Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi called on Good Friday for an end to violence and urged politicians to steer clear of corruption and the use of power for personal gains.

In his Easter message, al-Rahi rejected theft of public money and bribery.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat denied on Friday that he informed Prime Minister Najib Miqati or any official that his National Struggle Front ministers would withdraw from the cabinet if it adopted an electoral law based on proportional representation.

“No one proposed the proportional representation except for (Interior Minister) Marwan Charbel… No one tackled the issue with us,” Jumblat told al-Akhbar newspaper.

A senior Hizbullah official discussed with a representative from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) the conditions of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, according to As Safir newspaper published on Friday.

The report said that the two officials held a meeting two weeks ago to discuss ways to aid the Syrian refugees in the country.

President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Sir Judge David Baragwanath has announced that Prosecutor Norman Farrell will visit Lebanon soon.

While Baragwanath refused to discuss the details of his talks with President Michel Suleiman and Premier Najib Miqati, he said his visit to Beirut was aimed at informing them about the latest developments linked to the court.

Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti is expected to arrive in Lebanon on Saturday on a one-day official visit, An Nahar newspaper reported.

The daily said that the PM will visit his country’s contingent in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon which is headed by Italian commander Maj. Gen. Paolo Serra.

Energy Minister Jebran Bassil said on Friday that the ministry opened the door before applicants to fill the vacant posts in the board of directors of the oil authority, calling on those who are qualified to apply.

“If we worked swiftly, without any political obstacles, the committee members will be appointed in mid-May,” Bassil told As Safir newspaper.

Lebanese security experts, who have scoured the forest in the vicinity of Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea’s residence in Maarab, have uncovered that a nine-member assassination team divided into three groups was involved in the killing attempt, media reports said Friday.

Al-Liwaa daily reported that two of the three groups were in charge of firing on Geagea as he was walking on Wednesday in the garden of his fortified house, northeast of Beirut.

Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui slammed on Friday the March 14 forces’ accusations that he would be held responsible for preventing the security forces from obtaining the telecom data.

“The ministry will deal with the issue according to principles and will not back down on implementing the law,” Sehnaoui told As Safir newspaper.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati hailed on Friday the decision by a ministerial committee tasked with studying the leasing of the power-generating vessels to ink an agreement with the Turkish company Karadeniz.

According to al-Liwaa newspaper, the premier considered that the decision reached his expectations as the tenders with the companies were transparent and the original price was slashed by 9 percent.

The United States denounced on Thursday the assassination attempt against Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and said Washington was concerned he may have been targeted because of his opposition to the Syrian regime.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Washington "condemns in the strongest terms what appears to be an assassination attempt targeting Lebanese politician Samir Geagea."