U.S. officials are optimistic about electing a Lebanese president before March. A official at the State Department urged the Lebanese parties to agree on a president without foreign interference, and called on them to give up on their international alignments to solve their national issues privately.

The source said in an interview with As Safir: “If the Lebanese parties consulted each other throughout January, then the presidential elections may take place before March.”

State Prosecutor Judge Samir Hammoud tasked on Tuesday Judge Sabouh Suleiman with investigating the alleged presence of radioactive material in goods imported to Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency reported.

NNA said that Suleiman would inquire the customs over the failure to report to the general prosecutor's office about the suspicious material at Rafik Hariri International Airport and Beirut Port.

Kataeb Ministers have handed over to Environment Minister Mohammed al-Mashnouq their notes on the treatment of the solid waste in Lebanon as media reports estimated that the cabinet will hold a heated debate over the matter during its session on Thursday.

Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi informed An Nahar newspaper published on Tuesday that he and Economy Minister Alain Hakim presented the memo to the Environment Minister.

MP Ibrahim Kanaan on Monday held a meeting with a Lebanese Forces official to set the stage for talks between Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and LF chief Samir Geagea, stressing that the dialogue aims to contribute to joint action.

Kanaan told As Safir daily published on Tuesday that the “objective of the dialogue is to contribute to a joint action base on many issues.”

Education Minister Elias Bou Saab confirmed on Tuesday that the verbal spat between Health Minister Wael Abou Faour and Economy Minister Alain Hakim ended, stressing that the uncertainty in managing files at the cabinet destabilizes it.

“I intervened to end the spat between Abou Faour and Hakim, who will cooperate to reach Lebanon's best interest,” Bou Saab said in comments published in al-Joumhouria newspaper.

The United States has expressed concern over a decision for Syrians to obtain visas that sharply limit the time they can stay in Lebanon but Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas reiterated that no Syrian would be deported from the country under the new rules.

“We are very concerned new visa requirements for Syrians entering Lebanon will create additional challenges for refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Monday.

Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal movement agreed Monday during their second dialogue session to support efforts to “continue the implementation of the security plan across all Lebanese regions,” revealing that they have made “progress” on the issue of defusing Sunni-Shiite tensions.

“Discussions tackled a main topic – defusing sectarian tensions – and serious progress was made in this regard,” said a joint statement issued after the talks in Ain al-Tineh.

Salafist cleric Sheikh Wissam al-Masri has announced that he will suspend his mediation in the case of the captive Lebanese servicemen until he receives an official paper containing the demands of the Islamic State group, revealing that his decision had prompted the cancellation of a visit by Father Antoine Daou to the kidnappers.

“The government wants demands signed by the IS and I don't blame it. For my part, I have asked the IS for an official paper, and until I obtain a signed document of the demands, I will not interfere in the case,” Masri said in an interview with the Central News Agency.

Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat called Monday for protecting the national interests while preserving the “dignity” of the Syrian refugees in the country, urging differentiation between those who are “running away from death” and those who are “coming to organize demagogic rallies in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad.”

In his weekly column in the PSP's al-Anbaa electronic newspaper, Jumblat criticized Lebanese authorities for obligating Syrian refugees to go through “complex procedures” on border crossings “without studying the measures thoroughly.”

Overwhelmed by a massive influx of desperate refugees, Lebanon began imposing unprecedented visa restrictions on Syrians on Monday, including those fleeing their country's civil war.

"Today we began implementing the new entry measures and Syrians at the borders have begun presenting their documents to enter," a source at Lebanon's General Security agency told Agence France-Presse.