The Maronite Patriarchate denied on Tuesday reports claiming that Bkirki has a list of candidates for the presidential post.

The Patriarchate stressed that it didn't interfere and will not intervene in the “game of names.”

The cabinet is scheduled to meet on Thursday to continue discussions on the controversial work mechanism in the absence of President Michel Suleiman and the failure to elect a new head of state.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam invited ministers to meet at 10:00 am Thursday at the Grand Serail although differences between the cabinet's members have not been settled yet.

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq and the Internal Security Forces chief, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous, praised on Monday the police force for making several achievements in the fight against terrorism.

“Lebanon and the Lebanese will always remember the ISF's fight against terror and the arrest of terrorist networks,” al-Mashnouq said at the 153th anniversary of the ISF.

The presidential vacuum entered its third week on Monday as a large number of lawmakers failed to attend an electoral session, which met the fate of its predecessors over differences between the rival parties on a compromise candidate.

Speaker Nabih Berri adjourned the session to elect a new president to June 18 after MPs once again did not guarantee the needed two-thirds quorum.

Talks between al-Mustaqbal movement and the Free Patriotic Movement have not stopped, a high-ranking official said despite a claim made by al-Mustaqbal MP Assem Araji that the meetings are not leading anywhere.

The official, who is a member of ex-PM Saad Hariri's al-Mustaqbal movement, told As Safir newspaper published on Friday that contacts between the two sides “are serious and ongoing.”

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil has denied that he avoided to meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during his visit to Beirut on Wednesday, saying he could not cancel his trip to China, which is a major investing country.

In an interview with al-Joumhouria newspaper published on Friday, Bassil said: “We were informed about Kerry's visit only 48 hours before” his arrival to Beirut.

A delegation from the Maronite institutions visited on Thursday Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi to brief him on the result of its talks with the country's top Maronite political leaders on the country's presidential crisis, stressing that the vacuum contradicted the National Pact.

Following its meeting with al-Rahi in Bkirki, the delegation issued a statement saying the failure to elect a president and the continued presence of the government contradicted the 1943 power-sharing agreement and abolished the Maronite president.

Deputy Speaker Farid Makari slammed the political apathy, warning of extending the period of presidential vacuum over the sharp differences between the rival parties.

“Before May 25 the political arch-foes were enthusiastic to elect a new president... but now each alliance is reconsidering its stances, which might affect the period of vacancy,” Makari said in a interview with the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat.

Health Minister Wael Abou Faour has denied that the Progressive Socialist Party was not comfortable with the rapprochement between Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and al-Mustaqbal movement chief ex-PM Saad Hariri.

“We don't have any problem with the rapprochement between Aoun and Hariri. This issue is absolutely not linked to us,” the minister told As Safir newspaper published on Wednesday.

Speaker Nabih Berri has issued a stern warning against the MPs who are boycotting parliamentary sessions, saying he would take measures against them for “only choosing from the menu the food they like.”

In remarks to As Safir newspaper published on Wednesday, Berri said: “Things would get straight if those who are boycotting the (sessions) implement the Constitution and laws.”