Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Friday accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of ordering the assassination of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan, chief of the Intelligence Bureau of the Internal Security Forces, condemning the deadly bombing that hit the Ashrafiyeh district in Beirut as a “cowardly terrorist attack against all of Lebanon and all the Lebanese people.”

“I accuse Bashar Hafez Assad of assassinating Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan,” said Hariri.

Syria condemned on Friday the car bombing that left eight people dead and 78 others wounded in the Beirut district of Ashrafiyeh, describing it as a cowardly terrorist act, state news agency SANA reported.

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi was quoted as saying "these sort of terrorist, cowardly attacks are unjustifiable wherever they occur."

A powerful car bomb on Friday rocked a street adjacent to Sassine Square in Ashrafiyeh, leaving eight people dead, including Brigadier General Wissam al-Hasan, chief of the Intelligence Bureau of the Internal Security Forces.

Seventy-eight people were wounded in the first such attack in the Lebanese capital since 2008, according to state-run National News Agency.

The head of the restaurants syndicate in Lebanon, Paul Ariss, resigned on Friday in protest against the smoking ban that has been imposed in Lebanon, reported Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3).

He made his announcement during a during a press conference, adding that a rally for the restaurant sector employees will be held on Tuesday to protest the ban.

Seventeen Lebanese people were killed on Friday in an ambush by the Syrian army at the Lebanese-Syrian border, reported Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3).

It said that the Lebanese were killed when Syrian troops ambushed their bus as it was heading from Lebanon's al-Qaa region to Syria al-Jousseh.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati urged on Friday all sides to tackle economic files with the same responsibility as they do national ones.

He said before a Azm Youth meeting in Tripoli: “The government has never wavered in combating daily concerns that have accumulated over the years due to past negligence.”

President Michel Suleiman stressed on Friday the need to maintain political rhetoric in Lebanon within democratic practices and national principles in accordance with the Baabda Declaration.

He said: “Lebanon's commitment to disassociate itself from the disputes of others requires the commitment of all of its Lebanese players.”

One person was wounded Thursday night when his car caught on fire and later exploded in the Bekaa, reported the National News Agency.

It said that Dhu al-Fiqar Nasreddine was lightly injured when his black Honda Accord caught on fire in the Hermel region in the Bekaa.

The cabinet is scheduled to meet on October 22 at the Grand Serail to tackle a number of pressing issues listed on its agenda, the daily al-Liwaa said Friday.

Fifty-seven items are listed on the said agenda including administrative issues, grants and most notably a suggestion to amend the draft law on the profession of pharmacy.

The Free Syrian Army accused Hizbullah of “occupying” six Syrian towns near the Lebanese-Syrian border, reported al-Liwaa newspaper on Friday.

A spokesman for the army, Fahed al-Msari, told the daily: “We doubt that United Nations and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi's ceasefire proposal for the Eid al-Adha holiday will be a success amid Hizbullah's occupation of these Syrian towns.”