The United States on Monday named former information minister Michel Samaha a "specially designated global terrorist" for allegedly aiding the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad to launch attacks in Lebanon.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a statement saying that Samaha, pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13441 which targets persons "undermining Lebanese sovereignty, including those who are supporting attempts by the Assad regime to incite violence inside Lebanon", is now a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under E.O. 13224.

The Phalange Party stressed on Monday the importance of the current contacts between Speaker Nabih Berri and the March 14 opposition in order to reactivate efforts to reach an agreement over a new parliamentary electoral law.

It added in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: “We hold the government responsible for jeopardizing the parliamentary elections and agreement on a new law due to its refusal to resign to pave the way for a salvation cabinet.”

A plan by the Lebanese government to support around 130,000 Syrian refugees will be proposed as part of a United Nations plan that will be announced in Geneva on Wednesday, Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour announced.

The representatives of donor countries and organizations lauded the government's $178 million plan in the second such meeting they held at the Grand Serail under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Monday, the minister said.

Youhanna al-Yaziji was elected on Monday the new Greek Orthodox Patriarch of the Levant and Antioch.

He will succeed late Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim, who passed away on December 5.

A Lebanese man was killed when a passenger bus carrying 29 Lebanese pilgrims was targeted by a bomb blast in Iraq, the National News Agency reported on Monday.

NNA said the Lebanese Charge d'Affaires in Baghdad, Huzaa Sharif, informed Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour that Hussein Nahle was killed and two others suffered minor injuries in the explosion that took place in the city of Samarra, 125 kilometers north of Baghdad.

Source in the opposition said on Monday that Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah started to realize the seriousness of the problems the nation is facing when he suggested a road-map for some pending issues, An Nahar daily reported.

Commenting on Sunday's speech of Nasrallah, the unnamed source said: “It seems that Nasrallah has come to realize the magnitude of the economic and social problems the nation is suffering from when he suggested a road-map to solve pending issues, mainly the new wage scale, the file of the Lebanese University, and has called for the formation of a national action group.”

General Prosecutor Judge Hatem Madi stressed on Monday that the judiciary is awaiting Lebanese lawyer Rashad Salameh to file a lawsuit against al-Mustaqbal lawmaker MP Oqab Saqr to tackle the issue, voicing his rejection to look into the matter ahead of any action by the lawyer.

“We will take the necessary measures when the lawyer files the alleged lawsuit,” Madi said in comments published in An Nahar newspaper.

An explosion at a suspected Hizbullah munitions depot shook the outskirts of the southern town of Tairharfa at dawn Monday, causing material damage only, media reports said.

According to the reports, the blast went of in an abandoned henhouse belonging to a man from the Haidar family. They said it was used as a storage facility for arms and ammunition.

The Lebanese state is considering a U.S. request to establish a telecommunications station on its territories amid fears that it would jeopardize security in Lebanon as it might transfer data to Israel, As Safir newspaper reported on Monday.

According t the daily, the Parliamentary Information committee, which will meet on Tuesday, is expected to tackle the request until Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui returns to Lebanon and informs the committee about its details.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati mocked the March 14 opposition alliance for thinking that the parliamentary majority is “Santa Claus” and would present the government's resignation as a gift.

In remarks to As Safir daily published Monday, Miqati said his government has succeeded in thwarting several plots aimed at targeting Lebanon's stability despite its inability “to mark big scores due to this difficult stage.”