Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi announced on Tuesday that it is his duty to welcome Pope Francis in Jerusalem, asking those against his visit "not to come to Bkirki."

"I am the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, of regions expanding from Turkey to Mauritania, Saudi Arabia and to Iran,” al-Rahi stated upon his arrival at Rafik Hariri International Airport coming from France.

Kataeb Party chief Amin Gemayel stressed Tuesday the need to elect a president who would “fully reassure Christians and the Lebanese,” urging respect for the constitutional timeframe which ends on May 25.

“At the moment, our objective is to rescue the republic before it's too late and this would begin by electing a president within the constitutional timeframe,” Gemayel said after meeting Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in Maarab.

The Change and Reform bloc defended on Tuesday its decision to boycott last week's presidential elections session, saying that it is a political right.

It said after its weekly meeting: “We will not vote for a compromise president.”

The Central Security Council on Tuesday asked the General Directorate of General Security to devise a mechanism that would organize the entry of Syrian and Palestinian refugees from Syria into Lebanon, amid criticism by the U.N. and a rights watchdog over a recent incident.

“The council discussed the access of Syrian citizens and Syria-based Palestinian refugees into Lebanon by land and air, stressing that there is no resolution that totally prevents their entry and that the borders are not closed in their face,” state-run National News Agency said.

The army announced on Tuesday the arrest of a number of suspects in Beirut's southern suburb of Dahieh.

It said that Hamza Rashid Zoaiter, Mohammed Wehbe Zeineddine, Abbas Samih Hjoula, Karam Ramez Zeineddine, and Hassan Jamil Mannoun were arrested at dawn on charges of opening fire and brandishing weapons.

Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi stated on Tuesday that the adventures of those who “violated the state's dignity” on May 7, 2008 will fire back at them, vowing to continue “resisting this destructive path.”

Rifi commented on the infamous May 7 events on the eve of their sixth anniversary in a released statement, describing the day as one of the darkest in Lebanon's modern history.

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc urged the March 8 camp to announce its candidate for the presidency so that he competes in the third round of the elections on Wednesday.

The bloc, which held its weekly meeting under MP Fouad Saniora on Tuesday, stressed that it “backed the candidacy of Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea in accordance with the agreement (reached) in the March 14 alliance and called on March 8 to announce its candidate to hold competitive elections.”

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri held a series of meetings on Tuesday with a number of officials on the latest local and regional developments, especially Wednesday's presidential elections, reported the National News Agency.

He kicked off his talks by meeting Speaker Nabih Berri at his Ain el-Tineh residence after which he expressed Riyadh's support for Lebanon's security and agreement among its people.

Two officers and a number of inmates were charged on Tuesday with smuggling drugs into Roumieh Prison, reported the National News Agency.

It said that State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr filed the charges against two officers and 13 inmates.

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil warned on Tuesday that direct assistance to Syrian refugees in Lebanon would contribute to their stay in Lebanon, suggesting aid to the Lebanese government instead.

During a press conference with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin, Bassil said: “The number of displaced Syrians has exceeded the logic.”