Tensions between Speaker Nabih Berri and the Association of Banks in Lebanon eased on Friday after signs of a dispute were beginning to emerge between the two sides over the funding of the new wage scale.

The speaker had earlier during the day refused to meet with the ABL before its apologizes for its stance concerning the tax measures proposed by the joint parliamentary committees to fund the new wage scale.

Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday called on the ambassadors of Arab and foreign states not to interfere in the upcoming presidential election, which is supposed to be held before May 25.

“Foreign ambassadors must not interfere in this election and must leave a chance to 'Lebanonize' it and allow it to take its course,” National Media Council chief Abdul Hadi Mahfouz quoted Berri as saying after he met the speaker in parliament.

The joint parliamentary committees approved on Thursday imposing fines on illegal seaside properties as part of the plan to fund the new wage scale, reported several media outlets.

They approved the article on imposing fines on seaside properties with a retroactive effect of five years.

The March 8 coalition is set to launch discussions over the upcoming presidential elections to coordinate the stances of the parties affiliated in the alliance.

According to al-Akhbar newspaper published on Thursday, Hizbullah is preparing for a meeting for the party's secretary-general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, AMAL movement chief Speaker Nabih Berri, and leader of the Free Patriotic Movement MP Michel Aoun.

Speaker Nabih Berri is expected to call for a parliamentary session on April 22 to elect a new president, As Safir newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The daily quoted well-informed sources as saying that lawmakers would be invited to head to parliament on April 22 or 23 to elect a successor to President Michel Suleiman, whose six-year term ends on May 25.

A parliamentary committee formed by Speaker Nabih Berri announced Monday that all the parliamentary blocs it has met with have promised to attend the first parliamentary session to elect a new president, which the speaker is expected to schedule "between April 15 and April 30."

Following talks with Berri in Ain el-Tineh, panel member MP Yassine Jaber said: "We briefed him on the outcome of our consultations and on all the viewpoints that we heard."

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Monday traveled to Switzerland on a five-day official visit, reiterating his call for the election of an “honorably” strong president.

Al-Rahi, who headed to Geneva, was accompanied by Bishop Boulos Matar and Bkirki spokesman Walid Ghayyad.

Speaker Nabih Berri is expected to call for the first round of parliamentary sessions to elect a new president next week, An Nahar newspaper reported on Monday.

According to the daily, the first electoral session will be held on April 16.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi warned on Sunday against “tampering with the presidential elections,” hoping that a strong president would be elected.

He urged during his Sunday sermon Speaker Nabih Berri to hold parliamentary sessions in order to determine the characteristics of the new president.

Speaker Nabih Berri is set to tackle the upcoming presidential elections at the end of next week, a local newspaper reported on Saturday.

According to An Nahar newspaper, Berri is expected to be handed over “soon” a report from the presidential elections committee that he had formed.