The United States and Saudi Arabia have launched a joint campaign to pressure Syria to end its political interference in Lebanon, including the U.S. deployment of the USS Cole and two other warships off the Lebanese coast, according to U.S. and Arab officials.

  

The U.S. said it is sending ships to Lebanon to show support as the country weathers a political crisis. But Lebanon's pro-Western prime minister distanced himself from the decision.

  

Released Iraqi men react as they leave a prison in the presence of a Caritas volunteer, right, a charity run by the Roman Catholic Church in Beirut, Lebanon Friday, Feb. 29, 2008. Lebanese authorities released Friday 13 Iraqi citizens who were detained for staying illegally in the country following mediation by the U.N. refugees agency and a Christian aid group, a step that will be followed by ...

  

Lebanon on Friday released 13 Iraqis who had been detained for staying in the country illegally. The move was expected to lead to the release of Iraqis who fled their wartorn country.

  

BEIRUT: Washington's dispatch of a warship to the waters off Lebanon was slammed by Hizbollah yesterday as meddling in the strife-torn nation's affairs, while the pro-government Press saw it as a clear signal to Syria.

  

Men walk past a huge mound of garbage, piled up along the Mediterranean southern coastal Lebanese city of Sidon on February 06, 2008. It is known as "Sidon's mountain" and is an immense landfill that disposes its trash into the Mediterranean, polluting the coast of this ancient Lebanese city.

  

BEIRUT (AFP) Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora on Friday said his Western-backed government did not ask Washington to send a US warship to the waters off Lebanon, which is embroiled in a deep political crisis.

  

The pro-Syrian Hezbollah on Friday slammed Washington's dispatch of the USS Cole to waters off Lebanon as military interference, as the Western-backed government said it did not ask for the warship to be sent.

  

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The pro-Iranian Hezbollah group accused the United States on Friday of endangering regional stability by deploying a warship off Lebanon and vowed to defy what it called an act of military intimidation.

  

Men walk past a huge mound of garbage, piled up along the Mediterranean southern coastal Lebanese city of Sidon on February 06, 2008. It is known as "Sidon's mountain" and is an immense landfill that disposes its trash into the Mediterranean, polluting the coast of this ancient Lebanese city.

  

Hezbollah on Friday rejected the deployment of U.S. warships off Lebanon, calling it a threat to the country that will not affect the militant group.

  

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Hezbollah is denouncing the deployment of U.S. warships off Lebanon. The U.S. military announced yesterday that the Navy is sending at least three ships to the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

  

Scholar - Iran - New Sanctions A professor of international relations at Lebanon University says US and Western countries' pressure for intensifying UN sanctions against Iran despite recent positive IAEA report would be trampling upon international laws.

  

"Sidon's mountain" bears no resemblance to the green mountains of Lebanon.

  

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) -- Hezbollah denounced the deployment of U.S. warships off Lebanon and said Friday it won't be intimidated, while the U.S.-backed Lebanese government distanced itself from the military move.

  

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora on Friday said his Western-backed government did not ask Washington to send a US warship to the waters off Lebanon, which is embroiled in a deep political crisis.

  

Beirut - Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora denounced Friday what he described as Israeli massacres against Palestinians in Gaza and called on the world and Arab communities to intervene to stop the bloodshed. The Lebanese government strongly c...

  

BEIRUT - The pro-Iranian Hezbollah group accused the United States on Friday of endangering regional stability by deploying a warship off Lebanon and vowed to defy what it called an act of military intimidation.

  

Hezbollah on Friday denounced the deployment of U.S. warships off the coast of Lebanon, calling it a threat to the country's sovereignty, but the Shiite militant group said it would not be intimidated by the move.

  

cmenchac@wdhprint.com

  

BEIRUT - The Islamic militant party Hezbollah accused the United States on Friday of threatening regional stability and raising tension by deploying a warship off Lebanon.

  

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The U.S. deployment of a warship off the coast of Lebanon is a threat to regional stability and a move that would increase tension in the country, a Hezbollah member of parliament said on Friday.

  

Source: Reuters BEIRUT, Feb 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. deployment of a warship off the coast of Lebanon is a threat to regional stability and a move that would increase tension in the country, a Hezbollah member of ...

  

Beirut/Washington - The Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement said Friday that the United States' move to send a warship toward waters off the Lebanese coast, was an indication of the failure of US policies in the Middle East. Sending a warship and thr...

  

Lebanese Future Party leader Saad Hariri, son of slain prime minister Rafiq Hariri, places on his father's grave in Beirut, Nov. 2006, a copy of a U.N. document setting up an international tribunal to try suspects in his 2005 assassination.

  

BEIRUT: Lebanon lost nearly $3 billion in revenue due to the sharp drop in the number of tourists in 2007, Tourism Minister Joe Sarkis said on Thursday.

  

The U.S. Navy has moved the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole and other ships to the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Lebanon, Pentagon officials said Thursday.

  

Arab leaders are stepping up pressure on Syria to resolve the Lebanese presidential stand-off by threatening to stay away from the Arab League summit in Damascus next month, a move that would deepen Syria's regional isolation.

  

Signalling impatience with Syria, the United States has sent its USS Cole warship off the coast of Lebanon in a show of support amid Beirut's political crisis, US officials has said.

  

Signalling impatience with Syria, the United States has sent its USS Cole warship off the coast of Lebanon in a show of support amid Beirut's political crisis, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

  

The United States is sending a warship to the Middle East as tensions with Syria get worse. A U.S. official confirms that the warship U.S.S. Cole will patrol off the coast of Lebanon. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Thursday the deployment is meant as a show of support for regional stability. He addedhat President Bush is concerned about the situation in Lebanon.

  

WASHINGTON - The United States is sending a warship to the Middle East as tensions with Syria get worse. A U.S. official confirms that the warship U.S.S. Cole will patrol off the coast of Lebanon.

  

Signaling impatience with Syria, the United States has sent its USS Cole warship off the coast of Lebanon in a show of support amid Beirut's political crisis, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

  

A US Navy warship has been ordered to take up station off Lebanon's coast as a "show of support" as the standoff between Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government and the opposition continues, the Reuters news agency quoted an official in Washington as saying on Thursday.

  

Massoud Ashkar, head of the recent established Union for Lebanon political group, met Thursday with the head of the Popular Bloc, MP Elias Skaff, at the union's headquarters in Achrafieh. Skaff spoke about the dangers threatening Lebanon and the marginalization of Lebanese Christians.

  

The Daily Star, February 26) - and a helpful reader named Paula Hoche let me have it. In a biting e-mail, she pointed out that perfect democracy exists nowhere on Earth. She admonished me for the dissemination of a depressing take on what is happening.

  

WASHINGTON (AFP)--Concerned about Lebanon's political impasse, the United States has sent the destroyer USS Cole off the Lebanese coast in a "show of support for regional stability," a top US official said Thursday.

  

The United States has stationed its USS Cole warship off Lebanon's coast in a "show of support for regional stability," a top US official says.

  

Source: Reuters (Adds details, quotes) By Sue Pleming WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Signaling impatience with Syria, the United States has sent its USS Cole warship off the coast of Lebanon in a "show of ...

  

Deeply concerned about Lebanon's political strife, the United States has sped its USS Cole warship off the country's coast in a "show of support for regional stability," a top US official said Thursday.

  

Longtime Lebanon area businessman and Turtlecreek Twp. Trustee Dan George died today, Feb. 28 at home. The owner of George Manufacturing in Lebanon had been battling cancer for several years. He was 55.

  

Syria has yet to invite regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia to an Arab summit in Damascus next month, an official said on Thursday, as Arab League chief Amr Mussa said some member states would only attend if Lebanon's political crisis was resolved.

  

The Division I district wrestling meet at Hilliard Darby proved to be a learning experience for the Lebanon Warriors last weekend, Feb. 22 and 23. It also was a disappointment.

  

' with a view "Two Rooms," a drama centered on a hostage crisis in Beirut, will be performed at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Rochester Repertory Theatre, 103 Seventh St. N.E., Rochester. Tickets are $17. 289-1737. ------------------------ Ar

  

Beauty might be tyranny, but it gives you gals an excellent excuse to bond, no' How many painful secrets have been spilled over perms' How many supportive hugs exchanged during marathon facials'

  

Editor's note: Bank Audi released Wednesday its 2007 economic report on Lebanon. The bank estimated the country's GDP growth at only 2 percent but stressed that Lebanon missed many opportunities to stimulate the economy due to the political problems.

  

By Tom Perry BEIRUT: Lebanese leader Walid Jumblatt said yesterday he saw no end in sight to the deep political conflict between his Western-backed governing coalition and the opposition backed by Syria and Iran.

  

BEIRUT: A Lebanese court has given Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi two months to appear for questioning over the disappearance of Lebanese Shia leader Imam Mussa Sadr 30 years ago or face a possible arrest warrant.

  

The Home Secretary came under fire last night for allowing a radical Lebanese propagandist with links to the extremist group Hezbollah to enter Britain for a national speaking tour. The Conservatives urged Jacqui Smith to ban Ibrahim Moussawi from the UK, warning that he was 'likely to foment extremism or promote violence'

  

Beirut - An explosion late Wednesday near a mosque in a Shiite village in southern Lebanon wounded at least four people, Lebanese police said. The blast occurred in the village of Chabiyeh east of the southern port city of Tyre. ...

  

Lebanon is to stay away from this year's Paris book fair in protest at the invitation of Israel as guest of honor, Culture Minister Tarek Mitri announced on Wednesday. "Lebanon will not participate this year in protest at the cultural event's organizers' decision to select Israel as guest of honor," Mitri said in a statement.

  

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir voiced hope Wednesday that Lebanon would overcome all the obstacles it is witnessing in order for the country to recover its freedom, prosperity and peace. "All Lebanese should cooperate in favor of their country, which is going through a very tough period," Sfeir said.

  

LEBANON - A group of Lebanon residents has formed a political action committee to monitor actions and attitudes of members of the Lebanon School Board.

  

Two men stand under a banner of disappeared Lebanese Shiite leader Mussa Sadr in a Beirut suburb. A Lebanese court has summoned Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi for questioning in the case of the disappearence of Sadr 30 years ago.

  

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh Wednesday stressed the need for Syria to facilitate presidential elections in Lebanon ahead of the Arab summit set down for Damascus in late March. We expect from Syria...

  

BEIRUT (AFP)--Lebanon is to stay away from this year's Paris book fair in protest at the invitation of Israel as guest of honor, Culture Minister Tarek Mitri announced on Wednesday.

  

BEIRUT (AFP)--A Lebanese court has given Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi two months to appear for questioning over the disappearance of Lebanese Shiite leader Imam Mussa Sadr 30 years ago or face a possible arrest warrant.

  

BEIRUT (AFP) - A Lebanese court has given Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi two months to appear for questioning over the disappearance of Lebanese Shiite leader Imam Mussa Sadr 30 years ago or face a possible arrest warrant.

  

Lebanon's political crisis is becoming more complicated and foreign influence over the struggle between the Beirut governing coalition and Hezbollah-led opposition is unprecedented, a mediator has said.

  

BEIRUT: Arab League chief Amr Moussa said on Tuesday it was time for regional parties to try to resolve their disputes in order to facilitate a solution to Lebanon's political crisis.

  

MANAMA, Bahrain: Islamic finance has long been criticised for its lack of standardisation - from the disunity in the way scholars interpret Shariah law to the various qualifications available for professionals dealing in the rapidly-expanding industry.

  

Mr. Arcache, of Middletown, died Feb. 24, 2008.Hewas a real estate broker atWeichert Realtors. He is survived by hiswife of 55 years,Aida Habiby Arcache; his children, Carol Julien and Nabil Arcache; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Claude and Jeanie Arcache of Nice, France, and Andre and Marcelle Arcache of Beirut,

  

The director general for United Nations affairs at the German Foreign Ministry, Peter Wittig, officially handed over a new state-of-the-art coastal radar system to the Lebanese Navy on Tuesday. "The reconstruction of the coastal radar system is part of a comprehensive German commitment to support Lebanon in securing its own borders.

  

Arab League chief Amr Moussa said on Tuesday it was time for regional parties to try to resolve their disputes in order to facilitate a solution to Lebanon's political crisis. "Lebanese leaders have given all that they could. It is now time for regional parties to work out their differences in order to pave the way for a settlement in Lebanon," said.

  

Source: Reuters By Tom Perry BEIRUT, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Lebanese leader Walid Jumblatt said on Tuesday he saw no end in sight to the deep political conflict between his Western-backed governing coalition and the ...

  

Lebanon's freshman boys basketball team came very close to a winning season. The Warriors finished with a 6-12 record, but had numerous games where they were leading or tied late in the fourth quarter but lost.

  

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Syria was part of the problem in Lebanon, and called on Damascus to help resolve the 15-month political crisis before hosting an Arab summit next month.

  

Beirut - The director general for United Nations Affairs at the German Foreign Ministry, Peter Wittig, handed over Tuesday a new state-of-the-art coastal radar system to the Lebanese Navy. The reconstruction of the coastal radar system is part of a ...

  

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Syria was part of the problem in Lebanon, calling on Damascus to help resolve the 15-month crisis before hosting an Arab summit next month.

  

Beirut - Arab League Chief Amr Mussa left Beirut Monday with no breakthrough after the majority and the opposition rejected his suggestion for the makeup of the cabinet during a meeting to end the 15-month-long political crisis in Lebanon. According ...

  

BEIRUT, Feb 26 - Below is a table of the latest Lebanese economic statistics.

  

Mariam Saidi battles for truth on missing son when 17,000 Lebanese vanished during 1975-1990 conflict.

  

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday postponed a parliamentary session scheduled Tuesday to elect Lebanon's president to March. 11, local New TV reported. In order to give more chances to the efforts of Arab league chie ...

  

BEIRUT: A parliamentary session to elect a new Lebanese president was postponed again on Monday after Arab League chief Amr Moussa left Beirut without achieving a breakthrough in Lebanon's ongoing political crisis.

  

BEIRUT: The head of the Investment Development Authority for Lebanon (IDAL), Nabil Itani, said Monday that foreign direct investment (FDI) and property purchases by foreigners in Lebanon rose to nearly $3 billion in 2007 from $2.3 billion in 2006. "Most of the $3 billion investments were in the real-estate sector and this is not considered an FDI," Itani told The Daily Star in an exclusive ...

  

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa says more talks will be needed to resolve the political gridlock that has left Lebanon without a head of state for the past three months.

  

A Lebanese army commando walks past a poster of Lebanese army chief and presidential candidate General Michel Sleiman in Beirut, December 2007. A parliamentary session to elect Lebanon's president was postponed from Tuesday to March 11 due to continued deadlock between rival political leaders, the speaker's office has said.

  

The family, friends, and colleagues of the late Joseph Samaha gathered at Masrah al-Madina in Beirut over the weekend to mark the passage of one year since the death of one of the country's most prominent journalists. "I can never forget Joseph ... He is everywhere present," writer Hassan Daoud told the audience on Saturday.

  

Lebanon has received a 4.5 million euro ($6.7 million) grant from the German government to fund environmental projects in response to the damage wrought on flora and fauna by the 2006 war with Israel. The grant, entitled the "Project of the Environmental Fund in Lebanon," will fund projects proposed for the environmental reconstruction.

  

Many hurdles block the way between Lebanon and genuine democracy. Chief among these is the state itself, for although it is hollow in all the places where it should have content, its republican facade and sectarian shape are corrosive to concepts like accountability, good governance and active popular participation in the political process.

  

Lebanon has postponed its presidential election to March 11 from February 26 , the 15th such delay, after rival leaders failed to reach a deal to end the country's political conflict.

  

ARAB League chief Amr Mussa resumed talks with rival political leaders in Lebanon overnight in a bid to break a deadlock that has left the country without a president for three months.

  

Lebanon postponed its presidential election to March 11 from February 26 on Monday, the 15th such delay, after rival leaders failed to reach a deal to end the country's political conflict.

  

BEIRUT - Lebanon postponed its presidential election to March 11 from February 26 on Monday, the 15th such delay, after rival leaders failed to reach a deal to end the country's political conflict.

  

BEIRUT (AFP) - A parliamentary session to elect Lebanon's president due on Tuesday was postponed until March 11 due to continued deadlock between rival political leaders, the speaker's office said on Monday.

  

A parliamentary session to elect Lebanon's president was postponed from Tuesday to March 11 due to continued deadlock between rival political leaders, the speaker's office said on Monday.

  

Source: Reuters (Adds context, paragraph 2; Berri quote, paragraph 4) By Tom Perry BEIRUT, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Lebanon postponed its presidential election to March 11 from Feb. 26 on Monday, the 15th such delay, ...

  

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon postponed its presidential election to March 11 from February 26 on Monday, the 15th such delay, after rival leaders failed to reach a deal to end the country's political conflict.

  

Should the close and ongoing alliance between the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran be a cause for concern to the West?

  

Lebanon's Western-backed governing coalition and its Syrian- and Iranian-backed opposition have failed yet again to reach a deal to end the country's political conflict, an Arab mediator said on Monday.

  

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's Western-backed governing coalition and its Syrian- and Iranian-backed opposition have failed yet again to reach a deal to end the country's political conflict, an Arab mediator said on Monday.

  

Iran - Nuclear - Ramezan A Lebanese researcher says recent IAEA report on Iran and the NIE report proved that the US hues and cries are politically motivated and have nothing to do with international regulations and realities.

  

BEIRUT, Feb 25, 2008 (AFP) - Arab League chief Amr Mussa resumed talks with rival political leaders in Lebanon on Monday in a bid to break a deadlock that has left the country without a president for three months.

  

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (Feb. 25, 2008) -- Thick, black smoke eclipsed the sun after the bomb went off. When the smoke cleared, all that was left of the four-story building was a charred, mangled shell.

  

Lebanon: UN rebuilds homes of 18,000 air-raid victims (AKI) - The United Nations shelter agency announced it has completed the repair of thousands of buildings in Lebanon that provide homes to some 18,200 people and which were hit by Israeli air raids (photo) during its fierce war with guerrillas from militant Lebanese group Hizbollah in mid-2006. The renovated homes, renovated by ...

  

(RTTNews) - The head of the Arab League has arrived in Beirut to restart mediation efforts between Lebanese majority leader Saad Hariri, former President Amine Gemayel, who is aligned with the majority bloc, and Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun.

  

BEIRUT, Feb 24, 2008 (AFP) - Arab League chief Amr Mussa held talks with rival political leaders in Lebanon on Sunday in a bid to break a deadlock that has left the country without a president for three months.

  

Mariam Saidi, 59, shows a photograph of her and her missing son (L) at her apartment in the mainly Shiite Muslim southern Beirut suburbs on February 20, 2008. Mariam spends her days creating clay busts of her beloved son who vanished without a trace 26 years ago, aged only 16, in the midst of the savage civil war which tore through Lebanon.

  

A handout picture from the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (L) welcoming Jordan's King Abdullah II upon his arrival February 16, 2008. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held talks with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Sunday on ways to solve Lebanon's deep political crisis, state media reported.

  

BEIRUT (AFP) - Mariam Saidi spends her days creating clay busts of her beloved son who vanished without a trace 26 years ago, aged only 16, in the midst of the savage civil war which tore through Lebanon.

  

Arab countries want to fight Israel from Lebanon. Syrian border guards on Tuesday opened fire at a Lebanese child killing him, the state-run National News Agency reported.

  

In contrast to the preceding three weeks, activity on the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) witnessed an improvement driven by the relative calmness on the political scene, as the BLOM Stock Index remained above 1,470 points throughout the week. However, the adverse political development by end of the week.

  

American University of Beirut (AUB) provost Peter Heath has accepted an offer to lead the American University of Sharjah (AUS), starting in August 2008, after a decade as AUB's senior academic administrator, a position which allowed him to oversee a number of landmark developments at the university, an AUB statement said on Friday.

  

Lebanon's sectarian-based political system has caused it serious economic loss, to the tune of almost $24,000 in annual per-capita income, and prevented it from achieving a better democracy, according to a new economic study conducted at the American University of Beirut (AUB).

  

The Lebanese Forces (LF) accused Syria on Sunday of working to drag the LF "into unwanted confrontations." "The Syrian regime and its tools in Lebanon want to drag the LF into an unwanted confrontation ... but the LF is determined to resort to the Lebanese security forces and rejects all forms of strife," a statement issued by the LF said.

  

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak held talks with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Sunday on ways to solve Lebanon's deep political crisis, state media reported.

  

Beirut - Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa was on Sunday in Beirut for talks in a fresh bid to try to solve Lebanon's prolonged presidential crisis. Will pick up talks with the Lebanese sides where we left off, Mussa said on arrival, pointing...

  

BEIRUT, Feb 24 - Lebanon's economy grew more than 3 percent in 2007 despite facing challenges which included a political crisis and the higher costs of oil and the euro, the finance minister said on Sunday.

  

LEBANON - A proposed measure for the May 20 election will ask voters to clarify the requirements to serve on the Lebanon City Council. If the measure passes, it could affect an ongoing lawsuit between the city and three former candidates for council and mayor.

  

Saudi investments worth more than 18bn riyals ($4.8bn) have been withdrawn from Lebanon over the past few years, reported Gulf News. At the same time, the number of Lebanese being recruited to work in the kingdom has also come down, said Abdul Mohsen Al Hokair, head of the Saudi side at the Saudi-Lebanese Business Council.

  

Lebanon: Kuwait has warned its citizens not to travel to Lebanon due to the presidential standoff and rising wave of violence, reported Reuters. Earlier, the Kuwaiti embassy in Beirut was evacuated after an international news agency received an anonymous phone call saying two rockets had been fired at the building. There was no such attack. [AMEInfo.com]

  

Star of the show 'X-Factor,' Moroccan singer Raja Qasabni arrived in Beirut last month to sign a new contract with 'Rotana?. She has decided to reside in Lebanon to bolster her music career.

  

Iran - Nuclear - Hatit A Lebanese strategist says the IAEA Chief's Iran report in content curbs efforts of the US and western states to build up pressure on and threaten Iran.

  

BEIRUT - Hezbollah accused Israel yesterday of trying to start a new war with the militant Islamic group by assassinating a top commander.

  

BEIRUT: The United Nations' Telecommunications Infrastructure Index for 2008 ranked Lebanon in 76th place among 192 countries worldwide and 7th among 19 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region.

  

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has met with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in Berlin. Merkel voiced her support for an Arab League mediation initiative aimed at appointing a president and ending Lebanon's power vacuum.

  

Two people were killed and three wounded when a Syrian truck ran into a house in east of Beirut late Thursday, local Naharnet news website reported on Friday. A police report was quoted as saying that the truck with a Syrian license ...

  

Corvallis led by just three points with a minute remaining before clinching it at the free-throw line to defeat Lebanon 55-49 in a Mid-Willamette Conference girls basketball season finale that ended the Warriors' playoff hopes.

  

Lebanese army platoons that surrounded a Beirut building where gunfire and explosions were heard discovered the sounds were made by a U.S. film crew.Director Christian Johnston said the soldiers told cast members of the film, which is based on the true story of three private contractors sent to rescue a hostage in the Lebanese capital, that they had mistaken them for Fatah al Islam militants, ...

  

The United Nations' Telecommunications Infrastructure Index for 2008 ranked Lebanon in 76th place among 192 countries worldwide and 7th among 19 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. Lebanon ranked 62nd globally and in 7th place regionally in the previous survey, which was conducted in 2005.

  

In this South Lebanese village which suffered heavy destruction during the summer war of 2006, Hassan busies himself digging a shelter in the mountainside. In another village nearby, Iman is desperate for a visa to any country that will grant her one. They are among many residents across South Lebanon.

  

Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah urged the Lebanese on Friday not to give in to foreign forces and keep united for the welfare of their country. "The Lebanese should not surrender to foreign powers working on sowing the seeds of violence, hatred, and sectarianism among the Lebanese," Fadlallah said.

  

Saudi-Syrian ties are in crisis over Lebanon's political deadlock, a Saudi official has disclosed, putting at risk next month's Arab summit in Damascus. This admission follows an announcement from Riyadh Monday warning its citizens to avoid travel to Lebanon and for Saudis there to be on the alert.

  

Beirut - Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement overall leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah accused Israel Friday of preparing for a new war against Lebanon, similar to the July 2006 conflict. Israel's killing of Hezbollah leader Imad Muganiyeh is a prelude ...

  

Beirut - Arab League chief Amr Mussa on Friday postponed a his trip to Beirut after efforts by his assistant failed to reach a settlement to end the ongoing Lebanon presidential crisis. Mussa had been expected to discuss new proposals to implement a ...

  

URD to bring Lebanon's Roadster Diner to UAE

  

Lebanon's former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, was killed by a huge explosion near downtown Beirut in February 2005. Since then, the country has seen - in addition to the Israeli bombardments of summer 2006 - more than a dozen other mysterious assassinations. Nearly all those killed were, like Mr. Hariri, outspoken critics of the strong role that Syria plays inside Lebanon.

  

Amman - The Jordanian government on Friday rejected as totally baseless reports by certain newspapers and websites that Jordan supplied one of the Lebanese factions with arms and supervised their training. The reports published by some newspapers ...

  

DUBAI -United Restaurant Development (URD), a leading food and beverage company in the United Arab Emirates, announced yesterday that it has won the rights to bring Lebanon's Roadster Diner to the Emirates.

  

Staff at Kuwaiti embassy in Beirut were evacuated Thursday after anonymous caller threatened to target the embassy with two mortar shells, local Elnashra website reported. Anonymous caller contacted the embassy and threatened to hit ...

  

Kuwait advised its citizens on Thursday not to visit Lebanon after the Gulf emirate's embassy in Beirut received a threat of a rocket attack. The embassy was evacuated after an international news agency received an anonymous phone call saying two rockets had been fired at the embassy.

  

Ronald Reagan was known for neither comfort with foreign languages nor understanding of Lebanon, but he was unusually fond of a Russian proverb whose adoption as a universal motto here might spare a lot of trouble. "Doveriai, no proveriai," the then-US president repeated ad nauseam when he was selling.

  

The Kuwaiti embassy in Beirut was evacuated on Thursday after an anonymous threat of a rocket attack, the latest scare in Lebanon as foreign governments act on security amid mounting political and sectarian tensions.

  

Source: Reuters By Yara Bayoumy BEIRUT, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Lebanon has moved to regularise the status of Iraqi refugees residing illegally in the country, a decision the top U.N. refugee agency says will ...

  

A Lebanese man loads bullets in an AK-47 magazine. Lebanon's political crisis has damaged relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia, putting at risk next month's Arab summit in Damascus, Arab officials in Riyadh have warned.

  

The Kuwaiti embassy in Beirut was evacuated after an anonymous bomb threat on Thursday, the latest scare in Lebanon as foreign governments take action on security amid mounting political and sectarian tensions.

  

Kuwait advises nationals to delay travel to Lebanon because of a security threat at its Beirut embassy.

  

Source: IRIN The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) welcomed Lebanon's steps this week to issue work and residency papers to the estimated 50,000 Iraqi would-be refugees in the country, hitherto considered illegal and subject to imprisonment and deportation.

  

The Kuwaiti Embassy in Lebanon was evacuated Thursday after receiving an anonymous phone call threatening the mission, embassy and police officials said.

  

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwait advised its citizens on Thursday against travelling to Lebanon, citing political problems in the country locked in a constitutional crisis.

  

BEIRUT, Feb 21, 2008 (AFP) - The Kuwaiti embassy in Beirut was evacuated on Thursday after an anonymous bomb threat, adding to tensions in Lebanon, Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh said.

  

Beirut - Staff at the Kuwaiti embassy in Beirut were evacuated Thursday from the complex after an anonymous threat was made, a Lebanese security official said. The embassy received a threat call ... this prompted the evacuation of all employees to s...

  

As street clashes between rival political factions in Beirut fuel fears of a new civil war, many Lebanese have started to arm themselves as they prepare for the worst, arms dealers say.

  

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Saudi Arabia is warning its citizens against traveling to Lebanon, the U.S. Embassy is urging Americans to be vigilant, and French cultural centers in two major Lebanese cities have temporarily closed.

  

Pop reigned supreme at the Brit Awards on Wednesday as comeback kings Take That, Australian star Kylie Minogue and Beirut-born Mika scooped a clutch of top prizes at the British music industry's big night of the year.

  

When Orlando Early finished his playing career at Gardner-Webb in 1990, the Lebanon product was done with basketball for good. "I wanted to get an accounting degree, which I did, and wanted to work in the business sector," Early said. "I didn't even consider a career in coaching at the time."

  

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora clearly rejected Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's proposal of equally dividing shares between ruling coalition, opposition, and the president in the future government, local Al Akhbar daily reported on ...

  

H E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, who is also the Chairman of the Qatari- Lebanese Committee. met with Lebanon's Education Minister Dr Khalid Qabbani yesterday.

  

Pop reigned supreme at the Brit Awards on Wednesday as comeback kings Take That, Australian star Kylie Minogue and Beirut-born Mika scooped a clutch of top prizes at the British music industry's big night of the year.

  

The ongoing regional standoff between the United States and Iran is largely dictating the course of the likewise seemingly intractable political impasse bedeviling Lebanon for more than a year, through each country's surrogates here, a number of analysts told The Daily Star on Wednesday.

  

The Lebanese Farmers Association warned on Wednesday that it will stage demonstrations if the Ministry of Economy and Trade does not withdraw a decision to permanently cancel the so-called agricultural calendar. The organization said in a statement that Economy and Trade Minister Sami Haddad's action would harm the livelihoods of all Lebanese farmers.

  

Lebanese soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint in Beirut, Lebanon Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008. A recent upsurge in street violence amid a seemingly intractable political crisis has heightened a sense of security vulnerability in Lebanon. Saudi Arabia is warning its citizens against traveling to Lebanon.

  

NICOSIA - Syrian special operations forces conducted an attack in the Lebanese town of Qaa in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanese security sources said. The Syrian raid came amid heightened unrest in Lebanon in wake of the assassination of Hizbullah operational chief Imad Mughniyeh on Feb. 12.

  

Foreign affairs analysts say that despite the escalation of conflicts between rival factions in Lebanon, the country isn't on the brink of another civil war.

  

Ozarks Technical Community College will host community forums in Branson and Lebanon later this month, the college announced Wednesday. College President Dr. Hal Higdon and other administrators will be present to engage discussion and field questions from citizens. All residents of Branson, Lebanon, and surrounding communities are invited to attend. The Branson event will be held at the ...

  

Lebanon has agreed to ease the plight of Iraqi refugees in the country, the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, announced on Wednesday in Beirut.

  

BEIRUT (AP)--The U.N. refugee agency welcomed Wednesday a decision by Lebanese authorities to regularize the status of hundreds of Iraqi refugees considered illegal in the country.

  

Berlin - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to hold talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora in Berlin on Friday, a government spokesman said Wednesday. The lunchtime meeting at the chancellor's office will concentrate on the situation in Leb...

  

Syrian security forces have shot dead a Lebanese teenager near the border with Lebanon amid continuing political tensions, Lebanese police said in a statement.

  

Auby to make Lebanon debut

  

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Saudi Arabia's religious police are under attack again over what critics consider heavy-handed enforcement of the country's gender segregation policies and other strict social rules.

  

The honor roll for the second marking period has been announced at Lebanon Middle School. SUPERIOR Grade 8 -- Mycaeri Atkinson, Aaron Cabinaw, Joseph Herb and Savannah Irwin.

  

Human Rights Watch said Sunday that Israel breached international law when it bombed southern Lebanon with cluster weapons in 2006.

  

RIYADH - Saudi diplomats in Lebanon are increasingly concerned about their safety because of the worsening security situation in the country, Saudi and Lebanese officials said yesterday.

  

Next month's Arab summit in Syria will be undermined if a solution to Lebanon's political crisis cannot be found by then, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora warned on Tuesday. The election of a new Lebanese president has been delayed since November and Siniora told Reuters efforts were being made to fill the post and prevent a power vacuum.

  

Source: Reuters By Samia Nakhoul LONDON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Next month's Arab summit in Syria would be undermined if a solution to Lebanon's political crisis cannot be found by then, Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad ...

  

BRUSSELS, Feb 19 (Reuters) The European Union called Lebanon's institutional crisis unacceptable and said today it should elect a president as soon as possible.

  

Ali kneads pizza dough under the watchful eye of Corporal Domenico Magliocca, a UN peacekeeper and head chef teaching handicapped Lebanese the art of preparing the Italian speciality.

  

Lebanon's chief prosecutor is seeking the death penalty for the fugitive Palestinian chief of an Islamist group over a twin bus bombing a year ago that killed three people, his office said on Tuesday.

  

Source: Reuters BRUSSELS, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The European Union called Lebanon's institutional crisis unacceptable and said on Tuesday it should elect a president as soon as possible. The Slovenian EU Presidency ...

  

Aperto Networks, builder of the world's most advanced WiMAX base stations and subscriber units, today announced that it has been selected by PESCO Telecom for a major WiMAX deployment in Lebanon. (PRWeb Feb 19, 2008) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Aperto_PacketMAX/PESCO_Telecom/prweb645341.htm

  

Lebanese prosecutors file charges against the leader of Fatah al-Islam over a bus bombing in 2007.

  

Beirut - France has shut two of its cultural centres in Lebanon, due to the fragile security situation in the country, the French embassy said in a statement Tuesday. The French cultural centres, in the southern city of Sidon and in Tripoli north of...

  

LEBANON - In the end all, be all of grind-it-out games, a thread-the-needle look won it.

  

Rafik Hariri's assassination three years ago triggered an uprising in Lebanon. Following the death of the former prime minister, young Lebanese poured onto the streets in a movement that not only pushed out Syrian troops, but also gave rise to a new optimism for political change known as Beirut Spring.

  

BEIRUT, Feb 18, 2008 (AFP) - France has closed two of its cultural centres in Lebanon "for security reasons", the French embassy in Beirut said Monday.

  

BEIRUT: Internal Security Forces (ISF) chief Brigadier General Ashraf Rifi told The Daily Star on Monday that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) will deploy heavily in "security pits," a reference to areas where violent clashes have erupted between government and opposition supporters over last week.

  

Berlin - Israeli director Joseph Cedar finished shooting his war drama on his nation's 2000 withdrawal from southern Lebanon in the middle of 2006 - only a matter of weeks before a new conflict broke out between the two countries. We were convinced ...

  

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia, a key backer of Sunni Muslims in Lebanon, advised its citizens yesterday not to travel there because of a deteriorating political and security situation.

  

A new winter storm started to batter Lebanon on Monday noon, spreading heavy rainfalls, snow, speedy winds and thunderstorms across the country, with weather forecasters expecting the tempest to recede as of Thursday. Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Department at the Rafik Hariri International Airport said.

  

A 41-year-old Lebanese, Hussein Ali al-Didda, was shot and wounded when Syrian forces raided his home in the border town of Qaa in east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, security reports said Monday. The An-Nahar daily reported that the forces were made up of Syrian intelligence servicemen and Syrian border guards known as "Al-Hajjana."

  

BEIRUT, Feb 18, 2008 (AFP) - France has closed two of its cultural centres in Lebanon "for security reasons", the French embassy in Beirut said Monday.

  

Saudi Arabia tells citizens not to visit Lebanon as it passes through a worst security and political crisis.

  

The foreign ministry in Riyadh warns citizens to stay clear of Lebanon in view of the 'unstable political and security circumstances there right now.?

  

The ground is peppered with pellets of goat dung and the stench of manure fills the air as an Indian vet with a UN peacekeeping force tends to sick animals in south Lebanon.

  

LEBANON-The body of a 50-year-old Lebanon man was found at 10 a.m. Sunday on the southwest corner of Lincoln Avenue and Schneider Drive, city police said.

  

Vatican: Pope urges reconciliation in Lebanon (AKI) - Pope Benedict XVI has called for dialogue and reconciliation between Lebanon's various religious and political forces. He made the appeal on Sunday after his Angelus address in St. Peter's Square in the Italian capital, Rome."I am following the persistent manifestations of tension in Lebanon with concern", the Pope said. He ...

  

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia on Monday advised its citizens not to travel to Lebanon because of political and security problems.

  

Source: Reuters RIYADH, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia on Monday advised its citizens not to travel to Lebanon because of political and security problems. "The foreign ministry advised Saudi citizens not to ...

  

Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Monday predicted that Israel would be destroyed by the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah in the "near future", the Fars news agency reported.

  

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Monday Israel would soon be destroyed by the "hands of Hezbollah", the Lebanese group that is backed by the Islamic Republic, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

  

DEBKA file 's military and intelligence sources report fears in Washington and Jerusalem that Bashar Assad's strategists are working up a frame for anti-Syrian Lebanese forces, especially Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, for engineering the death of Hizballah commander Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus on Feb. 13. Therefore, while plotting revenge on Israel, Syria may well launch a series of military ...

  

A Palestinian man was shot dead during clashes between anti-Syrian Lebanese government supporters and Palestinians close to Hizbullah in Beirut on Sunday, security sources said.

  

BEIRUT: Twenty people were injured in street clashes between rival political factions in Beirut on Saturday, which saw shops and cars set ablaze as rioters fought each other with stones and clubs.

  

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora addresses a press conference in Beirut on February 12, 2008. Siniora was assured on Sunday of Kuwaiti support for an end to Beirut's political crisis, after the emirate said this was a prerequisite for a successful Arab summit.

  

A Palestinian man has been shot dead during clashes between anti-Syrian Lebanese Government supporters and Palestinians close to Hezbollah in Beirut, security sources said.

  

A Palestinian man was shot dead during clashes between anti-Syrian Lebanese government supporters and Palestinians close to Hezbollah in Beirut on Sunday, security sources said.

  

The Lebanese Army urged all parties on Sunday to exercise self control after clashes erupted in different areas of Beirut over the weekend between government and opposition supporters, wounding at least 14 Lebanese. Most of those injured are affiliated with the Future Movement headed by parliamentary majority.

  

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir urged politicians Sunday to find "common ground" for agreement in order for Lebanon to avoid plunging into more chaos and violence. "On February 14 we saw two distinct scenes which reflect the widening gap among the Lebanese," Sfeir said during the weekly Sunday mass at the Notre Dame Church in Bkirki.

  

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora was assured on Sunday of Kuwaiti support for an end to Beirut's political crisis, after the emirate said this was a prerequisite for a successful Arab summit.

  

An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale originated in southern Lebanon shortly after midday Friday as tens of thousands of Lebanese were marching through the streets of Lebanon calling for Israel's destruction.

  

A leading human rights group called Sunday for a U.N. investigation into Israel's use of cluster bombs during its 2006 campaign against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

  

Berlin - Two Vietnamese women and a Lebanese taxi driver were injured in racially motivated attacks in Berlin over the weekend, police said Sunday. In one incident, unknown assailants hurled racial abuse at a 36-year-old woman and punched her in the ...

  

Source: Reuters By Andrew Hammond RIYADH, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah is unlikely to attend the Arab League's annual summit in Syria next month unless a political deadlock in Lebanon is ...

  

Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI called Sunday on Lebanon to find a president for all Lebanese in order to end tension and contribute to reconciliation in the country. Speaking after Angelus prayers in front of thousands of followers at St Peter's ...

  

Shops and cars were reportedly set ablaze as rival political factions clashed in Beirut.

  

BEIRUT - Twenty people were injured in street clashes between rival political factions in Beirut on Saturday, which saw shops and cars set ablaze as rioters fought each other with stones and clubs.

  

Lebanon's central bank governor said inflation this year should not exceed the five per cent of last year and forecast stable interest rates which may fall if the country's political crisis eases, reported Gulf Daily News. Riad Salameh said he did not expect a repeat of steep inflation that was driven by a climb in the prices of oil, commodities and the euro in the last quarter of last year.

  

Israel breached international law when it bombed southern Lebanon with cluster weapons during its campaign against Hezbollah in 2006, Human Rights Watch said Sunday.

  

Lebanese troops deployed in several mixed Sunni-Shi'ite areas of Beirut late Saturday and ended sectarian riots that left at least 14 people wounded and several cars and shops smashed.

  

BEIRUT: Lebanon has no interest in open war with Israel, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said in a broadcast interview reacting to comments by the head of the country's Shia Hezbollah movement.

  

Lebanese singer Haifa Wahbi recently held a very successful performance in Egypt in celebration of Valentine's Day alongside prominent Lebanese singer Ragheb Alama.

  

The Lebanese army intervenes to break up clashes between rival political factions in Beirut.

  

Lebanese army soldiers have intervened to restore order after clashes broke out between pro-government and opposition supporters in a Muslim neighbourhood of Beirut. Security forces said at least 14 people were injured in the fighting between groups armed with sticks, stones, and knives.

  

Conspiracy theories are valuable as road maps to a deadly game.

  

LEBANON, Ohio - Interstate 71 northbound and southbound will be closed for another three to five hours after a tanker truck spilled gasoline on the highway, a State Highway Patrol dispatcher in the Lebanon post said late this afternoon.

  

Three people have been injured when clashes erupted in the Lebanese capital late beirut between supporters of rival political factions, a security official said.

  

Source: Reuters BEIRUT, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Lebanese soldiers deployed in several mixed Sunni-Shi'ite streets of Beirut on Saturday and ended sectarian riots that left at least 14 people injured and several cars and ...

  

Three people were injured when a new bout of street clashes erupted between armed supporters of rival political factions in the Lebanese capital late on Saturday, a security official said.

  

Beirut - Three people were wounded in Lebanon late Saturday when followers of the Shiite Amal movement clashed with their rivals, the Muslim Sunni followers of Saad Hariri, the leader of the anti- Syrian majority. The clash erupted after a fist fight...

  

The Lebanese newspaper Assafir reported Saturday that the Hizbullah has put 50,000 of its fighters in a state of high alert and evacuated all buildings in the area designated for social or political purposes in recent days.

  

Siniora says Lebanon has no interest in open war with Israel after Mughnieh assassination.

  

Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Saniora said his country has no interest in an "open war" on Israel worldwide, saying this would harm Hizbullah as well as Islamic and Arab causes.

  

"Caramel" is a lovely, open-ended Lebanese comedy-drama that charts the romantic misadventures of five women in and around a run-down Beirut hair salon -- an adulteress (co-writer/director Nadine Labaki), a barely closeted lesbian, an aging actress, a spinster seamstress and a free spirit marrying into a conservative Muslim family.

  

Lebanon's Cody Compton is a product of homegrown basketball. The 6-foot-3 junior started playing the game at age two and has refined his touch on a goal in his backyard.

  

Lebanese mobile operator Alfa is to enhance its services for the Beirut area with an overhaul of its network infrastructure. Alfa will replace its existing base stations with new technology, to improve coverage and capacity for the city.