The Phalange Party on Monday pointed out that “the regional situation requires insistence on drafting an electoral law that enjoys comprehensive national consensus” in order to hold the parliamentary elections on time.

In a statement issued after the weekly meeting of its political bureau, the party called on Lebanon's political forces to "close ranks and agree on a 'pact of honor' in which they pledge to preserve the principles upon which Lebanon was built: coexistence among its sects and resorting to democracy.”

The tire of a truck blew up on Monday afternoon inside the Ring tunnel near al-Murr tower in Beirut, and no injuries or material damage have been registered.

Future television said the explosion was heard across Beirut.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat revealed on Monday that the party is keen to reach an agreement among all political parties on a new electoral law.

He said in his weekly editorial to the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa website: “We are seeking an agreement on an electoral law that combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems in order to avert the postponement of the elections.”

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour denied on Monday reports that the Lebanese hostages, kidnapped in Nigeria in February, have been killed, in light of the emergence of a video allegedly showing the victims.

He told LBCI television that none of the individuals shown in the video are the Lebanese hostages.

A March 14 delegation held talks on Monday with the head of Oman's mission in Lebanon, Suleiman bin Hamad al-Alawi, as part of a tour to the Gulf countries' embassies to tackle concerns voiced by those states over the situation in Lebanon.

Al-Alawi informed the delegation that the Gulf countries are keen to preserve Lebanon's unity and stability.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel briefed President Michel Suleiman on the preparations undertaken to hold the elections in June amid reports that no candidate had on Monday registered for the polls.

A statement issued by the presidential palace, said Charbel briefed Suleiman “on the security situation in the country and the preparations undertaken by the interior ministry for the elections.”

Hizbullah, AMAL and Free Patriotic Movement delegations visited on Monday Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour to express solidarity with his recent stance over Syria at the Arab League meeting.

The deputy head of Hizbullah's political bureau, Mahmoud Qomati, stressed from Bustros Palace that the meeting was aimed at voicing support to Mansour's stance.

The Syndicate Coordination Committee held another protest on Monday as its open-ended strike entered its fourth week to press the government into referring the wage scale for the public sector to parliament.

At the protest held near state-run telecom operator Ogero in Beirut's Bir Hassan neighborhood, Head of Public Secondary School Education Teachers Association Hanna Gharib said the funding of the wage scale “should come at the expense of the rich and not the poor.”

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Diplomacy Amos Hochstein and Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Lawrence Silverman visited Lebanon Monday and met with senior officials to discuss the political, economic and security situation in Lebanon and other regional issues, said the U.S. Embassy in a statement.

They had meetings with President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Najib Miqati, and Minister of Energy Jebran Bassil.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed Monday that the authority that will oversee the parliamentary elections will not be established for being part of a “dead” electoral law.

The Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance will vote against it if it was put on the agenda of the cabinet, Berri told As Safir newspaper.