The council of ministers decided on Friday to refer all bombings and all cases of booby-trapped cars to the Judicial Council.

The ministers also discussed the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's summons of al-Jadeed television ad al-Akhabar daily's journalists, expressing their keenness on preserving freedom of the press, but noting at the same time that the STL's internal system allows it to summon media personalities.

Several journalists rallied near the Ministry of Information in Beirut on Friday afternoon, to protest the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's summons of al-Jadeed TV and al-Akhbar newspaper's journalists on charges of “contempt and obstruction of justice.”

The STL announced on Thursday that it has summoned Karma Mohammed Tahsin al-Khayat from al-Jadeed, as well as the station’s parent company New TV S.A.L., to appear before it on two counts of Contempt and Obstruction of Justice.

Al-Jadeed TV's Karma al-Khayat and al-Akhbar daily's Ibrahim al-Amin might be sentenced to seven years in jail and/or fined 100,000 Euros if the Special Tribunal for Lebanon finds them to be in contempt of the court, STL spokesperson Marten Youssef told Naharnet on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the STL said the two have been summoned to appear before it on charges of “contempt and obstruction of justice.”

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon announced on Tuesday issuing new arrest warrants for the five suspects accused of being involved in the assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri, following the Prosecution’s submission of a joint indictment.

"The STL has issued new arrest warrants for Salim Jamil Ayyash, Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Hassan Habib Merhi, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra following the Prosecution’s submission of a consolidated indictment,” the tribunal said in a released statement.

The Trial Chamber of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will hold a Status Conference in the Ayyash et al. case on April 10, announced the STL in a statement on Thursday.

The hearing, which is the second Status Conference since the Trial Chamber temporarily adjourned trial, will cover preparations of the counsel for Hassan Habib Merhi for the resumption of the trial, including filing of their Defense pre-trial brief and the date of resumption of the trial.

President Michel Suleiman called on Wednesday for the election of a strong head of state, who pledges full loyalty to Lebanon.

“The new president should be strong, not weak… and consensual if possible or should belong to a certain political camp and be fully loyal to Lebanon,” Suleiman said during a ceremony at Baabda Palace.

The government of the Marshall Islands on Tuesday defeated a motion of no confidence brought after it nominated Lebanon's former General Security chief Maj. Gen. Jamil al-Sayyed as its ambassador to UNESCO.

The motion from opposition leaders in the Pacific nation's parliament was defeated by 17 votes to 13 after more than four hours of acrimonious debate.

Head of the international tribunal's defense office Francois Roux expressed hope on Thursday that the Lebanese authorities and the new cabinet would fully cooperate with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, in particular his team.

“We will see if cooperation with the new government will be fruitful... So far I'm hearing positive remarks,” Roux said in an interview with An Nahar newspaper.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon submitted last week its fifth annual report to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and to President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Tammam Salam, it announced in a statement on Monday.

The start of trial in Ayyash et al. on January 16, 2014, with proceedings broadcast by video-link in Lebanon and internationally, marked a new chapter in the history of the STL.

The March 14 forces on Thursday handed the U.N. secretary-general's representative in Lebanon a petition demanding the expansion of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's mandate to cover all assassinations against March 14 figures.

“We handed the U.N. secretary-general's representative in Lebanon a petition signed by 69 MPs and demanding the expansion of the STL's jurisdiction to involve all assassination crimes that targeted Lebanese leaders, from the attempt on MP Marwan Hamadeh's life to the assassination of martyr minister Mohammed Shatah,” al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Atef Majdalani said after a March 14 delegation handed the petition to U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly.