Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri is expected to officially announce his support of the presidential nomination of Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun during a televised appearance that will be held on Thursday.

The Investigative judge in Mount Lebanon issued an arrest warrant against General Security warrant officer Tony Abboud in the Ashqout crime case in the town of Keserwan, media reports said on Wednesday.

The judge issued the warrant after interrogating the culprit, the reports said.

Police said they have arrested one of the biggest drug dealers in north Lebanon, the Internal Security Forces said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Several theft and drug trafficking operations were reported lately in the city of Tripoli and its suburbs,” said the statement.

A legislative session was held on Wednesday to tackle several pending issues ahead of a meeting scheduled for October 31 and dedicated to electing a head of state for the vacant presidency.

After a long failure to achieve quorum and end the two and a half years vacancy, the parliamentarians attended the legislative session, except for the boycotting Kataeb party, and 21 "necessary legislation" items were on the agenda.

Speaker Nabih Berri has refused to receive al-Mustaqbal Movement chief Saad Hariri after knowing that the ex-PM plans to brief the Speaker on his intention to nominate MP Michel Aoun for the post of the presidency, al-Akhbar daily reported on Wednesday.

Berri denied reports that quoted him as accusing the al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri and MP Michel Aoun of seeking to “topple Shiism,” and described the reports as “inciting,” An Nahar Daily reported on Wednesday.

“All the news and talks that AMAL and the Liberation and Development bloc mentioned something about a Maronite-Sunni bilateral power-sharing of the 1943 are unfounded. This rhetoric is inciting and I categorically deny it,” Berri told the daily.

A Lebanese army Sergeant First Class was killed late on Sunday in the northeastern border town of Arsal, the National News Agency reported on Monday.

The Free Patriotic Movement is pleased with the general “positive” atmospheres surrounding the nomination of its founder MP Michel Aoun for the presidential post, as media reports said that ex-PM Saad Hariri will possibly declare Aoun's nomination next week, al-Akhbar daily reported on Saturday.

Prominent sources of the FPM told al-Akhbar daily that “the atmospheres are very positive. The rally of Aoun's supporters tomorrow will be the last one to be held on the road of the people's palace under the orange flags. The next meeting will be held at the Presidential Palace under the Lebanese flags.”

Speaker Nabih Berri voiced calls on the parliamentarians to either resume the all-party talks, or go to the parliament to elect a president in the next session, al-Akhbar daily reported on Saturday.

A huge fire broke out in Ghazir in the district of Keserwan causing serious damage to the fiber networks of the Telecoms Ministry, the press office of Telecommunications Minister Butros Harb said in a statement on Friday.