Syrian warplanes raided on Friday several areas on the outskirts of the eastern border town of Arsal, the state-run National News Agency reported.

According to NNA, the jet planes targeted the areas of al-Ajram and al-Zamurani.

Head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora lamented on Friday the parliamentary blocs' failure to elect a new president given the boycott some powers are practicing over the elections sessions.

He said: “No other issues take precedence over the election of a president.”

Army chief General Jean Qahwaji stressed on Friday during the marking of the Army Day that the military is the guardian of national unity, diversity and coexistence.

“The military institution has proven, despite all the adversity and the continued attempts to assault it, that coexistence is a fact and a conviction,” Qahwaji said in his Order of the Day to mark the 69th anniversary of the Lebanese army's founding.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani rejects the election of head of the Sunni Sharia Supreme Court of Lebanon Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan as his successor.

“I am sure that Daryan might be forced despite my rejection, but I will not give my blessing despite all the guarantees,” As Safir newspaper quoted Qabbani as saying on Friday.

The Vatican has expressed its disappointment and anger with Maronites in Lebanon given the ongoing failure to elect a president, saying that they have become embroiled in Sunni-Shiite disputes rather than cater to their own interests, reported As Safir newspaper on Friday.

Circles from the Vatican told the daily: “The Maronites' obsession with the pursuit of power has made them lose their minds.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat warned of the threat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant will have on Lebanon, stressing the need for moderate Islam to hold sway over those susceptible to extremist thought, reported As Safir newspaper on Friday.

He told the daily: “The ISIL mentality will emerge in Lebanon given the collapse of the borders between Iraq and Syria.”

The controversial new pay hike for public employees reached an impasse on Friday despite staunch consultations among parliamentary blocs to reach a breakthrough and end the lingering crisis.

Local newspapers reported that a meeting was held on Thursday night between head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc MP Fouad Saniora, Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, Health Minister Wael Abou Faour and Lebanese Forces lawmaker George Adwan.

A ceremony will be held at the Fayadieh Military Academy to mark the 69th anniversary of the Lebanese army's founding instead of the traditional ceremony due to the ongoing presidential vacuum.

The traditional military parade held to mark the Army Day will not be held this year because of the failure of the political arch-foes to agree on a presidential candidate.

A federal immigration court judge delayed a hearing Thursday for a Lebanese-born man suspected by the Irish government in the deaths of two United Nations peacekeeping soldiers in Lebanon in 1980.

Mahmoud Bazzi's initial immigration court appearance was rescheduled for Aug. 11 to give him time to hire a lawyer.

Hizbullah top official Ibrahim al-Hajj was laid to rest on Thursday in the Bekaa town of Qalya, as party sources revealed that the leader was killed Iraq and not in Syria's battles, which was suggested in earlier reports.

Al-Jadeed television announced on Thursday the death of al-Hajj in Iraq during his participation in operations aimed at “protecting holy shrines” there.