Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Friday told his popular base and that of Hizbullah that “Lebanon’s future, fate, identity, principles and means to exit the crisis are linked to the outcome” of the May 15 parliamentary elections.

Claiming that electoral rivals have so far spent 30 million dollars in the second electoral district in the South, Berri called on supporters in a speech in Msayleh to turn out heavily in the elections.

U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Najat Rochdi welcomed on Friday "the important step by the Lebanese Parliament towards the ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) by adopting a law, on 29 March, authorizing the Government to proceed with the ratification process."

"Lebanon showed its commitment to the human rights of persons with disabilities by signing the Convention in 2007. Lebanon now needs to take the next step of ratification to join the current 185 States parties to the Convention and fully commit to promote, protect, and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights by persons with disabilities," Rochdi said.

Hizbullah “cannot fight the corrupts in our country” with weapons, “but it can besiege, rein in and punish them,” the head of the party’s parliamentary bloc, Mohammed Raad, said on Friday.

“We’re the guarantee for protecting this country and its security and stability, and our concern has been and will always to protect Lebanon against what harms our people,” Raad said in remarks in the southern town of Arnoun.

Hizbullah's MP Hassan Ezzeddine said Friday that the capital control law should have been issued at the start of the financial crisis and not after three years from its onset.

Ezzeddine claimed that Hizbullah is concerned about protecting the depositors' rights, just the way it is concerned about protecting the Lebanese from the Israeli enemy.

A group of protesters stormed on Friday the Ministry of Energy and Water in Corniche el-Nahr.

An activist was meanwhile seen on TV smashing then tearing up a picture of President Michel Aoun that was hung on a wall in the ministry.

Raja Salameh's lawyer has said that the LBP 500 billion bail that Investigative Judge Nicolas Mansour had ordered for the release of Salameh is an "unprecedented" order in the history of the Lebanese Justice Palace.

"The amount is unreasonable and illogical," lawyer Marwan al-Khoury said, after having filed an appeal demanding that the bail amount be slashed.

International Monetary Fund spokesman Gerry Rice has affirmed that the negotiations with Lebanon are making progress.

He said in a statement that the IMF delegation is working with the Lebanese authorities to prepare a reform plan that will help Lebanon and the Lebanese.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea slammed Hizbullah Thursday in remarks from Maarab.

Geagea criticized Hizbullah's electoral campaign slogan "we'll keep protecting and building," saying that no one has asked them to protect and that they are rather "putting the Lebanese in danger every given moment."

President Michel Aoun denied Thursday that he has sought a presidential system during his tenure, as he pledged to “expose every corrupt” before leaving office.

“When I tried to implement the constitution, they accused me of implementing a presidential system, whereas they are working on bankrupting Lebanon instead of fixing its situation and reviving its economy,” Aoun said in a meeting with a delegation from the Maronite League.

Investigative Judge Nicolas Mansour on Thursday ordered the release of Raja Salameh on a bail of LBP 500 billion, but Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun appealed against the decision and demanded that he be kept in custody.

Salameh for his part filed an appeal demanding that the bail amount be slashed.