Resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi stated on Friday, that he made an initiative that guarantees the representation of the Christians and Alawites in the municipal elections in Tripoli but the other party did not respond to it.

“I explained to Patriarch Bshara al-Rahi the initiative that I made to represent the Christians and Alawites in the municipal elections in Tripoli, but the other party did not reply,” said Rifi from Bkirki after a meeting with Rahi.

The army intelligence arrested two people and confiscated arms in the northern Zgharta town of Ayal, the state-run National News Agency said on Friday.

NNA said that the army carried out a raid on a farm in the town of Ayal.

Britain slammed on Friday the statements made by Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq that it encouraged the nomination of Marada chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the post of president.

"We do not support or oppose any particular candidate for the presidency. The election of a president is the decision, and the responsibility, of the Lebanese,” said a statement issued by the British embassy in Beirut.

Resigned Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi stated on Thursday that he is no longer in the al-Mustaqbal movement but that he will continue to defend the political path of late PM Rafik Hariri.

“I am not in the al-Mustaqbal movement, but I am a fierce fighter in defense of the political Harirism,” said Rifi in reference to the political path of late PM Rafik Hariri.

Telecommunications Minister Butros Harb said on Thursday that the municipal elections have shown the people's yearning to practice their democratic right through elections and warned against staging the parliamentary elections before the election of a president.

“Staging the parliamentary elections before the presidential ones will push Lebanon towards an undefined adventure,” said Harb in a press conference.

The General Security announced on Thursday the arrest of a Syrian national on charges of belonging to a terror group after providing his accomplices with arms and logistical support.

“Based on the General Prosecutor's request, and within the framework of follow-up activities of terror groups and their sleeper cells, the General Security arrested Syrian M.M. for his affiliation to a terror group,” said the the General Security Directorate in a statement.

The Lebanese army killed an Islamic State group militant and arrested three others in Khirbet Daoud in Akkar, media reports said on Thursday.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi ruled out on Wednesday that the Syrian refugees and Palestinians will be resettled in Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency said.

Grandi's comments came after a meeting he held with Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi in Geneva where he is taking part in the International Labor Conference.

The cabinet is scheduled to convene on Thursday to tackle several issues, including the controversial issues of the Janna Valley dam and the waste management file, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

Sixty-one items have been added to the cabinet's agenda, which still carries eight items from its previous session.

Speaker Nabih Berri said that time is not in favor of stalling over reaching an agreement on a new electoral draft-law and pointed out that the momentum witnessed during the municipal elections enhances the chances of adopting a proportional electoral law, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

“Time is not in favor of a standstill with regard to the electoral law. What happened during the municipal elections heightens the momentum towards the adoption of a proportional law, particularly that the polls have shown that no single party can monopolize a specific sect,” visitors to Berri quoted him as saying.