorneys to provide legal advice and services to Gadhafi and other top leaders three weeks ago.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in north Lebanon on Saturday to demand caretaker government release Syrian refugees who are reportedly being held by the army.

Some 500 people gathered in the Bab al-Tebbaneh neighborhood of Tripoli in the north to voice support for anti-government protesters in Syria and demand the release of any refugees who could be held in Lebanon.