Well-informed sources in Riyadh said that the Saudi government has finished the talks that were aimed at saving construction giant Saudi Oger that now faces the possibility of debt restructuring worth billions of dollars to avoid collapse, media reports said on Friday.

The Saudi government owes Saudi Oger about 30 billion riyals (8 billion dollars) for construction works carried out by the company, a sign that the country's public finances are under pressure as the result of falling oil prices, according to a prominent source in Saudi Arabia.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Friday that he will not go into a war on behalf of the al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri and that the latter must “shoulder the responsibility”, al-Akhbar daily reported on Friday.

“Although Berri supports Hariri, but he believes that the government is his responsibility. We will not go into a war on his behalf,” sources close to Berri quoted him as saying.

Investigations being run with detained Islamic State group militants have shown that the IS had plans to carry out three massive attacks in Lebanon during the holy month of Ramadan and that one of the schemes was to target the southern suburbs of Beirut with 3 tons of explosives in a suicide attack that would "shake the esteem of Hizbullah's leadership", al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.

The IS planned to carry out “centralized and quality” operations in each of the attacks with the aim of striking a blow to the economic sector and social environment, added the daily.

Founder of the Free Patriotic Movement and a runner in the race to become president MP Michel Aoun complained on Friday that none of the political figures are speaking or holding discussions with him, as he stressed that he did not request to dissociate himself, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.

“No one is talking to me now that the main Christian candidate has delivered his word...I never said I don't want to consult with anyone! They are the ones who do not want to talk to me,” visitors to Aoun quoted him as saying.

The 1943 National Pact is “the spirit of the constitution and a constitution without spirit would be dead letters,” Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi said on Thursday.

Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon of the March 14 camp held talks Thursday with Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun in Rabieh as Resigned Economy Minister Alain Hakim of the Kataeb Party slammed the Christian ministers who attended the controversial cabinet session that was held earlier in the day.

The Free Patriotic Movement denied Thursday that it has proposed a settlement involving a new extension of Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji's term.

Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc on Thursday urged the resumption of national dialogue sessions, describing the all-party talks as the only “realistic” solution.

Below is a blog written by British Ambassador to Lebanon Hugo Shorter to mark a year since he assumed his post:

The cabinet convened at the Grand Serail on Thursday in the presence of 16 ministers and the absence of the Free Patriotic Movement, Tashnaq and Hizbullah members of government, a meeting which Premier Tammam Salam described as “constitutional and respects the National Pact.”

Information Minister Ramzi Jreije quoted the PM and said: “The meeting is constitutional and respects the National Pact. But the PM paved the way for further consultations as for the current crisis in order to find solutions.”