U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale stressed on Saturday the importance of carrying out the presidential and parliamentary elections, pointing out that his country's role is to safeguard the democratic process.

“The U.S. role is not to pick or choose (instead of the Lebanese) but we want to help protect the process and prevent outsiders from making choices that only the Lebanese should make,” Hale said via twitter after talks with Prime Minister Tammam Salam at the Grand Serail.

The General Directorate of State Security detained a four-member network specialized with trafficking and smuggling weapons to armed groups in the neighboring country Syria, the state-run National News Agency reported on Saturday.

The NNA said that the State Security Bureau in the southern Nabatiyeh province thwarted an attempt by the network to smuggle arms to gunmen in Syria.

Jordanian King Abdullah II expressed fear on Saturday over the situation in Lebanon, deeming that it's the most affected by the ongoing conflict in neighboring country Syria.

“Our hearts are with Lebanon as it is affected the most by the Syrian crisis in light of the demographic structure,” the king said in comments published in the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat.

A security plan was established to restore calm in the northern city of Tripoli after the death toll rose to 25 as clashes flared again,

Minister of Social Affairs Rashid Derbas revealed in comments published in An Nahar newspaper on Saturday that a comprehensive security was established and will be discussed during a meeting for the Higher Defense Council.

Columns are blackened with soot and vaults have crumbled in one of the courtyards of Syria's the Krak des Chevaliers, a Crusader castle that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and victim of the country's three-year civil war.

The army seized the medieval fortress on Thursday after fierce fighting in the nearby village of Al-Hosn in central Syria, routing rebels who had captured it in July 2011.

Shells fired from Syria landed on several areas in the northern border region of Wadi Khaled on Friday evening, the state-run National News Agency reported.

"Several shells hit the outskirts of the Buqaiaa town in Wadi Khaled near the old railway,” the NNA said.

The current Turkish block on Twitter is the latest in a series of actions against social networks, which often happen when a government's grip on power is under threat. Here are some other examples.

EGYPT (January 2011): Setting a historic precedent, Egyptian authorities blocked Internet access on January 28, 2011, to undermine opponents to the regime of president Hosni Mubarak who had used Facebook and Twitter to organize rallies.

Syria's army has been making advances against the opposition in recent days by exploiting divisions among rebel fighters and by relying on elite fighters from Hizbullah, analysts say.

On Sunday, the regime seized the rebel bastion of Yabrud, near the Lebanese border, dealing a powerfully symbolic and strategic blow.

At least seven Syrian soldiers and 17 rebels were killed Friday as three Islamist groups battled to take a border crossing into Turkey.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Islamists included the Al-Qaida affiliated Al-Nusra Front.

A Lebanese and a Syrian shepherd were killed on Friday after Syrian forces opened fire on them on the outskirts of neighboring towns in the eastern Bekaa Valley.

Yasser Mohammed Yassine, a 44-year-old Lebanese, and his Syrian relative, Ahmed Nader, from the town of Kfaryabous were killed on the outskirts of Anjar and Majdal Anjar, a security source said.