The number of Syrian refugees, who fled the turmoil in their country to Lebanon, has soared to more than 400,000, the weekly report for the U.N.'s refugee body said on its weekly report on Monday.

According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees the number of registered refugees reached 12,000 during the past week, with 262,000 refugees already registered and 140,000 in the process of being registered.

Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam began on Monday to tour former premiers in a protocol measure ahead of holding consultations with parliamentary blocs on the type of the government and the division of portfolios.

Salam's first stop was the residence of caretaker PM Najib Miqati in Verdun.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati expressed relief on Monday over the achievements made by the cabinet that he led from 2011 until his resignation last month, pointing out that ties with the rival parties, without exception, are “good.”

“I acted according to my conscience and national duties... I wasn't waiting for a compliment from anyone... Only the people can judge my actions,” Miqati said in an interview with As Safir newspaper.

Parliament will most likely approve an urgent draft-law on Tuesday to amend the deadlines for the submission of candidacies to the legislative elections without canceling them.

Speaker Nabih Berri called for the parliamentary session at 10:30 am Tuesday.

The Saudi Embassy in Beirut denied on Monday a report saying that several Lebanese nationals were informed that the kingdom halted issuing visas for the Lebanese.

“The report is false... Visas are still being issued according to the adopted mechanism without any changes,” the embassy said in a statement.

Former premier Fouad Saniora, head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, on Sunday announced that “major progress” has been made toward agreeing on a hybrid electoral law among the various parties, on the eve of a key parliamentary session.

“We have made great progress in expressing the desire we are insisting on, which is holding the elections, and we hope we will reach a hybrid law that mixes the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems,” Saniora said after talks with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki, which was also attended by Lebanese Forces bloc MP George Adwan.

Hizbullah announced Sunday that it will play a “positive” role in the process of forming a new cabinet after MP Tammam Salam was appointed as prime minister-designate on Saturday.

Hizbullah “wants to be together with March 14 in the same national position in order to confront the Israeli threats,” said Sheikh Nabil Qaouq, the deputy head of the party's Executive Council, during a memorial service in the southern town of Kawthariyet al-Siyyad.

Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam on Sunday stressed that resistance against Israel is legitimate, but noted that “the decisions of war and peace must rest in the hands of the Lebanese state.”

In an interview with BBC, Salam revealed that Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi relayed to him a message from Iran's leadership on Sunday, in which Tehran “wished him success in forming a new cabinet and stressed its keenness on the resistance.”

Army troops have thwarted an attempt to deliver arms to “extremists” in the Shouf area of Ain Zhalta, the Army Command said in a communique on Sunday.

A gunman was killed and eight others were arrested, while a soldier and a member of the armed group were wounded, said the communique.

Phalange MP Sami Gemayel urged Premier-designate Tammam Salam on Sunday to push for an agreement on an electoral draft-law, protect Lebanon's security and rebuild trust in Lebanon.

Salam should work on agreeing on an electoral draft-law that receives the backing of all the Lebanese, protect Lebanon from security deterioration locally and on its borders and work on rebuilding international trust in Lebanon, Gemayel said at his party's executive forum held at the Forum de Beyrouth.