U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to visit Beirut on Wednesday, in his first trip to Lebanon since assuming his post in 2013.

“Kerry will arrive in Beirut tomorrow for a several-hour visit during which he will meet with Prime Minister Tammam Salam,” LBCI TV reported.

Unknown gunmen on Tuesday opened fire at a Syrian polling station in the Jdeidet Yabous area near the border with Lebanon, which witnessed huge gatherings of Syrians who flocked to vote in their country's presidential election that got underway on Tuesday.

“Sniper gunshots from al-Zabadani mountain are targeting the polling station in the border area of Jdeidet Yabous,” LBCI television reported.

The financial public prosecutor on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Fadi Aramouni, the former head of the Central Fund for the Displaced, on charges of embezzling public funds.

Aramouni was referred to Beirut First Investigative Judge Ghassan Ouweidat, according to state-run National News Agency.

The military prosecutor charged on Tuesday Islamist cleric Omar Bakri, who was arrested last month, with belonging to terrorist organizations and for plotting to establish an Islamic state in Lebanon.

The state-run National News Agency said the charges issued by Judge Saqr Saqr against Bakri include belonging to armed terrorist groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)  and al-Qaida, and working to establish an Islamic state.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam appealed on Tuesday for the assistance of the international community to prevent the collapse of the economic structure as a result of the Syrian refugee crisis.

Speaking during a meeting with visiting World Bank chief Yong Kim, Salam said: “Lebanon is in dire need for an effective support to prevent the collapse of the economic structure that also affects stability and security.”

World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim was in Beirut on Tuesday for talks with Lebanese officials on the country's economic situation and mainly a proposal to fund an electricity project, which was welcomed by Prime Minister Tammam Salam.

Al-Liwaa newspaper quoted sources as saying that Salam reacted positively to the funding that is expected to have low interests.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) slammed a decision by the Lebanese authorities to ban Syrian refugees from heading to their country or lose their status, rejecting to hand over to the state the complete data of the refugees.

According to As Safir newspaper, the UNHCR complained in a meeting with Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas that the decision is “negative.”

The Syrian Embassy in Lebanon rejected in a letter of protest the measures taken by the government against the Syrian refugees, As Safir newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Diplomatic sources told the newspaper that the “retaliatory measures” taken by the Lebanese state increased “sympathy” with the Syrian regime.

Speaker Nabih Berri, who returned from his private visit to Italy, is expected on Tuesday to revive the consultations on two parliamentary sessions aimed at electing a president and approving the public sector wage scale.

An Nahar newspaper said that the sessions are to be reminiscent of their predecessors.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam on Monday stressed that the Constitution is “clear” and “indisputable” regarding the powers of the government during a presidential vacuum, noting that “the PM is the one who asks cabinet to convene and prepares the session agenda.”

“I will not cease my efforts to secure the election of a new president,” Salam said during an interview with MTV.