For Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, nominating Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh for presidency is a matter of "life or death," Nidaa al-Watan newspaper said Monday, as it reported that Berri is holding talks with France to find a settlement that would make Franjieh president.

The daily said in another report that Paris is promoting a proposal that would make Franjieh president, former Ambassador to the U.N. Nawaf Salam Prime Minister and Lebanese businessman Samir Assaf Central Bank governor.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has said that he is awaiting for “official or public nominations” for the presidential election in order to call for a voting session.

The Maronite patriarchate in Bkirki is continuing its preparations for the “day of prayer and contemplation” that it has invited Christian MPs to attend on April 5, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Monday.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati will head to Cyprus in the coming hours at the head of a ministerial delegation to request new negotiations on an agreement that had delineated the maritime border with the neighboring island, media report said.

“Signed in 2007 under Fouad Saniora’s government, the treaty contained flaws and cost Lebanon between 1,600 to 2,643 square kilometers of its exclusive economic zone, according to experts,” al-Akhbar newspaper reported.

Opposition leaders will start intensive meetings and consultations this week, in an attempt to agree on a presidential candidate, Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported Monday.

Top opposition leaders will meet with Change MPs, in a serious attempt to agree on one candidate who would face the Shiite Duo candidate, Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh.

Cabinet will convene in the coming days to discuss the education file and the public employees salaries, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported Monday.

The daily said it has learned from ministerial sources close to caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati that the ministry of finance is preparing reports and tables for the salary adjustments and incentives to be given to the public sector employees, including the members of the armed forces.

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has met with a senior Hamas delegation led by Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy head of the Palestinian movement’s political bureau, Hezbollah said on Sunday.

No joint statement was issued after the French-Saudi meeting on Lebanon that was held Friday in Paris, but leaks about the general vision of the two parties regarding the presidential crisis have emerged, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Saturday.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea told al-Markaziya news portal that those related to Israel's roadside bombing should be very careful, "because the situation in Lebanon cannot tolerate any mistakes."

The Israeli army had said Wednesday that soldiers have killed an armed man suspected of entering the country from Lebanon and blowing up a car, raising the risk of renewed tensions with Hezbollah.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea announced Friday the launch of a $20 million Solar & Renewable Energy Fund at an event in the presence of Minister of Industry George Bouchikian, Minister of Energy and Water Dr Walid Fayad, Minister of Environment Dr Nasser Yassin, USAID Lebanon Acting Mission Director Nicholas Vivio, investors, and local enterprises.

The fund, created by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Trade and Investment Facilitation (TIF) Activity and Lebanon Investment Initiative (LII), will unlock private sector investments to finance the cost of solar panel installations for Lebanese entities, the U.S. embassy in Lebanon said.