Akram Azouri, the defense attorney of former General Security chief Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed, has sent an urgent request to Special Tribunal for Lebanon Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen, asking him to define the procedures applicable to the filing of a challenge against two articles mentioned in his May 12 ruling, the Central News Agency reported Wednesday.

On May 12, Fransen ordered that STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare release more than 270 investigation documents to Sayyed.

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel stated on Wednesday that a technocratic government contradicts the Taif Accord, which stands as the political and executive authority in Lebanon.

He asked after holding talks with Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati: “How can we hand over executive and national power to a Cabinet that is not connected with parliamentary blocs?”

A touring puppet show for the entire family, organized by Dar Onboz and Collectif Kahraba will bring public parks and squares to life through art and culture to the young and old with mobile shows, music, puppets, books, games and storytelling on three consecutive weekends.

The event, called "Nhar W Layl/ Day and Night", will present two performances free of charge to ensure accessibility to the largest number of people in three different locations: Sanayeh park will host the event on May 21-22, Sioufi park on May 28-29, and Horsh Snawbar park on June 4-5.

The March 14 General Secretariat expressed its concern and compassion over the flow of displaced Syrians into Lebanon, praising the efforts exerted by the Higher Relief Council and residents of Akkar to harbor them.

It urged in a statement after its weekly meeting “concerned ministries and humanitarian organizations to assist our Syrian brothers.”

The aides of the speaker and the Hizbullah leader on Tuesday informed Premier-designate Najib Miqati that Free Patriotic Movement chief Michel Aoun continues to hold onto his demands, including 5 out of 6 Maronite ministers in the cabinet, informed sources told several newspapers.

But Miqati reiterated that he was still waiting for answers on his demand for parliamentary blocs to provide him with lists of names they propose for the cabinet.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe has reportedly informed Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat that France is keen on preserving Lebanon’s stability amid an uprising against the Syrian regime.

France is aware of the suppression of the Syrian people and cannot stand idle, Juppe told Jumblat and Caretaker Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi during a meeting in Paris on Tuesday, Pan-Arab daily al-Hayat quoted sources as saying.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman is expected to arrive in Beirut on Thursday on a one-day visit where he is set to hold talks with a number of high-ranking officials during the day, sources told Naharnet on Wednesday.

He is scheduled to later meet political officials over a dinner banquet at the U.S. Embassy.

Public and private school teachers as well as the Lebanese University teachers staged a warning strike Wednesday, to protest the political deadlock and the vacuum in Lebanon.

Around 100,000 teachers in the public and private school sectors went on strike after the teacher’s syndicate agreed on staging warning rallies to protest economic and social problems, An Nahar newspaper said.

Speaker Nabih Berri and March 14 lawmakers are expected to clash over his efforts to hold a parliamentary session amid a political vacuum caused by the absence of a new government.

“No matter what the opinion of colleagues is, some things need to be discussed,” Berri told An Nahar daily in remarks published Wednesday. He said the issue of prisons and the election of a governor for the Central Bank were among the priorities that necessitated a parliamentary session despite the absence of a cabinet.

Speaker Nabih Berri confirmed that Premier-designate Najib Miqati has no substitute and stressed that his continued efforts to form the cabinet didn’t end yet.

“Others have taken longer time trying to accomplish this task,” Berri told An Nahar newspaper published Wednesday.