President Michel Suleiman discussed with Hizbullah's state minister for parliamentary affairs Mohammed Fneish the latest developments concerning the cabinet's policy statement and the Israeli raid that targeted one of the party's posts in the Bekaa town of Janta.

Suleiman voiced hope that the ministerial panel tasked with drafting a policy statement should swiftly reach an agreement over disputed issues to prevent further delay in the parliament's confidence vote, An Nahar newspaper reported.

The U.N. Security Council urged Guinea-Bissau's transitional government Wednesday to abide by announced election plans, warning of sanctions against those opposing a return to constitutional order.

After several delays, Bissau announced April 13 presidential and parliamentary elections to end a period of political instability that began with a coup two years ago.

The U.N. Security Council adopted a unanimous but non-binding resolution Saturday calling for humanitarian aid convoys to be allowed access across war-torn Syria, but diplomats immediately voiced doubt about its effectiveness.

Syria's staunch ally Russia, with support from China, has blocked three previous resolutions aimed at pressuring the Damascus regime since the crisis began in March 2011, with an estimated half of all Syrians urgently awaiting immediate help.

The executive council of the Hague-based watchdog tasked with destroying Syria's chemical weapons arsenal failed Friday to reach agreement on what to do about Damascus's delays, because of divisions between Syria's allies and the West.

Different sources close to the talks at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said China, Iran and Russia wanted flexibility over the timetable, but the United States and the European Union insisted on being strict.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said his country hopes the new government will "address... urgent security, political and economic needs" after Prime Minister Tammam Salam's government was announced on Saturday nearly 11 months after his appointment.

Kerry listed the challenges ahead for Lebanon, including holding forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections "in a timely, transparent, democratic and fair manner".

Members of the International Support Group for Lebanon, which was launched in September last year by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon with President Michel Suleiman to mobilize support for Lebanon’s stability, sovereignty and state institutions, congratulated on Saturday Prime Minister Tammam Salam on the formation of the new government in Lebanon.

The International Support Group for Lebanon warmly welcome the announcement of the formation of a new government in Lebanon.

France said Monday it will propose a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding the immediate opening of humanitarian corridors to besieged Syrian cities.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the resolution represented an attempt to accelerate moves aimed at delivering urgently-needed medical and food supplies.

Russia's U.N. envoy said Wednesday that Moscow opposes a U.N. Security Council Resolution demanding greater humanitarian access in Syria to those in urgent need of food and medical supplies.

Since negotiations between Syria and world powers halted Friday without concrete results, Western nations and some Arab countries backing the Syrian opposition have drafted a text they hope to bring before the council this week, diplomats said.

The U.N. under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs on Monday voiced disappointment over the international community's failure to ensure safe passage for aid to civilians in conflict-torn Syria.

Valerie Amos told a Syria aid meeting in Rome of her "disappointment that discussions last week in Geneva -- focused as they were on the political -- did not make progress on the humanitarian side."

The United Nations has urged Lebanon's feuding factions to refrain from getting involved in Syria's crisis after a suicide car bomb left several people dead near the border Saturday.

The explosion happened at a petrol station in Hermel, a stronghold of Hizbullah.