Lebanon's parliament speaker sets May 13 as date to try elect president

Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has scheduled May 13 as a new date for the legislature to try to elect a new president for the country. Berri's decision Saturday comes after the deeply divided parliament failed four days earlier in its 17th try to elect a new president. Berri, who is aligned with the opposition, has called on the parliamentary majority to sit down for a national dialogue before the parliament meets on May 13. The parliament has failed to elect a new head of state since pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud's term ended in November.