Hezbollah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem on Friday emphasized that the election of a new president for the country is not solely the responsibility of Hezbollah.

“The obligatory path for the beginning of reforms and the beginning of working for rescuing Lebanon is the election of the president, that’s why all blocs are responsible for the election of the president and let no one hold Hezbollah alone responsible,” Qassem said.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday held a meeting in Ain el-Tineh with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

State-run National News Agency said the talks tackled “the general situations and the latest political developments.”

Hezbollah might endorse the presidential nomination of al-Marada chief Suleiman Franjieh without the approval of the Free Patriotic Movement, caretaker Minister of information Ziad Makari said.

"I can confirm that Hezbollah will endorse Franjieh," Makari told al-Jadeed TV on Friday.

The French are studying with the Americans the possibility of speeding up the importation of gas and electricity from Egypt and Jordan to Lebanon, a media report said on Friday.

Paris, Washington and “Arab capitals, including Cairo and Amman, are mulling to settle the debate within a few weeks and eliminate the obstacles that are preventing the implementation of the plan,” al-Akhbar newspaper quoted informed sources as saying.

France, supported by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, is coming close to announcing its support for Army chief Joseph Aoun as a presidential candidate, al-Akhbar newspaper reported Friday.

It said that a high-level French official might visit Beirut soon as France is preparing for new talks led by Ambassador Anne Grillo, after it failed to agree with Washington and Riyadh on a solution initiative.

Former minister and Tripoli MP Faisal Karami has said that his hand is extended to all parties, except for the Lebanese Forces.

A close ally of Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar Assad, Karami had regained on Thursday his seat in parliament from dentist and pro-democracy activist Rami Fanj, following an appeal claiming the initial vote count in Fanj's favor was inaccurate.

Lina Ghotmeh has pegged her career on sustainable construction.

The French-Lebanese architect wants to see her industry transformed by drastically reducing the use of concrete -- a major CO2 contributor -- using more local materials and reusing existing buildings and materials.

People in Lebanon, among them Palestine refugees, are “suffering and paying the price for something not of their making,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said during a visit to the country.

“I met with Palestine refugees during my visit who are completely ravished by poverty, despair and lack of prospect. The humanitarian situation of Palestine refugees in Lebanon is extremely alarming. People are dying a slow death as many are unable to afford medicines or co-share the cost of treatment especially for chronic diseases and cancer. Levels of poverty and unemployment are unprecedented due to one of the worst economic crises in recent history. The spread of cholera is the latest tragic layer that adds to acute hardship and helplessness,” Lazzarini added.

Saudi Arabia has informed its allies in Lebanon that it supports the election as president of Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, because he is “firm in his stances, centrist, unbiased and capable of talking to all political parties in Lebanon,” an Arab diplomat has said in a closed-door meeting.

“He is the most suitable candidate in the current period,” ad-Diyar newspaper quoted the Arab diplomat as saying.

The French drive regarding the Lebanese presidential file has hit again a dead end, al-Akhbar newspaper said Thursday, as foreign sources indicated a long period of presidential vacuum.

The daily reported that the French are trying to imply a progress by inaccurately interpreting the Saudi position, but that Saudi Arabia is standing its ground regarding the file.