Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea warned on Monday of any manipulation concerning the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri.

All the successive cabinets “insured the funding of the STL since 2008 with the participation of Hizbullah ministers,” Geagea told An Nahar newspapers.

Yemeni troops shot dead four protesters Sunday as they attempted to block a new bid by activists to bring 10 months of protests against veteran President Ali Abdullah Saleh to a head.

The defiant march by tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators came despite the deaths of at least 12 people in a similar protest in the capital on Saturday.

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour stated on Sunday that Lebanon will not take a position that would harm Syria’s security and stability during the Arab foreign ministers’ meetings scheduled to take place in Cairo later on Sunday.

He added: “Lebanon will take a stand that supports Syria and its efforts to implement reform.”

Saudi Arabia has asked U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to inform the Security Council of the "heinous conspiracy" to kill its envoy to Washington, in an alleged Iranian plot, SPA state news agency said on Saturday.

"The Saudi permanent mission to the United Nations in New York has ...formally requested the U.N. secretary general to inform the Security Council of the heinous conspiracy to assassinate the Saudi ambassador," it said.

Economy and Trade Minister Nicolas Nahas urged officials on Saturday to tackle the Special Tribunal for Lebanon away from the media spotlight and “withdraw” it from political discussions, the National News Agency reported.

He stressed that the STL will “be included in the state budget.”

Supporters and opponents of U.N. action against Syria crossed swords at the Security Council Friday after it was revealed the regime's crackdown has cost more than 3,000 lives, diplomats said.

Envoys for Germany, France, Britain and Portugal raised President Bashar Assad's deadly assault on protesters during closed-door consultations.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin left China Wednesday after a visit that yielded $7 billion in trade pacts but no breakthrough on a long-delayed gas deal with the world's top energy consumer.

Putin held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao in Beijing on his first foreign trip since he announced plans to reclaim the Russian presidency.

Tens of thousands of Yemenis marched on the streets of the capital Tuesday, demanding for a second straight day the U.N. Security Council take action against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

"This is a message to the world, to the powerful nations, and to the Security Council...take Saleh and his regime to court," the protesters chanted from Sanaa's Change Square.

China urged Syria Tuesday to move faster to implement reforms, a week after Beijing infuriated the West by blocking a U.N. resolution against President Bashar Assad's deadly crackdown on protests.

It is the first time that China has veered away from its longstanding policy of non-interference in the affairs of Syria, which has been rocked by anti-government protests and violence since earlier this year.

The replacement of Judge Antonio Cassese as president of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri triggered wide reactions locally amid controversy on the payment of Lebanon’s share from the tribunal’s budget.

“Judge Baragwanath has been appointed by the STL since March 2009, and has attended all the Appeal Chambers’ meeting,” tribunal spokesman Marten Youssef told An Nahar on Tuesday.