The Ministry of Health on Wednesday confirmed that no cases of infection with the deadly MERS coronavirus have been recorded in Lebanon until the moment, reassuring that its preventative measures are sufficient.

“I call on the Lebanese not to panic over the MERS coronavirus,” Health Minister Wael Abou Faour said at a press conference, following media reports that a case was registered at Beirut's Hotel Dieu hospital.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani criticized on Wednesday the failure of the third round of the presidential elections, warning that Lebanon will witness hard times should vacuum arise in the presidency.

He said: “Lawmakers are condemning all the Lebanese people by failing to elect a president.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea accused on Wednesday the March 8 alliance of seeking to impose its candidate over others, slamming its demand for the election of a consensual president.

He said during a press conference after the failure of the third round of the presidential elections: “The boycott of the session is not aimed at the election of a consensual president, but it has the objective to impose a candidate over others.”

The Maronite Bishops Council lamented on Wednesday lawmakers' ongoing failure to elect a president, voicing their concern over the possibility of vacuum in Lebanon's top post.

It said after its monthly meeting chaired by Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi: “The MPs' remarks on vacuum is a cause for concern and a sign of their political ineptitude.”

Speaker Nabih Berri called for a parliamentary session next Wednesday to discuss the wage scale draft-law after its amendment by a ministerial-legislative committee.

The committee, which was formed a few weeks ago after lawmakers failed to agree on the raise, handed Berri the amended version of the wage scale on Monday.

Parliament failed on Wednesday for the third week in a row to elect a new president over differences between the March 8 and 14 alliances and amid warnings of a possible vacuum at Baabda Palace, more than two weeks before the expiry of President Michel Suleiman's tenure.

Speaker Nabih Berri set May 15 as a new round of voting after the March 8 lawmakers again boycotted the elections.

Kataeb party leader Amin Gemayel and Free Patriotic Movement chief Michel Aoun agreed Wednesday on the importance of holding the presidential elections by May 25.

Following talks with Aoun at his residence in Rabieh, Gemayel said: “We agreed on the importance of exerting all efforts to hold the polls as soon as possible.”

A Lebanese deminer was killed on Wednesday in an explosion from a cluster bomb in the South left over from the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah, the state-run National News Agency reported.

NNA said Hussein Omar al-Kweis, who hails from Nabatiyeh, died on the outskirts of the town of Aita al-Jabal.

The army intelligence has arrested two suspects after finding weapons in their vehicle in the eastern Bekaa valley, the state-run National News Agency reported on Wednesday.

NNA said Hussein al-Hujairi and Hilal Amoun were detained at a checkpoint in the north Bekaa town of Hrabta.

Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi said that Kataeb leader Amin Gemayel has suspended his candidacy for the presidency pending the result of parliamentary sessions to elect a new head of state.

In remarks to the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah daily on Wednesday, Qazzi said: “Gemayel suspended his candidacy until he finds out the course that the election sessions would take.”