Mufti of Tripoli and the North Sheikh Malek al-Shaar received at his residence in Tripoli on Saturday Marada leader MP Suleiman Franjieh where talks stressed the need for rapprochement to end the presidential vacuum.

After the meeting Shaar said: “This national meeting carries only one concern and that is the presidential vacuum in the country.

The Internal Security Forces arrested on Saturday civil society activist Pierre al-Hashash against the backdrop of storming the offices of Saudi daily Asharq al-Awsat a day earlier, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Hashash was arrested in the northern city of Batroun based on a judicial order.

The Lebanese army arrested six Syrian nationals in the northern town of Deir al-Ahmar in Baalbek including a man who is wanted on charges of belonging to a terror group, the Lebanese Army Orientation Directorate said in a statement on Saturday.

“Six Syrians were arrested for wandering illegally inside Lebanon's territory. A man known as Ezzedine Rahil al-Suleimani was among the detainees. He was arrested on charges of belonging to a terrorist organization and for recruiting people to work for the group,” the statement added.

Lebanese politicians continue to give momentum for conducting the municipal elections on time in light of the failure to hold the presidential elections to end the almost 22-month vacuum.

Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea stressed on Saturday that his party supports holding the municipal elections on time and that it is unlikely that they will be postponed.

Armed clashes renewed Saturday morning at the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon after heavy clashes erupted overnight leaving one person killed and several others wounded, the National News Agency reported.

NNA said that sniper operations were also heard in al-Braxat and al-Sifsaf neighborhoods and that two members of the Joint Palestinian Security Force were wounded.

The embassy of Saudi Arabia in Beirut has taken precautionary security measures three days ago in light of the threats that the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri has received lately, An Nahar daily reported on Saturday.

The security measures were taken ahead of an incident that took place at the offices of the Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat when a group of young men stormed its Beirut offices in protest at a cartoon deemed insulting to Lebanon, added the daily.

One person was killed and several people were wounded on Friday as heavy clashes broke out at the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh in Sidon, state-run National News Agency reported.

Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel warned Friday that Lebanon is facing what he called a “new occupation,” noting that the Syrian refugees must return to “safe areas” inside Syria.

“Lebanon is facing a new occupation, seeing as Bekaa's residents have become a minority compared to the number of refugees who are living on Bekaa's soil,” said Gemayel during a visit to the Bekaa city of Zahle.

A group of young men on Friday stormed the Beirut offices of the Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat in protest at a cartoon deemed insulting to Lebanon.

OGERO Telecom chief Abdul Menhem Youssef was interrogated Friday by the Central Inspection Bureau over charges of negligence and embezzlement, MTV reported.