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-Mustaqbal
New achievement for Hezbollah government: Beirut loses ESCWA
Syrian incursion in Arsal ongoing … government distances itself

The government, which maintains “escaping the inevitable” policy, has been carefully choosing its words to evade responsibility amid the many issues facing Cabinet such as funding for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the Syrian incursion in Arsal and the increase in security breaches.

As the Syrian cross-border incursion into the Bekaa town of Arsal continued for a second day Thursday, U.N. Special Coordinator to Lebanon Michael Williams announced during a news conference in New York that the U.N. House in Beirut, known as ESCWA, will be closed as a result of security threats.
Williams said ESCWA would move to another location in Lebanon, but did not say where.
He said that the majority of ESCWA staff had evacuated the Beirut building and were working from home.

An-Nahar
Syrian Army resumes pursuit in Arsal
Labor, teacher associations escalate action to protest VAT increase
Prime Minister’s office receives U.N. request urging Lebanon to pay its share of STL funding

Despite the pressing social issues the government is facing – which threatens a wave of strikes by the labor and education sectors – developments related to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and security violations on the Lebanon-Syria border or in the heart of the country were back in the forefront and were given priority.
Regarding the STL, An-Nahar has learned that Lebanon received an official request from the United Nations and the international tribunal urging the Lebanese government to pay its share of the STL fund, but not via the Finance Ministry as had been said, but through both Cabinet and the Foreign Ministry.

An-Nahar has learned that Prime Minister Najib Mikati received a letter from U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon last week calling on Lebanon to pay its share of the fund within a period no longer than two to three months.
Sources at the Grand Serail confirmed receiving Ban’s letter.

Meanwhile, An-Nahar has also learned that Mikati will meet Friday with officials from the Labor Union in an effort to revive talks and avoid escalation; a day after the Labor Union announced it was boycotting the Price Index Committee meetings in protest at VAT increases proposed by Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi’s 2012 state budget bill.

Al-Joumhouria
Foreign Ministry denies receiving request to fund STL
New Syrian cross-border violation in Arsal

While reports surfaced that the Lebanese Foreign Ministry received a letter from the STL demanding Lebanon to pay its share of the fund, sources at the Foreign Ministry denied the ministry having obtained such a request.
Meanwhile, political officials were busy studying the dimensions of the new equation drawn up by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah who was quoted as rejecting STL funding while at the same time maintaining government unity.

Ad-Diyar
Salaries, [public] appointments obstacles facing government … PSP objects

It appears that funding for the STL is going to be the government’s biggest problem; and despite Mikati’s bet in convincing Hezbollah to fund the tribunal for fear of sanctions imposed by the U.N., Russia’s recent position at the U.N. Security Council has changed the balance of power.
Some believe that Moscow will not vote for sanctions on Lebanon while Syria’s message to Beirut had become clear: confrontation and no funding for the STL following Russia’s and China’s stances, which is likely to take place in the event sanctions were proposed on Lebanon.

As for public appointments, the Progressive Socialist Party – via Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi – strongly criticized the appointment of former Cabinet Minister Adnan Sayyed Hussein as head of the Lebanese University.
The real problem, however, lies in the upcoming Christian appointments where the battle would be between Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and President Michel Sleiman.

Al-Liwaa
Nasrallah informs Sleiman, Mikati, and their allies: No STL funding by all means!
Mikati urges ministers to be silent about STL issue … PSP considering critical decision

Ministerial sources told Al-Liwaa that the Foreign Ministry received an official request from the U.N. requesting that Lebanon pay its share of funding for the STL.
The request coincided with a news report that Nasrallah had informed both Sleiman and Mikati that Hezbollah rejects funding the STL “by all means.”
The ministerial sources told Al-Liwaa that Hezbollah has informed the various political blocs within the government of its decision, including Speaker Nabih Berri, FPM leader Michel Aoun as well as MP Suleiman Franjieh and Walid Jumblatt.

A well-informed source told AL-Liwaa that PSP ministers held urgent talks with Jumblatt to discuss the consequences of Hezbollah’s decision.
The source did not reveal details of these meetings but described as “critical” the decision taken by Jumblatt’s bloc.
Witnesses say they have noticed beefed up security measures in recent weeks around Jumblatt’s residence in Clemenceau, Beirut.