Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq announced on Saturday a plan to help citizens “safely” escape the Lebanese town of Tufail, which is located inside Syria.

The plan involves securing a safe passage supervised by Lebanese forces and which would allow the village's residents to escape "without being subjected to any Syrian gunman."

Two children were killed on Saturday and three others were injured when a dynamite stick they were playing with exploded in the northern plain of Akkar, the state-run National News Agency said.

The children, mostly from al-Ali family, were playing in the al-Bahr neighborhood close to the northern Qulaiat airport base when the dynamite exploded.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi hoped that the needed quorum at parliament would be met to elect a new president.

He said during his Easter address: “We hope for the election of a responsible president, who is chosen through the necessary consultations.”

Speaker Nabih Berri has not invited ambassadors and diplomats to attend Wednesday's parliamentary session to elect a new president, which is a reflection of his skepticism that a president would be elected on that day, reported the daily An Nahar on Saturday.

He told the daily: “I, more than any other official, insist that the elections be as Lebanese as possible.”

Following media reports that head of al-Mustaqbal Movement Saad Hariri will return to Lebanon for the presidential elections, prominent sources in the Movement said that the former PM's comeback is linked to the security situation in Lebanon and to the prospects of holding the elections, al-Joumhuria daily reported in Saturday.

“Prospects of Hariri's return to Beirut are likely, he announced more than once that he will be among us soon but the circumstances are not ready,” the sources said.

Head of the National Struggle Front MP Walid Jumblat ruled out the possibility of the nomination of MPs Henri Helou or Fouad al-Saad for the presidential elections, saying that he will not declare his candidate at the moment, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Saturday.

He explained: “I will choose the candidate at the last moment and after consulting my conscience and political partners.”

The March 8 camp is preparing a series of “surprises” for Wednesday's parliamentary session to elect a president, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Saturday without elaborating.

This does not however include the nomination of Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, said March 8 sources.

Contacts are underway between the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb party in an attempt to reach consensus over a single March 14 presidential candidate, after several party officials close to Amin Gemayel hinted that the former president might soon announce running for office.

LBCI television reported on Friday that the ongoing contacts between Bikfayya and Maarab are close to reaching consensus over the presidential elections, in an attempt to preserve the March 14 coalition's unity.

Head of the Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad stated on Friday that some of the presidential candidacies could hamper the upcoming elections, pointing to the necessity of choosing a president who “preserves and defends the resistance’s choice.”

Raad also voiced hopes that the presidential elections are held on time.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has congratulated Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on the announcement of his candidacy and his presidential platform.

Al-Rahi telephoned Geagea on Thursday night and thanked him for sending a delegation to hand him a copy of his program, the LF leader's press office said.