The Kataeb Party rejected Monday what it described as an attempt at “full coping” with the presidential vacuum through the ongoing efforts to find a new mechanism for the cabinet's work.

In a statement issued after the weekly meeting of its political bureau, the party lamented that lawmakers have failed to elect a new president despite having held 19 parliamentary sessions to that end.

The judges of the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon have approved at a plenary meeting amendments to the tribunal's Rules of Procedure and Evidence, the court said in a statement on Monday.

“The amendments are designed to improve and streamline the Tribunal’s procedures,” the statement said.

Jordan on Monday delivered armored personnel carriers and gun motor carriages to the Lebanese army as part of “continuous cooperation” with Lebanon in the face of “the threat of terrorism.”

The vehicles were handed over at a ceremony held at the Beirut Naval Base, in the presence of Major General Nayel al-Raqqad, head of the strategic planning department of the Jordanian Armed Forces.

British Ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher revealed Monday that the United Kingdom is assisting the Lebanese army's land border regiments in order to fend off the threat of Islamic State militants deployed in the border region between Syria and Lebanon.

Fletcher voiced his remarks after talks with Prime Minister Tammam Salam at the Grand Serail.

Lebanese satirist Charbel Khalil appeared before a prosecutor in Beirut on Monday after Dar al-Fatwa, the country's top Sunni religious authority, filed a judicial complaint against him for allegedly defaming Islam.

Khalil found himself in hot water after he shared a photo on Twitter that was perceived by some as insulting to Islam.

The families of Arsal captives said Monday that they received assurance on the cabinet's readiness to discuss all demands set by the Islamist gunmen to ensure the safe release of their loved ones.

The relatives stressed that al-Mustaqbal Movement chief Saad Hariri promised to follow up the case with the concerned officials, pointing out that he pledged not to neglect the case.

Kataeb party leader Amin Gemayel considered on Monday the ongoing presidential vacuum unacceptable, calling on rivals to prioritize the election of a new head of state.

“We are surprised by all the measures taken... which aim at ridiculing the presidential vacuum,” Gemayel said after talks with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki.

Head of the parliamentary energy committee MP Mohammed Qabbani stressed that the delay in exploring Lebanon's offshore gas and oil exploration is due to technical obstacles and other unannounced interests as officials are at loggerheads over the demarcation of the 10 maritime oil exploration blocks.

“We have agreed to open the tenders for three blocks as a first step, but the main obstacles impeding the process remains the adoption of the petroleum decrees,” Qabbani said in comments published in An Nahar newspaper on Monday.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri is backing the formation of a civil state over his rejection of extremism, al-Mustaqbal officials said.

The officials told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published on Monday that Hariri brought up the issue during his meetings with al-Mustaqbal's politburo and the movement's bloc.

The Lebanese state has accomplished most of the contracts under a $1 billion aid by Saudi Arabia as a batch of the arms is expected to be handed over “soon” to security agencies.

A prominent security source stressed in comments published in al-Mustaqbal newspaper on Monday that the Lebanese military finalized all the deals linked to its $500 million as a batch of light arms is “on its way” to be delivered.