Inmate Elias Hassan escaped at dawn Friday from al-Salam hospital in the northern city of Tripoli despite being under a heavy supervision.

However, the National News Agency reported that Hassan fled al-Qobbeh prison at 3:00 am on Friday.

An appeals court Thursday upheld a judge's decision that a Canadian-Lebanese man should be extradited to France in connection with a 1980 Paris synagogue bombing that killed four people.

The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that the lower-court judge and the federal justice minister made no legal errors in concluding Hassan Diab should be handed to French authorities.

Hizbullah will not support the candidacy of any nominee but its ally Michel Aoun, the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, for the presidency.

Hizbullah officials stressed in comments to al-Akhbar newspaper published on Friday that the “party supports Aoun for presidency unless he has changed his mind.”

The Vatican considers the presidential elections in Lebanon as a battle of existence that surpasses the Maronites and focuses on the active Christians role in state posts in the country and the Middle East.

Sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper published on Friday that the Vatican is persuading the United States Administration and world powers to safeguard the presidential polls and avert any vacuum at the helm of Lebanon's most important Christian post.

Three Internal Security Forces members were injured during a morning raid carried out in search for a wanted criminal in the northeastern town of Arsal, the ISF announced Friday.

The ISF identified the 28-year-old suspect with his initials as M.Kh., saying he attacked the police unit with three hand grenades and opened fire on them, wounding two ISF officers and one policeman.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam is scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday, in his first official visit abroad since the formation of his cabinet in February.

Salam is expected to meet with Saudi King Abdullah and several top Saudi officials.

A cabinet session set to be held at the Baabda Palace on Friday was moved to the Grand Serail after sharp disputes loomed on the appointment of the Military Council as ministers will tackle the establishment of a cell to follow up the ongoing Syrian refugees crisis.

Ministerial sources said in remarks published in al-Liwaa newspaper that the session will be held at the Grand Serail to avert any possible dispute, which was on the agenda of the ministerial meet.

March 8 alliance lawmakers have promised to attend a fourth round of presidential elections set to take place next Thursday although they haven't specified if they would vote or not, Speaker Nabih Berri announced.

Berri told his visitors on Thursday that the lawmakers, who have so far boycotted the parliamentary sessions aimed at electing a president, will attend the fourth round.

The head of the “largest car robbery gangs” in the Bekaa was arrested on Wednesday at midnight, as security forces and army troops continue implementing a security plan in the region and the North.

"As part of the security plan implemented by Internal Security Forces in the Bekaa and after investigation and monitoring, the Bekaa Police Department managed to ambush and arrest the head of the largest car robbery gangs,” the ISF announced in a released communique.

Army troops raided on Thursday afternoon neighborhoods in the Northern Metn region, and succeeded in the arrest of several men for suspecting their involvement in drug dealing.

"After obtaining information about the presence of drug trafficking networks in the Sid al-Bauchrieh area, an army force raided a residential compound in the neighborhood,” the Army Command said in a released communique.