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

An-Nahar
Jumblatt ministers to resign if STL funding fails to pass
Government defies Hezbollah by ‘summoning’ Connelly

The series of developments and pressing security, judicial and political issues in the last 48 hours have been embarrassing for the government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati and are likely to heat up the internal climate amid the countdown for a Cabinet decision on funding for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon during a meeting to be held Wednesday.
Even though officials and political leaders were preoccupied Wednesday with a visit to Beirut by the new president of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on the one hand and Hezbollah’s drive to put pressure on the government to take action against U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly over the "intelligence war," the issue of financing the international tribunal remained a priority, indicating the need for Cabinet to take a crucial decision on the matter which will likely decide the fate of the government.

However, the most notable news was what a Cabinet minister in Walid Jumblatt’s National Struggle Front told An-Nahar Wednesday night. The minister said that Mikati had set Nov. 30 for a Cabinet session to discuss the issue of funding for the STL and that the session would be a turning point for the government.
“If [the STL] funding does not pass, he [Mikati] will be left with no other choice but to resign," the minister said, adding that ministers loyal to Jumblatt would also quit if the funding was not passed.
Meanwhile, ongoing consultations continued between Mikati, Hezbollah and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in an effort to reach a settlement that would please the government on the one hand and takes into account Hezbollah’s position on the other. However, no progress has been made in this regard.

Amid this climate, Cabinet’s regular meeting Wednesday was not a peaceful one as it was riddled with confusion: a clear contradiction between Hezbollah and the government when Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hasan left the meeting briefly to notify reporters that the Cabinet had “decided to summon the U.S. ambassador to inquire about the U.S. spying issue in Awkar on the Lebanese and the resistance."
Ministerial sources said the Cabinet was surprised by Hajj Hassan’s unilateral move.

As-Safir
STL president in Beirut: funding ... or Security Council sanctions
U.S. spying: Lebanon wants clarifications ... as Israel expresses concerns

Reports that the CIA received a blow in Lebanon on the hands of the resistance’s security drew interest at many levels based on two angles: the first one relates to the discovery of the extent of the U.S. violation of Lebanese sovereignty through spying, and the second concerns to resistance’s growing competence at combating U.S. and Israeli brains in one of the most difficult security and intelligence wars.
While the Cabinet decided during its Wednesday meeting to task the foreign minister to seek clarifications from U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly on the validity of the CIA report, Israeli circles expressed concern over the "harsh blow" to U.S. intelligence.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah is expected to touch on the CIA issue during a television appearance Saturday on the occasion of the first day of Ashura.
In parallel, Sir David Baragwanath, the new president of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, met Lebanese officials Wednesday during visits that carried a clear message: Failure to pay Lebanon’s share of funds will end up in a U.N. Security Council decision to impose sanctions on Lebanon.

Al-Liwaa
Mikati faces STL pressures
West seeks truth about Siddiqin explosion

Despite the recent explosion in Siddiqin being played down by Hezbollah and Lebanese security services, information suggests Lebanese officials were embarrassed by the flood of questions to them by foreign diplomats and military attaches seeking the truth behind the blast.
The diplomats wanted to learn the truth about what happened and whether the explosion was the result of a landmine left over from the 2006 war or the result of an intelligence [agency] operation targeting a weapons cache or the like in Siddiqin.