The Syndicate Coordination Committee warned the authorities on Thursday that official exams will not be held as long as its demands on the pay raise are not met.

During a press conference held near the Education Ministry in Beirut, the coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees vowed to obstruct the official exams.

The cabinet of Prime Minister Tammam Salam is scheduled to make appointments of civil servants in state institutions on Friday as part of its 57-item agenda.

Alia Abbas is expected to become the Economy Ministry's new director-general while another female candidate to lead the Justice Ministry's directorate-general is Judge Maysam Nwairi.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam has stressed that the agreement reached among the rival parties ahead of the formation of his cabinet earlier this year is a sign that a deal on the presidential crisis is possible.

In remarks to several local dailies published on Thursday, Salam said the deal struck between the March 8 and 14 alliances, which led to the formation of the government, “confirms that an understanding on the presidential elections is not impossible.”

Kataeb leader Amin Gemayel met with Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh on Thursday as part of his initiative to resolve the presidential crisis amid a report that Maronite leaders would hold talks in Bkirki next week.

The two officials stressed the need to hold the presidential elections before the term of President Michel Suleiman ends on May 25.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas praised on Wednesday evening the Maronite Patriarch's anticipated visit to Jerusalem, considering that it contributes to “strengthening Muslim-Christian coexistence as well as the Arabic identity” of the occupied Palestinian territories.

"We highly appreciate, respect and welcome Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's visit to the Holy Land and meeting with the city's people,” Abbas said in a telephone call with Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, according to a statement published on the state-run National News Agency.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Lebanon was still denying entry to Palestinians fleeing the war in neighboring Syria Wednesday, despite its insistence there was "no decision" to keep them out.

"UNRWA has been monitoring the situation at the crossing point at Masnaa between Lebanon and Syria and can report that no Palestine refugees from Syria have been allowed into Lebanon today and that some families trying to cross have been refused entry," said UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness.

The Syndicate Coordination Committee on Wednesday called for a first of a kind general strike for an entire week starting Thursday, ahead of a mass demonstration to protest the new wage scale draft law presented by MPs.

“We announce a one-week general strike as of tomorrow and until next Wednesday in the public sector, public administrations, ministries and at the Grand Serail,” SCC chief Hanna Gharib declared at a press conference.

A rocket landed Wednesday in a town in northern Bekaa, causing material damage, as the shadowy Free Sunnis of Baalbek Brigade claimed responsibility for the shelling.

“A rocket fell on the town of Ain al-Jawzeh between Hourtaala and Brital, near the house of Samir Darwish,” state-run National News Agency reported.

The owners of the old rent law buildings urged on Wednesday President Michel Suleiman to sign the new rent draft-law after he refused to sign it earlier during the day.

They urged during a sit-in in Beirut's al-Mathaf area the president against “washing his hands clean” of this affair, refuting his claims that the draft-law does not grant social justice.

The Contempt Judge at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has ordered initial appearances on Tuesday, May 13 of the accused in the case against New TV S.A.L. and Karma Khayat, and of the Accused in the case against Akhbar Beirut S.A.L. and Ibrahim al-Amin, announced the STL in a statement on Wednesday.

“The two journalists and two media organizations were charged with contempt before the tribunal for knowingly and willfully interfering with the administration of justice,” it added.