Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq is set to embark on a Gulf tour ahead of an expected decision by the Gulf Cooperation Council to lift a travel ban to Lebanon.

According to An Nahar newspaper published on Wednesday, Mashnouq will travel to the Gulf in ten days, without revealing the purpose behind the visit.

Hizbullah will remain silent regarding Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's expected visit to the Holy Land to avert any war of words with Bkirki at the critical political stage that the country is passing through.

Al-Liwaa newspaper quoted Hizbullah sources as saying on Wednesday that the party “decided to remain mum at this stage and refused to comment negatively or positively” on the matter.

U.S. Ambassador David Hale welcomed a proposal for a constitutional amendment to keep President Michel Suleiman in his post after the expiry of his six-year term on May 25, March 14 alliance officials said.

Hale made his stance during a luncheon thrown by March 14 General-Secretariat Coordinator Fares Soaid, the officials told al-Mustaqbal newspaper published on Wednesday.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc reiterated on Tuesday its rejection of vacuum in the presidency, calling on the March 8 camp to announce who their candidate is.

"Electing a new president is a national and constitutional priority and it must be achieved during the next parliamentary session,” the bloc said in a released statement after the MPs' weekly meeting at the Center House.

Saudi Arabia is likely to lift a ban that urged Saudi nationals to refrain from traveling to Lebanon due to the critical security situation in the country, LBCI reported on Tuesday.

"Saudi Arabia is inclined to lift the travel ban to Lebanon at the end of May,” LBCI said.

President Michel Suleiman denied on Tuesday that he has anything to do with suggested proposals to extend his presidential term, adding that he was looking forward to May 25 when his time in office ends.

"Sunday, May 25, is another day that I haven't witnessed anything like in 47 years,” Suleiman said on Twitter.

The Change and Reform bloc of MP Michel Aoun announced on Tuesday its rejection of any extension of President Michel Suleiman's term, saying that it would be fatal to democracy in Lebanon.

MP Ibrahim Kanaan said after the bloc's weekly meeting: “We will appeal such a decision and follow through with it to the end.”

Beirut First Investigative Judge Ghassan Oueidat on Tuesday issued an indictment against Higher Relief Council chief Ibrahim Bashir and his wife on fraud charges, the state-run National News Agency reported.

"Oueidat issued an indictment against Bashir and his wife on charges of embezzlement of public funds and of accepting bribes at the HRC,” the NNA detailed.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani presented on Tuesday Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi with a draft-project on a Christian-Muslim pact aimed at bolstering ties between the two religions in the Middle East.

The pact was devised after the waves of violence that targeted the two religions in recent years.

An initial hearing for Lebanese journalists and their media organizations on charges of contempt was held Tuesday at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon headquarters in The Hague, amid the absence of al-Akhbar's editor-in-chief Ibrahim al-Amin who said he won't go to the court “unless measures are taken” to prove that it is seeking justice.

The STL said via twitter that the purpose of the initial appearance is for the judge to ensure that the rights of the accused and the right to be represented by counsel are respected.