The Judicial Council, the Lebanese court that handles cases related to national security, launched Friday an in absentia trial in the case of the 1982 assassination of president-elect Bashir Gemayel, calling on Habib Chartouni -- who confessed to planting the bomb before escaping prison -- to turn himself in.

As the world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag and Norwegian Ambassador Lene Natasha Lind visited Friday “Al Dar,” one of ABAAD’s safe houses for women and girl survivors or at high risk of violence.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea noted Friday that “a new equation comprising al-Mustaqbal Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement and the LF has started to emerge in the country,” hoping Speaker Nabih Berri will be “the fourth pillar of this equation.”

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri stressed Friday “the need to accelerate the trials of the perpetrators of violence and crimes against women in Lebanon” and to “toughen the verdicts.”

Customs authorities at Tripoli Port on Friday seized 96 barrels filled with drug-manufacturing substances, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

Hizbullah on Friday hailed the Lebanese army's special operation against Islamic State militants in the outskirts of the Bekaa border town of Arsal, noting that it has “highlighted its essential role in defending the border and ridding it of terrorists.”

The last public beach on Beirut's heavily developed seaside could soon be squeezed out by yet another luxury resort, raising fears that residents could find themselves living in a coastal city without much of a coast.

The fight for Ramlet al-Baida beach has emerged as a new flashpoint between civil society activists and the entrenched political establishment over land management and public services in Lebanon's capital. It follows last year's trash crisis, in which mountains of garbage piled up for months, and a conflict over a local park that until recently was only open one day a week.

After denunciations following a decision to build a wall near the country's largest Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh, the Lebanese army assured that it is aimed at preventing jihadists from infiltrating the country.

“In explanation of what has recently been circulating about the establishment of a separation wall in the vicinity of Ain el-Hilweh, the Army Command assured that there is no decision to establish this wall between the camp and its surrounding,” the Army Command Orientation Directorate said in a statement on Friday.

President Michel Aoun praised the Lebanese army's efforts on Friday after clamping down on an Islamic State terror group in Arsal and detaining several militants including an IS commander, the National News Agency reported.

The President hailed the “pre-emptive security operation” carried out by the army early on Friday in Arsal near the Lebanese-Syrian border, NNA said.

Claims about some attempts planning to “weaken” the term of President Michel Aoun by obstructing the formation of the cabinet are not accurate, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.

Free Patriotic Movement sources told the daily that reports circulating about attempts to obstruct the term of Aoun are unfounded.