President Michel Aoun on Friday stressed that state institutions should abide by “the Constitution and the laws,” amid an ongoing row between him and Speaker Nabih Berri over a controversial officers seniority decree.

“My choice is to resort to the Constitution and the laws,” Aoun added in a tweet.

Three people were killed and three others were injured, two seriously, in a fire overnight in an apartment building in the Beirut neighborhood of al-Zaydaniyeh.

The National News Agency identified the dead as Fatima al-Koush, Ali al-Koush and Lara al-Koush, with residents and media reports saying they died of smoke inhalation.

Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel on Friday launched a fresh attack on the government.

“The Council of Ministers has become an 'administrative board' that has no jurisdiction over decisions related to sovereignty and foreign ties,” Gemayel tweeted.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri met with President Michel Aoun after Thursday’s cabinet session as part of his ongoing efforts to resolve the latest spat between the president and Speaker Nabih Berri.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea lashed out Thursday at Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah over the latter’s overnight remarks to al-Mayadeen television.

An arrest warrant in absentia was issued Thursday for firebrand journalist Maria Maalouf, who is accused of “libel, defamation and incitement” against Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Prominent TV talk show host Marcel Ghanem on Thursday appeared before Mount Lebanon First Examining Magistrate Nicola Mansour in connection with a controversial episode of his Kalam Ennas show, as protesters braved heavy rain to express solidarity with him outside the Baabda Justice Palace.

The Cabinet on Thursday approved all items on its agenda and decided to earmark LBP 50 billion for the May parliamentary elections, the information minister said.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri reassured Thursday that “solidarity will continue among the government components,” as the Cabinet convened in Baabda amid an ongoing spat between President Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri.

Speaker Nabih Berri has given instructions on Wednesday to wide-open all the entrances around the Parliament’s premises in Beirut's Nejmeh Square for pedestrians convenience.