Special Tribunal for Lebanon Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen has confirmed a request by STL Prosecutor Norman Farrell to amend the indictment, the tribunal announced in a Twitter message on Monday.

“The Prosecution will now have to update the indictment, which was confirmed in June 2011,” it said.

The Appeals Chamber of the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing ex-PM Rafik Hariri's murder has unanimously dismissed Defense challenges to the Tribunal’s legality, the STL said in a statement on Wednesday.

Defense counsel for the four accused had challenged, before the Trial Chamber, the legality of the Tribunal, arguing that it violates Lebanese sovereignty and that it has selective jurisdiction and no authority to try the accused.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon spokesman Marten Youssef said on Tuesday that referring the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan requires a decision by the United Nations Security Council.

If the Security Council decided to refer this crime or other crimes to the STL then it will work on accomplishing that, Youssef said in comments published in As Safir.

The March 14 forces condemned on Friday the assassination of the head of the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan, holding Prime Minister Najib Miqati personally responsible for the crime.

It said in a statement after an extraordinary meeting in the wake of the assassination: “The government holds the political and moral accountability for the plan to target Lebanon's stability.”

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's acknowledgment of the party's possession of a drone has renewed interest in the possible Israeli involvement in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.

Sources following the investigation noted to the daily Nasrallah's 2010 conference during which he presented images obtained from Israeli drones that followed the slain former premier's travel route in Lebanon.

The March 14 General Secretariat hoped on Wednesday that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon would handle the 2005 assassination of MP Gebran Tueni in hope that it would reach the truth behind his murder.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “Such a case and others like it should not be treated nonchalantly like another WikiLeaks report.”

Spokesman for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Marten Youssef stated that certain conditions need to be met in order for the assassination of MP Gebran Tueni to be added to the cases tackled by the tribunal, reported An Nahar daily on Wednesday.

He told the daily that the date of the assassination falls within the timeframe of the crimes that may be addressed by the STL.

Head of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's defense office Francois Roux said that his current visit to Lebanon is a routine visit as he is keen to maintain the ties with authorities and the Beirut and Tripoli Bar Associations to remind all sides of the right of the defendants to have a fair trial, noting that the date of trials on March 25 could be changed.

He described the visit in comments published in An Nahar as “good and useful.”

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon's Appeals Chamber kicked off on Monday a second open hearing to hear the appeal against the decision on the jurisdiction and the legality of the Tribunal.

The Trial Chamber dismissed on July 27 the four Defense motions challenging the jurisdiction and legality of the Tribunal.

Lebanon has ignored repeated requests to cooperate with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon probing former Premier Rafik Hariri's 2005 murder, defense lawyers said Friday.

Lawyers also lambasted prosecutors before the tribunal for delays in handing over evidence they needed for the trial in absentia of four Hizbullah members accused of involvement with the bombing.