As soon as he returned from a trip to Moscow and Riyadh, al-Mustaqbal Movement chief ex-PM Saad Hariri tasked one of his representatives to hold contacts with MP Michel Aoun to brief him on Saudi Arabia's “initial” positive position with regard to his nomination for the presidency, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

Although the Saudi stance is still indecisive, but the news was assessed as positive in Rabieh, the daily added.

Change and Reform parliamentary bloc sources said on Friday that the partial participation of ministers of the Free Patriotic Movement in Thursday's cabinet session must not be taken for granted, and that the movement will assess its participation in the meeting each time the cabinet convenes, al-Akhbar daily said on Friday.

“The partial participation in yesterday’s cabinet meeting does not mean a blank cheque. Our decision to participate in the cabinet meeting will be assessed each time the cabinet convenes,” Change and Reform sources told the daily.

Police detained a man accused of involvement in a hit-and-run car accident that left the victim dead in the northern town of Bsharri, the National News Agency reported on Friday.

Police arrested Sh.Y. on October 1 on accusations of crashing into a female victim, A.L., on the Mogr al-Ahwal highway in Bsharri which led to her immediate death, NNA added.

A German court on Thursday convicted four men who procured tens of thousands of euros worth of supplies for the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham group in Syria of supporting a terrorist organization.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam chaired a cabinet meeting on Thursday at the Grand Serail, where the ministers discussed the agenda's items that have been pending since the last session two weeks ago.

The session witnessed a hot debate between the ministers over the thorny issue of appointments.

AMAL MP Qassem Hashem defended on Thursday Speaker Nabih Berri against claims that he is hindering the election of a president and stressed that the Speaker has always sought for ending the vacuum at the top Christian post.

“Speaker Berri has never sought-after disruption, he has always worked to find a solution that ends the vacuum at the level of the presidency,” said Qassem in an interview to VDL (93.3).

State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Hani al-Hajjar has given the orders to rearrest Sheikh Bassam al-Tarras, who was briefly held and then released before Eid al-Adha, in the case of the Ksara bombing that rocked the city of Zahle in August, al-Akhbar daily reported on Thursday.

In September, the General Security held Sheikh al-Tarras in accusations of meeting Islamic State members and the attack's mastermind during a visit to Turkey.

The Maronite Bishops Council voiced calls on Wednesday to abide by the constitution and elect a new head of state without imposing any prior conditions, the National News Agency reported.

During their monthly meeting in Diman under Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, they urged the political leaders to be up to their responsibility.

Al-Mustaqbal MP Ammar Houri said on Wednesday that MP Michel Aoun tried to polish up his image with al-Mustaqbal Movement, as he emphasized that a solution for the presidential file is in the hands of Hizbullah.

“Freeing the presidency file is in the hands of Hizbullah which does not want any candidate for the presidency, not even General (Michel) Aoun,” said Houri in an interview to VDL (100.5).

The General Security arrested several Syrian nationals in the southern town of Ain el-Dilb east of the city of Sidon accused of having links to terror groups in Syria, the National News Agency reported on Wednesday.

The suspects were arrested for their involvement in terror groups and for violating the residency permit rules in Lebanon.