The General Security returned on Friday the passport of filmmaker Lucien Bourjeily, which was confiscated when he submitted it for renewal on Wednesday.

Bourjeily dropped his passport at the General Security on Wednesday to renew it before a planned trip to London, where he is supposed to present his play “Vanishing State” at the LIFT Festival.

UK Ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher noted on Friday that failure to elect a president before the term of President Michel Suleiman ends will be “setback” for Lebanon.

He said after holding talks with Speaker Nabih Berri: “It is clear, sadly, that time is running out for parliament to elect a new president on time.”

The Kataeb party on Friday urged electing a new president, warning that vacuum in the state's top post threatens unity in the nation.

"We call on the nation's MPs to benefit from the remaining hours (before the president's term ends) to elect a new head of state because vacuum in the presidency suspends the role of a main constituent in the country and the state, and also threatens Lebanon's unity,” it said in a released statement after an extraordinary meeting chaired by party leader Amin Gemayel.

MP Mohammed Raad, the head of Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance bloc, on Friday described the behavior of lawmakers boycotting parliamentary sessions to elect a new president as a “constitutional” right.

“MPs are addressing the issue of electing a president according to their constitutional, legal, political, human and national right,” Raad said during a Hizbullah ceremony in the southern town of Jbaa.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat stated sarcastically on Friday that he will add the Syrian summons issued against him Thursday to the "folder" of Syrian judicial suits he already has.

He humorously added that he will then distribute them to his friends.

Telecommunications Minister Butros Harb announced on Friday a number of improvements to mobile phone, landline, and internet services in Lebanon, which namely include the reduction of costs of services and faster internet speeds.

He said during a press conference that monthly landline tariffs have been reduced from LL 12,000 to LL 9,000, while obtaining a line has now become free of charge.

Contempt Judge at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Nicola Lettieri ordered on Friday the initial appearances on May 29 of the Accused in the case against Akhbar Beirut S.A.L. and its editor-in-chief Ibrahim al-Amin.

The journalist and the media organization are charged with contempt before the STL for knowingly and willfully interfering with the administration of justice, the Tribunal said in a statement.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi traveled Friday to the Holy Land via Amman on a religious visit that has angered Hizbullah, a sworn enemy of Israel.

The state-run National News Agency said al-Rahi was accompanied by Bishop Boulos Sayyah and Bkirki spokesman Walid Ghayyad.

Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji described on Friday the stage that the country is passing through as “delicate,” expressing hope that the political arch-foes would reach consensus over the presidential deadlock ahead of the May 25 constitutional deadline.

“The dangerous situation in the country raises fears on vacuum in the presidency,” Qahwaji said in Order of the Day.

Speaker Nabih Berri held onto parliament's legislative role, including a session next week aimed at discussing the public sector wage scale, despite a threat by Christian lawmakers to boycott sessions.

In remarks carried by local newspapers on Friday, Berri said: “I hold onto the legislative process and the May 27 session.”