The U.S. Department of Treasury said that it placed sanctions on two alleged Hizbullah members and their companies, and on two other companies freezing their assets, a report said on Friday.

“The U.S. Department of the Treasury targeted significant Hizbullah procurement facilitators responsible for providing material support to enhance the group’s military and terrorist capabilities,” said a statement published on the Treasury's website.

Speaker Nabih Berri insistence to hold a legislative session on the 12 and 13 of November to approve 38 items including financial draft laws have driven contacts between the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces who say could boycott the session, al-Hayat daily said.

FPM and the LF could possibly boycott the session over the exclusion of the electoral law proposal from the agenda, which the Speaker believes that it needs more time to be studied.

A new committee has been formed on Thursday to tackle the controversial trash crisis and to study the proposals presented by some companies to export Lebanon's waste abroad, al-Mustaqbal daily reported on Friday.

Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb heads the committee which is comprised of three new members one representing the Environment Ministry another representing the Council for Development and Reconstruction in addition to a judge to study the legal aspects of the offers put forward, unnamed ministerial sources told the daily.

U.S. Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Richard Jones arrived Thursday in Beirut to replace Ambassador David Hale pending the arrival of the new head of mission Elizabeth Richard, state-run National News Agency reported.

Jones served as ambassador to Lebanon between 1996 and 1998.

The army announced Thursday the arrest of 11 Syrians and two Lebanese in the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal.

“Army forces in Arsal's Wadi Hmeid area arrested Lebanese national Ali Nayef Rayed for driving a GMC van without legal documents,” an army statement said.

The Internal Security Forces managed Thursday to quickly arrest two thieves who had robbed a bank in the Jnah area in southern Beirut in the morning.

“Around 10:30 am, two men riding a motorcycle and carrying pistols entered an IBL bank branch in the Jnah area and robbed $40,000 and LBP 40 million,” an ISF statement said.

More than four people were killed on Thursday in a bombing that targeted a meeting of the al-Qalamoun Muslim Scholars committee in the northeastern border area of Arsal, reported the National News Agency.

The head of the committee, Syrian cleric Sheikh Othman Mansour, survived the blast but was in a critical condition, LBCI television said.

Intense contacts are being held to prepare for an expanded meeting of members of the March 8 alliance, reported the Kuwaiti al-Anba daily on Thursday.

The meeting, which will be held at Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun's Rabieh residence, is expected to tackle various issues related to the government, national dialogue, presidential elections, and parliamentary electoral law, said the daily.

Head of the Change and Reform bloc MP Michel Aoun revealed that his bloc is prepared to attend next week's legislative session, reported As Safir newspaper on Thursday.

He added however that he is “awaiting some clarifications and explanations” over some issues before making a final decision.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stressed that MPs of his parliamentary bloc will attend next week's legislative session, reported As Safir newspaper on Thursday.

He told the daily that a boycott of the meeting would be “suicide”.