Speaker Nabih Berri said on Thursday that the “ball is now in the court of the politicians” and they can either agree on a new electoral law or settle for the 2008 one, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Thursday.

Visitors to Berri quoted him as saying that agreeing on a new electoral law has become inevitable and he said: “It is crucial that the political powers heed Lebanon's interest in agreeing on an electoral law that satisfies and represents all parties. They have no excuse to keep the country disabled.”

Speaker Nabih Berri proposed before the national dialogue participants on Wednesday a package deal aimed at ending the political deadlock in Lebanon, media reports said.

The deal calls for shortening the term of the current parliament and staging the parliamentary polls and later the presidential ones.

Families of the Aley district town of Ain Dara held a sit-in on Wednesday protesting an attack waged by armed gunmen against the municipality's building, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Lebanon's presidential elections is approaching a new phase amid reports claiming that the chances of MP Suleiman Franjieh to reach the top state post are dimming, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

The daily quoted unnamed sources as saying that Hizbullah did not take in the initiative of Mustaqbal Movement chief MP Saad Hariri to elect Franjieh, because Tehran has rejected the offer and considers it a Saudi Arabian maneuver against it in Lebanon.”

Hizbullah hailed the stance of Central Bank Governor Riad Salemeh, which urged Lebanese banks to consult with the Central Bank before suspending accounts suspected of violating anti-Hizbullah U.S. sanctions law, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

“The stance of the Central Bank Governor is considered positive,” Hizbullah sources told the daily.

Military Prosecutor Judge Saqr Saqr charged 13 people with belonging to an armed terror group for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities, the National News Agency reported on Tuesday.

NNA said that the charged are Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian nationals and that they include three people who are already held in detention.

The Lebanese Forces announced on Tuesday that it supports the municipal list dubbed “We are for Jezzine” set to wage the upcoming elections in the South, the LF said in a statement.

The list includes an alliance between the LF, Free Patriotic Movement, Kataeb and families of the town, it added.

The door has been closed on the ability of candidates running for the municipal and mayoral elections in the South to withdraw their nominations, the state-run National News Agency reported on Tuesday.

Requests to draw back nominations of candidates running for the municipal elections next Sunday were closed at midnight, NNA.

The alliance between the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces is working "very well", sources of the LF told An Nahar daily on Tuesday.

“Our alliance with the FPM is at its best although it is still tender. Efforts to shake it will go in vain,” unnamed sources told the daily.

France announced Monday that it is seeking to hold an “international conference” aimed at helping Lebanon resolve its “constitutional and political crises.”