Summary
Financial Prosecutor Ali Ibrahim Wednesday filed lawsuits against three former telecoms ministers and the heads of Lebanon's state-run telecoms and internet companies in the latest high-profile cases to move forward since the outbreak of protests on Oct. 17 .
A source close to caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri and another at Baabda Palace said that consultations over designating a new premier and forming a new government were ongoing, but that there had been no breakthrough.
The source at Baabda Palace said that there has been no serious conversation around a replacement for Hariri, and in any case a replacement would need Hariri's support.
Ferzli said any alternative to Hariri would be by "the will of Hariri".
Berri has been a keen supporter of Hariri returning as premier and has sought to bridge the gap between the caretaker premier's demands and those of Aoun and Hezbollah.
Though Hezbollah, the Free Patriotic Movement and Berri's Amal Movement could form a government without Hariri, they are wary of having a government seen to be entirely under the sway of Hezbollah -- an image that Hariri's participation would counteract.
Separately, Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Joumblatt urged Hariri not to head the next government in comments to local news channel MTV.
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