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

An-Nahar

Decisive week for STL funding

March 8 to vote, Hariri hopes for ‘swift’ return

March 8 forces, who remained adamant about not funding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, kept silent about the step taken by Prime Minister Najib Mikati to request a cash advance from the Finance Ministry to pay off Lebanon's share of STL funding for 2011.

While it is almost certain that the crucial decision on the STL funding will be taken during Cabinet’s Friday meeting, the complicated picture painted by data made available to officials in the government does not suggest any change in positions by the rejectionist forces, namely Hezbollah.

Sources close to March 8 said these [Hezbollah-led] forces expected Mikati to move the issue forward before the end of November, but that they are not sure the STL crisis will be resolved in Friday's Cabinet session.

An-Nahar has learnt that Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi, just like Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi, was aware of the request but that he refused to comment since he believes that STL funding is the Cabinet’s decision.

Meanwhile, as the Future Movement was readying for celebrations to mark Independence Day in Tripoli on Sunday, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Twitter: "I never said that my return to Lebanon is linked to the fall of the Syrian regime. I will return sooner rather than later."

Al-Akhbar

March 8 to Mikati: [STL] funding is rejected no matter what the grounds

Will the tribunal be funded or not? Certainly, the funding issue will not succeed in Cabinet, which raises a fundamental question: Will Prime Minister Najib Mikati resign? Mikati refrains from announcing a clear decision. But some of his allies have hinted that Mikati’s resignation is not ruled out.

The funding issue returned to the forefront last week, especially when Safadi proposed requesting a cash advance to pay off Lebanon’s share of the funding.

Safadi’s proposal has put words into action: Mikati, MP Walid Jumblatt and Safadi have stressed the need for funding to “defuse tension in the Sunni arena in the face of the Sunni prime minister and finance minister."

A senior March 8 official told Al-Akhbar that Mikati had been informed of Hezbollah and its allies’ final decision: “reject funding no matter what the grounds.”

Al-Mustaqbal

Hezbollah ‘does not hide its pain’ from Arab position, Makari fears of "explosive situation"

Hezbollah maintains its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Hezbollah official Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek said Assad "is not himself the target [of opposition], but [rather it is] the project being carried out by the rejectionist resistance [that is being targeted]."

Yazbek accused the Syrian people and Arab states who voted to suspend Syria from Arab League meetings of “conspiring against its [Syrian] leadership.”

"All those who conspired against the resistance in the 2006 war are back to their blind conspiracy. They were carried away ... where the rejectionists and the resistance and Iran have become their main goal,” Yazbek said.

Hezbollah Agriculture Minister Hussein al-Haj Hasan, for his part, said: “There is pain in the heart from the Arab League which not once dared to make a decision on the Palestinian conflict. The courage, however, was in Syria where logic says ‘adopt dialogue as means to resolve the problems there.’”

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Farid Makari said he was confident that “the other team [March 8] is behind the explosive situation as a result of its status and political dilemma.”

Al-Joumhouria

Cabinet to revolve STL funding negatively or positively Nov. 30

Despite discussion about adding to Cabinet’s meeting a request made by Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi for an advance cash fund to pay Lebanon's share of STL funding, a number of Cabinet ministers have denied this, and said that the agenda circulated is free of any item dealing with the international tribunal.

March 8 sources, however, told Al-Joumhouria that the issue of financing the tribunal will be discussed during a Cabinet meeting to be held on Nov. 30 at Baabda Palace.

The sources said Prime Minister Najib Mikati is resolute on the issue of STL funding and that he will ask ministers to resolve the crisis – positively or negatively – at the Nov. 30 meeting.