Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese newspapers Friday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.

Al-Liwaa: Jumblatt refuses to succumb to blackmail … Bassil promises everlasting darkness

STL responds: Evidence is not a ruling but is to be presented in court

Will the electricity issue replace the false witnesses’ issue and thus paralyze Cabinet until after Sept. 7 to pave the way for toppling the government or the Aoun-Hezbollah alliance trying to blame MP Walid Jumblatt – who is backed by President Michel Sleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati – for the repercussions of a government collapse?

A source close to the crisis said Lebanon– no matter what the internal dispute over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) – should not evade two commitments:

1- Arresting the suspects and handing them over to the STL.

2- Financial commitment to the STL in line with STL Registrar’s assertion that the evidence that will be submitted to the court will differ from the ruling.

Meanwhile, a ministerial source from Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement denied a compromise was being discussed, pointing out that either the electricity plan would be endorsed as agreed upon during Cabinet’s latest meeting at Beiteddine or there is a real crisis.

The source hinted at the possibility of government paralysis if the plan had not been approved.

Ad-Diyar:  Mikati sources: We are the key [players] in the equation, not Aoun … No one can topple us

Bickering continued over the electricity bill but under the slogan “technical dispute” after the government pulled the political tension “fuse” that nearly toppled the two-month-old “all for work” Cabinet.

However, talks held over the past few hours signaled positive results and cooled down hotheads as the various parties discussed the issue technically without intimidations or game-playing with the government’s fate which is preparing to deal with external issues, at the forefront the STL indictment which is expected to emerge by the end of September. It has been learned that the STL is likely to request the arrest of new suspects which could further embarrass the government.

Well-informed sources said the majority [March 8] has once again turned eyes to Speaker Berri in an effort to restore things to normal and continue discussions over the [electricity] issue away from political bickering.

Berri is expected to hold contacts Friday and before Eid al-Fitr in an effort to resolve the issue ahead of the Sept. 7 Cabinet meeting.

Meanwhile, Mikati sources told Ad-Diyar that the prime minister is acting on grounds that the government will last. They said Mikati considers himself to be a key player in the equation and not Gen. Michel Aoun, and that the international equation requires Mikati who works according to the law and rejects blackmail by any team.

The sources pointed out that the electricity dispute is technical and not political, adding that discussions will go on in a quiet atmosphere until a legal formula is reached.

Remarkably Thursday, the Progressive Socialist Party and the Free Patriotic Movement sought to give the impression that communication between them are not severed, specifically between ministers Jibran Bassil and Wael Abu Faour, who are old friends.

The FPM and the PSP also insisted that the government will last.

Al-Mustaqbal: Hezbollah’s intimidating campaign against the STL continues…Trade Union hints escalation

Energy minister threatens government with power cut 

More confusion overwhelms the government. The Lebanese scene remained open to political bickering and intimidation in the period before the Sept. 7 Cabinet meeting – latest of which came from Energy Minister Jibran Bassil who said “electricity is more important the government. Lebanon’s Cabinet and Parliament face paralysis until the [electricity] issue has been solved.” 

Meanwhile, Hezbollah filled the space with loud rhetoric in response to the STL indictment as labor unions threatened to escalate their actions after expressing disappointment with the government’s performance.

As-Safir: STL Registrar: Trial in mid-2012

STL Registrar Herman von Hebel said trials will begin in mid-2012, whether in absentia or prima facie, and that the exact trial date will be determined by judges.

Hebel explained that the judges will have to be convinced that all efforts were made to pin down the four suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Hebel told As-Safir that the STL still expects the Lebanese government to contribute 49 percent of the overall tribunal’s budget, pointing to Mikati’s statements which stressed commitment to STL obligations, and said “we expect him to do so.”

Hebel said several measures have been taken to protect data confidentiality, adding that media “leaks have no impact on judicial rulings.”