Defense Minister Samir Moqbel has given the approval to extend the term of Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji for an additional year in light of the difficult circumstances Lebanon is passing through, the Kuwaiti As-Seyasah daily reported on Saturday.

Extending the term of Qahwaji is the “best option and the most appropriate for Lebanon and the army in light of the difficult conditions that the country is passing through and in the absence of a president,” ministerial sources told the daily on condition of anonymity.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday lashed out anew at Saudi Arabia, accusing it of rejecting dialogue in the region and stressing that its regional “project” will be “defeated.”

“Unfortunately, Saudi Arabia is insisting on continuing the wars in all arenas and rejecting all the extended hands. Those who have offered dialogue in Yemen have been asked to surrender, in Bahrain they have been asked to eliminate themselves, while in Syria preconditions are being demanded. The war is also continuing against Iran... seeing as Saudi Arabia is only launching dialogue with the Israelis,” said Nasrallah in a televised speech commemorating late Hizbullah official Ismail Zahri.

Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh stressed on Friday that his allies will not ask him to draw back his nomination for the top state post and assured that his candidacy for the presidential race is still valid.

“My allies will not ask me to withdraw my nomination and my candidacy for the presidency still stands,” declared Franjieh after a meeting he held with Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh.

Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea stated on Friday that the presidential file is complicated and that contacts with al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri are ongoing to convince him to elect the Change and Reform head MP Michel Aoun as president.

“MP Walid Jumblat has realized the actual situation and he prefers that a president is elected instead of the prolonging vacuum. Since the majority of the Christians have agreed on the election of Aoun, Jumblat has expressed readiness to vote for Aoun while contacts are ongoing with Hariri in that regard,” said Geagea to a popular delegation from the town of Tannourine.

Senior Muslim figures in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh received a pledge from extremist Islamic groups that there will be no attempts to shake the stability in the camp or other Lebanese regions, the Kuwaiti al-Rai daily reported on Friday.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri will soon agree on electing founder of the Free Patriotic Movement MP Michel Aoun for the post of presidency, As Safir daily reported on Friday.

“Ex-PM Hariri will in a few weeks agree on electing Change and Reform head MP Michel Aoun as president during the parliamentary meeting that follows the upcoming one,” a prominent political source at Hariri's Center House told the daily.

The Lebanese army carried out raids in the border town of Britel in the Bekaa region in search for suspects involved in several crimes, the National News Agency reported on Thursday.

The army staged the raids at dawn and searched the houses of fugitives against the backdrop of abductions, selling stolen goods, and selling banned products.

March 14 General Secretariat Coordinator Fares Soaid revealed on Thursday that he will soon launch a petition that will reject any amendments to Lebanon's political system, the Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) said.

Soaid stated that he will “launch the petition that will be signed by Lebanese citizens rejecting amendments to Lebanon’s political system which is based on the 1989 Taef accord.”

Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil on Thursday expressed disappointment in the international community's dealing with the issue of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

“Having more than 1.5 million displaced Syrians obligates the international community to adhere to its commitments towards Lebanon,” said Khalil in a speech he made during the Guidance Committee's first meeting over a new funding initiative.

Residents of the Mount Lebanon town of Ain Dara gathered on Wednesday in the area of Dahr al-Baydar at the request of the town’s municipal chief to protest against the establishment of a cement plant in the town, the National News Agency reported.

The people banned cement mixer vehicles from entering the village, NNA added.