The Syndicate Coordination Committee announced on Friday that it will hold a nation-wide general strike coinciding with the cabinet's first meeting after the holidays.

"Public administrations, ministries, the Grand Serail as well as public and private schools and vocational institutes, they will all participate in the strike,” said the statement released after the SCC's meeting at the headquarters of the Secondary School Education Teachers Association.

The Phalange party, the Democratic Renewal and the National Bloc have decided to participate again in the March 14 general secretariat's meetings, informed sources told the National News Agency on Friday.

"Considering the country's critical situation and Syria's events, these parties will be joining their allies in March 14 in their weekly meetings” the sources explained, revealing that together, they will “draw a road map for the post-Assad era in Lebanon”.

Head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora noted on Friday that Prime Minister Najib Miqati's recent proposal over the resignation of the government does not help ease the political crisis in Lebanon.

He said during a press conference from his Sidon office: “Miqati's proposal does not end the political deadlock, but it only adds new conditions to resolving it.”

Internal Security Forces seized on Friday a pick up truck loaded with shrapnel and a number of unexploded shells, reported the National News Agency.

It said that the security forces attempted to halt on Friday a red Nissan pick up truck as it was headed along Dahr al-Baydar.

Mustaqbal MP Oqab Saqr noted on Friday that Interpol's announcement that it will not deal with the Syrian arrest warrants against him, former Premier Saad Hariri, and Syrian opposition member Louay al-Meqdad is a “heavy blow” to President Bashar Assad and his regime.

He said in a statement: “The announcement was a heavy blow against Assad, the regime, and their Lebanese allies.”

President Michel Suleiman stressed on Friday that it was important to increase humanitarian aid by international organizations to Syrian refugees.

Suleiman briefed EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis response Kristalina Georgieva the efforts exerted by the Lebanese government to help the displaced Syrians.

Syrian national Fathi Jaber al-Salatin, who was accused of killing Myriam al-Ashqar in November 2011, was sentenced to death on Friday.

Al-Ashqar, 28, was found dead and soaked in blood in the outskirts of Sahel Alma on November 22, 2011.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed a Czech Judge to the Appeals Chamber of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the court said in a press release on Friday.

Juge Ivana Hrdličková will replace as of mid-January Judge Kjell Erik Björnberg, who is retiring, it said.

The families of the Lebanese fighters who were killed in Syria's Tall Kalakh recently warned of staging rallies across Lebanon on Monday if the authorities failed to retrieve the bodies of the men over the weekend, demanding the expulsion of Syrian ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali.

“If we don't retrieve the corpses by Sunday we will invade the streets,” head of committee formed to follow up the case of slain Tall Kalakh fighters Sheikh Mohammed Ibrahim told reporters.

Abdul Latif Fneish, who has received arrest warrants for involvement in an illegal medications scandal in November, has appointed lawyer Rashad Salameh as his defense attorney, the pan-Arab al-Hayat daily quoted Salameh as saying on Friday.

Fneish, the brother of Minister of State for Administrative Reform Mohammad Fneish, will be tried for forging certificates of laboratory tests, media reports said.