Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti is expected to arrive in Lebanon on Saturday on a one-day official visit, An Nahar newspaper reported.

The daily said that the PM will visit his country’s contingent in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon which is headed by Italian commander Maj. Gen. Paolo Serra.

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.

President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Sir Judge David Baragwanath is keen to fully carry out his tasks in order to achieve the purpose behind the formation of the tribunal, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Thursday.

Sources told the daily that Baragwanath stressed during his meetings with senior Lebanese officials on the independence of the tribunal, slamming any attempt to exploit it.

Speaker Nabih Berri criticized on Thursday the cabinet’s slow performance, saying it was the reason behind his decision to schedule a parliamentary session to assess its work.

He described the cabinet’s performance as a “turtle” and stressed the importance of enhancing its work on all levels.

Several Lebanese leaders on Wednesday contacted Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea to condemn the assassination attempt he escaped earlier in the day, as President Michel Suleiman called for “intensifying the investigations in order to unveil and arrest the perpetrators.”

Former prime minister Saad Hariri telephoned Geagea, deploring the attempt on his life and describing it as the latest in a long series of political assassinations in Lebanon.

Head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon Major-General Paolo Serra stressed on Wednesday the importance of marking the Blue Line which is an “essential task of the UNIFIL’s mandate.”

“Completing the process will reduce the potential for incidents and tensions in the area,” Serra said during a ceremony marking the International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action.

The President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Sir Judge David Baragwanath held talks on Wednesday with General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza at the Justice Palace, reported the National News Agency.

Baragwanath thanked the Lebanese government and judiciary for their cooperation with the tribunal, starting with the initial investigation into the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

European Parliament members visiting Lebanon on Tuesday lauded “the efforts undertaken by the Lebanese authorities, their partners, the NGOs and the local population to provide assistance” to Syrians fleeing the violence in their country to Lebanon.

The parliamentary delegation comprises Veronique de Keyser, Member of the European Parliament and Vice President for Foreign Affairs of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S & D), and Ana Gomes, Member of the European Parliament and the foreign affairs coordinator of the S & D Group.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Monday that if the government re-implemented the 1960 electoral law for the upcoming 2013 elections then it would be a step backward, As Safir newspaper reported.

“Whoever is seeking to push this matter forward will be held responsible,” Berri said.

Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn confirmed that smuggling operations are taking place along the border with Syria, admitting that it is “very difficult” to completely monitor the entire 330 kilometer-border, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.

He told the daily: “The army is performing all it can to curb the illegal activity.”