Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese newspapers Tuesday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.

An-Nahar: Government majority: timing surprise, Assad guardianship

Even though the political identity of the new majority government did not come as any surprise, the unexpected announcement of Najib Mikati’s Cabinet - which disappointed the expectations of the media as well as political forces, including parties in the majority [March 8 coalition] itself – came as a surprise.
Barely a few minutes passed since the announcement of the Mikati government before Syrian President Bashar Assad telephoned his Lebanese counterpart Michel Sleiman to congratulate him on the new Cabinet. Speaker Nabih Berri, in turn, received a similar call from Assad.

Although the new government suffered a setback only a few hours after it was formed with the resignation of MP Talal Arslan in protest at his appointment as Minister of State, the distribution of Cabinet seats were devoted to March 8 where Hezbollah, Amal and the Change and Reform bloc got 18 ministers whereas President Sleiman, Mikati and Walid Jumblatt’s National Struggle Front bloc got 12 ministers.
For the Druze seat left vacant after Arslan’s resignation it will have to be filled by a pro-March 8 Druze figure. The biggest share, 10 seats, went to Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform parliamentary bloc, while Mikati got six, Jumblatt three, and Hezbollah and Berri each got two. Sleiman got three ministers, including Interior Minister Marwan Charbel who was chosen as consensus candidate by both Sleiman and Aoun.
Mikati reportedly will make a brief, unofficial visit to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday to perform the Umrah and will return to Beirut later in the day.
Future Movement sources described the Mikati government as a “government of Jisr al-Shughour [Syria] and a government of domestic confrontation.”

As-Safir: Assad the first to congratulate … Washington judges [Cabinet] by actions, commitment to STL!

Finally the Najib Mikati government came to being after a difficult 143 days.
If “stability” is one of the solid foundations upon which the Mikati government is built, Mikati’s remarks at Baabda Palace Monday in which he put emphasis on the liberation of the remaining Israeli-occupied territory gave a clear indication of the content of the policy statement.

Meanwhile, Speaker Nabih Berri told As-Safir that he did not consult with his allies on the final exit to the Cabinet formation crisis. He said he took the initiative to relinquish his Shiite Cabinet seat in favor of Faisal Karami “because this was the only way to salvation.”
Berri said this idea crossed his mind while he was on his way to Baabda Palace Monday.

Al-Mustaqbal: Hezbollah gives Mikati State Minister, but snatches state

After less than an hour from the birth of the “coup” government, Syrian President Bashar Assad telephoned President Michel Sleiman and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, congratulating them on the birth of the government while ignoring Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
Senior diplomatic sources told Al-Mustaqbal that the Lebanon government was formed “under pressure from Syria.” Damascus, according to the sources, needs to have a pro-Syria government in Lebanon given the embarrassment it faces at the domestic level.