BEIRUT, March 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Head of the Lebanese Supreme Juridical Council Tanius al-Khori on Thursday appointed Alias Ayedas the new judge in charge of probing into the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri on Feb. 14.

    In a statement, Khori said his council had accepted the resignation of Judge Mitchell Abu Araj and made the new appointment.

    Araj on Wednesday told reporters that he resigned because he hadtoo much work to deal with in the current phase.

    A group of Lebanese members of parliament on Tuesday called onthe Arab summit in Algiers to support the international investigation into the assassination of Hariri.

    The lawmakers also appealed to the UN Security Council to bring those behind the assassination to justice as soon as possible.A UN team dispatched to investigate the bombing completed itsmission in Beirut on March 16 and is expected to announce initiative result on Thursday at the UN headquarters in New York.UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told the Arab summit on Wednesday that he will release a report in the next few days on afact-finding mission into Hariri's death, adding another in-depthprobe may also be necessary. Enditem