Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has suggested the one-year extension of President Michel Suleiman's six-year tenure, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Al-Rahi made his proposal during talks with al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri in Paris last week, the daily said.

Speaker Nabih Berri has stressed that power-sharing between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon would not change under any circumstance, An Nahar daily reported on Tuesday.

“There is no going back from the concept of power-sharing,” Berri reportedly said during the national dialogue session in response to a recent warning made by President Michel Suleiman.

Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat has reportedly asked Christian political leaders to stop Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi from visiting the Holy Land despite the insistence of the cardinal that he was backing the Palestinian cause.

Al-Liwaa newspaper said Tuesday that Jumblat made the appeal during the national dialogue session that was chaired by President Michel Suleiman at Baabda Palace a day earlier.

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil on Monday urged Berlin to assist the Lebanese Army in its “war on terror” and to help Lebanon in confronting the Syrian refugee crisis, during an official visit to Germany.

During a meeting with Kristof Hausken, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's political and diplomatic adviser, Bassil called on Berlin to assist the army in its “war” against terrorist groups, noting that “this war requires the efforts of all countries.”

A brother of a top Bab al-Tabbaneh gunman was arrested Monday in the northern city of Tripoli.

“Army intelligence agents arrested Ziad Allouki's brother in Tripoli,” OTV reported.

MP Boutros Harb stated on Monday that no political figure should run for office without the consensus of the March 14 coalition, explaining that this would hinder the alliance's chances of victory in the presidential race.

"Any Lebanese Maronite who thinks that they are competent can run for office," Harb said after meeting with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in Maarab.

An operation to eradicate opium poppy fields in the Bekaa region has reached the Rasm al-Hadath area and two people were arrested there, state-run National News Agency reported Monday.

It said the campaign will continue until all crops in coastal and mountainous regions are removed.

Kataeb Party chief Amin Gemayel slammed on Monday attempts to thwart the presidential elections, noting that some foreign powers are keener on the elections than Lebanese officials.

He said during a press conference: “We will begin meeting with political leaderships starting on Tuesday in order to avert vacuum.”

Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat renewed on Monday his support for the Syrian revolt, rejecting however recent reports that some rebels have resorted to Israeli aid in their mission.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa news website: “We reject and condemn any Israeli intervention amid reports of security and intelligence cooperation between Israel and Syrian rebels.”

First Military Examining Magistrate Judge Abu Ghida issued on Monday the indictment in double mosque bombings in the northern city of Tripoli last year, asking for the death penalty against 11 suspects, including four detainees.

Among them are Ahmed Hassan al-Gharib, Sheikh Hayyan Ramadan, Youssef Diab, Khodr Shdoud, Ahmed Merhi and Selman Assaad.