Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq issued a decree on Saturday calling electoral bodies to take part in the municipal elections.

“I made a promise and I committed to it,” he said.

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil warned on Saturday that there are indirect efforts to naturalize Syrian refugees in Lebanon, while warning that terrorism is a product of the refugee crisis.

He urged during a press conference “the adoption of unilateral and sovereign steps, otherwise naturalization will be imposed on us.”

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi handed United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon a memo on the ongoing presidential vacuum during the talks they held on Friday, reported An Nahar daily on Saturday.

The memo includes a demand that the international community assume its responsibilities towards Lebanon regarding the presidential deadlock.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi highlighted on Saturday Lebanon's diverse identity as attested by various thinkers and officials, while stressing the importance of maintaining this diversity.

He said during his Easter message: “Lebanon can preserve its identity by remaining neutral and steering clear of regional and international axes.”

The government is scheduled to convene next week with some 120 articles on its agenda, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

The regular cabinet session, set for Thursday, is also expected to tackle the issue of the state security agency.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon concluded on Friday a two-day visit to Lebanon during which held talks with Prime Minsiter Tammam Salam and toured Syrian refugee encampments in the country.

For the first time, the U.N. chief was able to closely inspect various affairs on the ground, “which will favor Lebanon,” diplomatic sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper.

The Lebanese army succeeded overnight in thwarting an attack of gunmen from Syria in the northern region of Akkar, reported various media on Saturday.

They said that the gunmen attempted to take over a surveillance tower in the border town of Hnaider, but the military was able to hold them back.

A number of residents and activists held a sit-in Friday on the Costa Brava shore at Beirut's southern entrance to protest a government decision to set up a garbage landfill at the site.

“A group of students, youths and environmental activists staged a protest this afternoon at Costa Brava following an invitation from the National Democratic Gathering,” state-run National News Agency reported.

A man was arrested Friday in the outskirts of the Bekaa town of Maaraboun for transporting fifteen handguns and an artifact worth $500,000, state-run National News Agency reported.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited on Friday the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon that was destroyed in fierce battles against al-Qaida-inspired militants almost a decade ago.

He urged the international community to provide necessary funding to help finish the rebuilding of the camp.