Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has told Speaker Nabih Berri that he will not endorse Suleiman Franjieh, informed sources told al-Akhbar.

The sources said, in remarks published Tuesday, that Jumblat cannot endorse a settlement without the approval of one of the two largest Christian blocs, in order to maintain the Christian-Druze ties in Mount Lebanon.

International and regional pressure for ending Lebanon’s presidential void has pushed political forces, including the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement, to intensify communication in a bid to reach consensus over a presidential candidate, a media report and an LF MP said.

“The contacts have led to breakthroughs but have not yet reached the stage of consensus over a single candidate,” Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, which is close to the Saudi leadership, reported on Tuesday.

The atmosphere of the presidential deliberations does not indicate that Speaker Nabih Berri will call for a presidential election session in the near future and “the Lebanese will likely bid farewell to the month of May without seeing a president in the Baabda Palace,” a media report said.

“Berri has received from Bkirki a list containing a host of (presidential) candidates in order to pick three of them so that the Maronite church can promote them with the other parliamentary blocs ahead of taking the names to parliament,” Annahar newspaper reported.

Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab met Tuesday with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh, as he ends an "exploratory tour" he had initiated to discuss the presidential crisis with Lebanese leaders.

Bou Saab said he took the initiative, after parties refused dialogue, and that the first stage of his initiative ends today, and evaluation will follow.

Saudi ambassador Walid Bukhari met Tuesday with MPs of the majority-Sunni National Moderation bloc.

"Bukhari has stressed the neutral position of Saudi Arabia, and the need to expedite the presidential election,” the bloc said in a statement.

Behind-the-scenes contacts have not stopped in a bid to achieve a certain breakthrough in the presidential file and Speaker Nabih Berri is expected to call for a presidential vote session in late May or in early June, a media report said.

“Some international and regional indications signal the possibility of resolving the presidential void crisis and the figure on whom there will be consensus is not necessarily among the names that are being currently circulated,” informed political sources told the PSP’s al-Anbaa news portal in remarks published Tuesday.

The Depositors Outcry association on Tuesday staged a sit-in outside parliament in protest at the state’s financial policies and to demand the recovery of deposits.

The protesters blocked the road near parliament amid the deployment of army troops and security forces. Clashes later ensued, leaving several protesters injured.

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Monday likened the Arab League to a “Titanic ship” that is carrying the Syrian people to “certain drowning.”

“Have they asked the Syrian people whether they want to return to the Arab fold? Of course not,” Jumblat tweeted.

Lebanon was ranked the worst country in the food price inflation Top 10 list, the World Bank said in a report last month.

Domestic food price inflation remains high in almost all low- and middle-income countries, the report said.

Lebanon would likely benefit from an end to Saudi-Iranian rivalry, and should the rapprochement solidify it could spell disaster for Israel, The Guardian newspaper said.

"Saudi and Iranian-backed factions have not been able to agree on a replacement (to former president Michel Aoun) despite successive round of voting," the British daily said, as Saudi Arabia refuses to back Hezbollah and Amal's candidate Suleiman Franjieh.