Speaker Nabih Berri has said that he would hold consultations with the heads of blocs and independent MPs to find ways to resolve the presidential deadlock and prepare for the parliamentary elections.

“The parliamentary polls are approaching amid a dead end” on the presidential elections, Berri told his visitors.

Fears about Islamic extremism are rising in Lebanon and other large Muslim populations from the Middle East to South Asia and support for radical groups is on the slide, according to a poll released Tuesday.

Concern about extremism has increased in the past 12 months amid the dragging war in Syria and attacks by Nigeria's Boko Haram militants, the Pew Research Center found after interviewing more than 14,200 people in 14 countries.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc on Tuesday considered that introducing any constitutional amendment requires time and favorable conditions, while the priority now is for electing a new president.

“Any MP or political party has the right to call for amending the constitution...but constitutional amendments that tackle important issues need time and favorable conditions while the country now needs electing a president quickly amid the regional developments,” the bloc said in a released statement after the weekly meeting of its MPs at the Center House.

The Qaida-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades on Tuesday demanded Hizbullah to withdraw from Syria “before it is too late,” vowing to carry out “successive terrorist acts until security is restored” in the war-torn neighboring country.

"I tell Iran's party to quickly withdraw from Syria before it is too late,” the Brigades' spokesperson Sheikh Sirajeddine Zouraykat wrote on his official account on social media website Twitter.

Lebanon is acting in a "blatantly discriminatory" manner by denying access to Palestinians fleeing the conflict in neighboring Syria, Amnesty International said in a report on Tuesday.

The watchdog said Lebanon has imposed increasingly onerous entry requirements at the border with Syria and that there was evidence it is trying to prevent Palestinian refugees from entering via Beirut airport.

Interior Minister Nouahad al-Mashnouq revealed on Tuesday that the rehabilitation of Roumieh prison will kick start next week, describing it as a first step in the implementation of his reform plan.

“This is the practical stage and we will not begin to construct the new facility now,” Mashnouq told reporters after a meeting with a delegation from the Bankers' Association, headed by its chief Francois Bassil.

The International Support Group for Lebanon reiterated on Tuesday its commitment to provide assistance to Lebanon, U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly said.

“ISG members ... expressed strong solidarity with Lebanon in the light of the terrorist threat, and congratulated the prime minister on the recent successes of the security forces,” said Plumbly after he attended a meeting chaired by PM Tammam Salam at the Grand Serail.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea urged on Tuesday lawmakers who have been boycotting the presidential elections to attend Wednesday's session and exercise their duties towards the people.

He said in an open letter to the “boycotting MPs”: “I call on you to head to parliament instead of wasting time on illusory proposals.”

More than a dozen of public sectors employees held a sit-in near the Value Added Tax building in Beirut on Tuesday, reiterating their demand for the approval of the controversial wage hike.

Several Syndicate Coordination Committee activists spoke at the protest, urging the parliament to agree on the salary raise.

The Lebanese army said Tuesday that one of its patrols was targeted overnight with a roadside bomb in the northern city of Tripoli.

The homemade bomb, which was made up of around 800 grams of explosives, went off at 3:15 am while soldiers were patrolling the area of Bab al-Ramel, the military said in a communique.