Israel's prime minister said Saturday he's not ready to order a large-scale military operation in Gaza, despite the military's warnings of a Hamas arms buildup in the coastal territory.

The Palestinian faction is building tunnels and bunkers and smuggling in missiles and explosives, officials said.

BEIRUT, Lebanon ? The U.N. chief said Saturday that arms are reportedly still being smuggled over the border from Syria to Lebanon, and he urged all sides to fully comply with a United Nations resolution that ended the summer war between Hezbollah militants and Israel.

BEIRUT (AP)--The U.N. secretary-general warned Saturday that arms smuggling from Syria could threaten the cease-fire in Lebanon and urged full compliance with a U.N. resolution that ended the summer war between Hezbollah and Israel.

Terry Waite has offered to help secure the freedom of 15 British military personnel being held captive by Iran. The former Beirut hostage told Sky News he was willing to travel to Tehran and help with negotiations.

The popularity of the Moroccan-born singer who represented Iraq on the fourth season of the Lebanese talent show "Star Academy" transcended sectarian divides in her father's native land. On Friday, Shada Hassoun won the contest.

BEIRUT (AP)--The U.N. chief on Saturday visited with peacekeepers in southern Lebanon near the Israeli border to thank the men and women from 30 countries who are monitoring a cease-fire after a devastating war last summer between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon vowed on Saturday to work toward a permanent ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, as he toured a border area devastated by last summer's war.

BAGHDAD, March 30 -- By early Friday night, families here were hunkered around their televisions, nervously awaiting the election results that would come hours later. In the northern Iraqi town of Irbil, thousands packed into a shopping mall courtyard and stood before a massive screen, shouting for the victory of their candidate: "Shada! Shada!"...

LEBANON - Palmyra won a 10-inning nonleague softball contest at Lebanon Catholic 8-7 for its second straight victory. Kim Yockey tripled in the top of the 10th inning and scored the winning run on a two-out passed ball for the Cougars (2-1).

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Lebanon?s capacity to stop arms smuggling into the country had to be strengthened.

March 30 (Bloomberg) -- A White House spokeswoman denounced a plan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to visit officials in Syria as part of a trip to the Middle East.

Husbands can make their wives happy by trying their hand at housework, a study of Beirut married couples says. The findings in the American Journal of ...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to visit Syria soon, amid deep tensions between Damascus and Washington over unrest in Lebanon and the war in Iraq, a US congressional aide said Friday.

On a Mideast tour, Ban Ki Moon said that he had heard from Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, that Hezbollah was re-equipping itself with arms brought across the Syrian border.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I'm very pleased to see all of you. In fact, I'm very impressed by the big turnout of press here. I know that that reflects the interest and attention on my visit to Lebanon.

Being different is a key trait if you want to make yourself stand out in the musical arena.

Ban urged the leaders on both sides of Lebanon's political crisis to engage in dialogue, Alalam-TV reported.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Friday called for "national reconciliation" in Lebanon. Ban urged the leaders on both sides of Lebanon's political crisis to engage in dialogue, Alalam-TV reported.

France will not ban skinny models from Paris catwalks but will introduce a voluntary charter to make the fashion industry more aware of the health risks of being very thin, the Health Ministry said on Friday.

Morning Edition , March 30, 2007 Through war and intense sectarian violence, one person has united many Iraqis. Shada Hassoon is a 25-year-old singer, one of four finalists on Star Academy , a Lebanese TV program.

On the fourth floor of Elie Saab's polished ivory-colored fashion house in central Beirut a big screen television plays his latest Paris fashion shows.

A meeting of Arab and Muslim leaders here that ended Thursday provided a venue for Saudi Arabia to put some distance between itself and the US, hand-wringing about the possible spread of Iraq's civil war, and negotiations to resolve the growing crisis between Iran and Britain.

The leaders of 21 Arab governments called on Israel to withdraw from the land it occupied in the 1967 war in exchange for full diplomatic relations with them.

March 30 (Bloomberg) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, pounded by record low polls and corruption probes that threaten to bring down his government, said the country's best economy ever and security gains from the Lebanon war will ensure his re- election.

The leaders of 21 Arab governments called on Israel to withdraw from the land it occupied in the 1967 war in exchange for full diplomatic relations with them.

Arab leaders on Thursday endorsed a 5-year-old peace plan to end conflict with Israel, and the Israeli prime minister said he saw a "revolutionary change" in the Arab world.

Dave Roberts LEBANON The Waynesville High School golf team placed third in a triangular meet Tuesday at the Lebanon Country Club.

jerusalem | After months of prevarication, Israel has formally recognized last year?s offensive against Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas as a war and given it a name.

King Abdullah's harsh ? and unexpected ? attack on the U.S. military presence in Iraq could be a Saudi attempt to signal to Washington its anger over the situation in Iraq and build credibility among fellow Arabs.

On a tour of Major Middle East ports, the Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior docked near the city of Tel Aviv on Thursday with a call for Israel to suspend its undeclared military nuclear programme.

The United States welcomed the endorsement by Arab leaders on Thursday of a 5-year-old peace initiative to end the Arab-Israeli conflict.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is due in Beirut on Thursday after calling for dialogue to end Lebanon's most serious crisis since the end of the civil war in 1990.

A Jewish Defense League leader, Earl Krugel, has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a plot to bomb a mosque and the office of a U.S. congressman of Lebanese descent.

Arab leaders were set on Thursday to give their final stamp of approval to a revived five-year-old blueprint for peace in the Middle East although Israel has rejected the plan as it stands.

Lebanon Valley Speedway promoter Howie Commander has brought some big events as the high-banked track prepares for its 55th season.

Ryan C. Crocker, the new United States ambassador to Iraq, is one of the State Department?s most experienced Middle East hands.

Arab heads of state Wednesday unanimously decided to revive a peace initiative with Israel and came a long way since the Khartoum summit, shortly after the ...

Some stills from the just-completed, previously mentioned video for Beirut 's "Elephant Gun" have crept onto the interweb, and boy do they look...kinky.

A Senate panel on Wednesday approved Washington's outgoing ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, to be the new US envoy to the United Nations.

Palestinian groups protested in front of the Arab League headquarters in Beirut Wednesday demanding the Arab summit stick to their right to return.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Wednesday he opposed making public testimony given to a high-level inquiry into last year's Lebanon war against Hezbollah.

The Lebanon Community Foundation has announced the donation of 1.25 acres of property to the Lebanon Fire District for a new substation in the Cheadle Lake Park area.

Arab leaders kicked off a two-day summit in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday aiming to revive a dormant plan for peace with Israel and launch a diplomatic offensive to resolve the Middle East conflict.

Arab leaders kick off a two-day summit in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday aiming to revive a dormant plan for peace with Israel and launch a diplomatic offensive to resolve the Middle East conflict.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, March 27 -- Arab heads of state began gathering Tuesday to relaunch a five-year-old peace initiative that was initially rejected by Israel, ignored by the United States and left dormant by Arab leaders after it was introduced in 2002.

It was the early '80s. Reagan was screwing around in Beirut, Mick Fleetwood was filing for bankruptcy, "Fraggle Rock" was instilling a love for radishes in children everywhere and a scrawny young songwriter named Lach was getting kicked out of folk clubs all over Greenwich Village.

A deadly crash shut down part of Lebanon Pike Tuesday night. | | The crash happened just before 8:00pm at Lebanon Pike and Highland View Drive. | | Three cars were involved in the crash. | | Two cars going through yellow light at Highland View Drive caused the crash. | | A teenager was killed in the car that was broadsided. | | Another teenager in the same vehicle was taken to...

Today is Wednesday, March 28, the 87th day of 2007. There are 278 days left in the year.

Arab League summit meetings have often collapsed in exposition of Arab division, but this year the Saudis are leaving nothing to chance when leaders meet in Riyadh.

Amy Katz, 14, of Mount Lebanon, is fighting a chronic form of leukemia for which the only known cure is a bone marrow transplant.

The U.N. Security Council approved a 12-month extension on Tuesday for an investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri and other political killings.

The Palestinian Hamas movement is participating in an Arab summit for the first time this week.

Golden-throated British pop sensation Mika makes like Elton John?and does a damn good job of it.

Arab leaders gathered in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for a summit which will formally relaunch a long dormant Arab plan for Middle East peace and actively seek negotiations with Israel.

Lebanon has sent two separate delegations to Wednesday's Arab summit in Riyadh, underscoring the deep divisions still plaguing the country since the civil war ended 17 years ago.

TRYON, NC -- If, in July 2000 - the month Chawki Boulos and a team of Americans and Lebanese Christians held their first open air ?Celebration? in Beirut - you had asked him if he would be able to arrange open air Celebrations in the near future in Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Bahrain, he might have laughed and said, ?With God all things are possible.?

Taylor Juran broke open a close game with a bases-loaded double in the sixth inning to lead Shaler (1-0) past visiting Mt. Lebanon (0-1), 10-6, in a non-section baseball game.

Although they won't all be this easy, Lebanon Catholic rookie baseball skipper Ryan O'Donnell will take all the wins he can get as he tries to right the Beavers' ship.

An Indian and a Lebanese man kidnapped in Nigeria's oil rich south last week have been released, a diplomatic source said on Sunday. Gunmen had seized the construction workers, who have not been named, from a building site at Agbarho in Delta State on Friday, police said earlier.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice shuttled between Israeli and Palestinian leaders for a second day Monday as Arab states revived a five-year-old peace plan to positive noises from Israel.

Today is Monday, March 26, the 85th day of 2007. There are 280 days left in the year. On March 26, 1979, a peace treaty was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat at the White House.

Today is Monday, March 26, the 85th day of 2007. There are 280 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On March 26, 1979, a peace treaty was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat at the White House.

Arab foreign ministers met in Riyadh Monday ahead of a summit which is expected to revive an Arab offer of peace with Israel.

Gunmen released an Indian and a Lebanese kidnapped two days ago in Nigeria's volatile, oil-rich southern region, police officials said Sunday.

Standing at the corner of Harris Street and Peachtree Center Avenue, Atlanta native Bobby Glustrom looks up at the imposing 11-story concrete wall of one of Atlanta's downtown parking decks. "Can you have an uglier structure in the world than this?" asks Glustrom, who refers to the building as something one might see in Beirut. "Look at it. It's so offensive." For Glustrom, the parking deck is ...

The eastern side of the Sea of Galilee with the Golan Heights in the background, as seen in a file photo. With Lebanon moving forward with plans to divert a major source of Israel?s water supply, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned that the project could lead to war.

Today is Monday, March 26, the 85th day of 2007. There are 280 days left in the year.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in separate talks Sunday as she continued a quest for what she termed a "common agenda" to move forward on a two-state solution of the Middle East conflict.

Colonel David Sutherland, who heads US forces in an Iraqi province rife with sectarian violence, on Sunday accused Sunni extremists of playing into Iran's hands by boycotting Iraqi forces.

An Indian and a Lebanese man kidnapped in volatile southern Nigeria last week amid disputes over oil revenues have been released, a diplomatic source said.

The much-awaited staging of the controversial play the Vagina Monologues brought some surprises to the stage this year. For one, the last part of the second act was headlined by Sr. Stella Mangona, donned in her usual nun outfit and a red plumeria in her left ear.

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Lebanon town officials have received the final audit of former town Clerk Ashli Scott from the state comptroller's office that confirms $6,815 in missing town funds.

Shortly after the completion of Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, an Israeli soldier faces a group of Lebanese through the fence that now separates the two nations.

Mika was born in Beirut, schooled in Paris and raised in London. All that moving around must have done the 23-year-old singer some good, considering that his heavily orchestrated debut CD, "Life in Cartoon Motion," is floating on top of the British album...

ASWAN, Egypt -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Egypt yesterday to discuss with Arab nations a long-dormant blueprint that she hopes could revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

JERUSALEM Israel's defense minister has told the head of the United Nations that the U-N-brokered cease-fire in southern Lebanon is being endangered by Hezbollah...

1. Ralph Nader was born at home during a blizzard on Feb. 27, 1934, in Winsted, Conn., to Lebanese Christian immigrants (Nadra and Rose, owners of a bakery/restaurant). The youngest of four children (two boys and two girls), he grew up speaking Arabic as well as English. Later he learned Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Israel's defense minister told the head of the United Nations on Saturday that the U.N.-brokered cease-fire in southern Lebanon is endangered by Hezbollah militants, who continue to hold two captured Israeli soldiers and receive arms shipments from Syria.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Middle East allies Saturday to reinvigorate a long-dormant Arab plan for peace with Israel that she hopes may hold the key to keeping alive fractured Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Major powers expect unanimous approval Saturday of new U.N. Security Council sanctions to pressure Iran into suspending uranium enrichment.

Lebanon: The Association of the Lebanese Software Industry (ALSI) and the Euro Lebanese Centre for Industrial Modernization (ELCIM) carried out a three-day workshop on 'Quality and Management Standards for the Software Industry' at the Industrial Research Institute of the Lebanese University Campus in Hadath. [AMEInfo.com]

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora accuses his political opposition of "breaching the Constitution" to create a political crisis.

Blake West has been named the new executive director of MCC Theater, the New York City troupe devoted to new works.

March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits Egypt tomorrow, taking small steps in trying to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and not the giant step of talking to Hamas, the major party of the Palestinian government.

A group planning a so-called "Corridor One" rail line between Harrisburg and Lancaster is launching a study of a second potential line, between the state capital and Lebanon.

Arizona's congressional delegation split evenly and along party lines over a controversial Democratic measure that funds the Iraq war but calls for a U.S. troop pullout by next August and includes some extraneous spending.

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A group planning a so-called "Corridor One" rail line between Harrisburg and Lancaster is launching a study of a second potential line, between the state capital and Lebanon.

Oil prices rose above $62 a barrel Friday after Britain said Iranian naval vessels seized 15 British sailors and marines in Iraqi waters and gunmen kidnapped three foreigners in southern Nigeria.

Blake West has been named the new executive director of MCC Theater, the New York City troupe devoted to new works.

March 23 (Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice comes to Egypt tomorrow, taking small steps in trying to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and not the giant step of talking to Hamas, the major party of the Palestinian government.

JERUSALEM ? Vice Premier Shimon Peres told a panel investigating the handling of last year's war in Lebanon that Israel's decision to invade was a mistake and the military was unprepared, according to testimony made public Thursday.

With thousands of people looking on, 9-year-old Carolyn Kennedy performed a heady task, cracking a bottle of champagne to christen an aircraft carrier named after her father, President John F. Kennedy, on May 27, 1967.

Egyptian authorities have evicted hundreds of peasants in southern Egypt because their mud brick houses were leaking sewage onto priceless antiquities.

NICOSIA ? The Lebanese Army has laid siege to a Palestinian refugee camp where up to 200 Al Qaida operatives were located. The Al Qaida agents were said to belong to the group, Fatah Al Islam.

LEBANON ? The Albany Parks & Recreation Department, the cty of Lebanon, Cascade Performing Arts and the Boys & Girls Club of Lebanon will offer fitness classes beginning April 2. All last for a month, except the Tai Chi class, which is five weeks.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora on Thursday said the political country's crisis was very dangerous, and accused the opposition of threatening democracy in Lebanon.

Israeli deputy prime minister Shimon Peres told the commission investigating last summer's war in Lebanon that he opposed starting the conflict, according to witness statements made public on Thursday.

Two Lebanon residents have been recognized by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission for saving a man from drowning in Canada's Northwest Territories on July 29, 2005. David Kays, 43, a circuit court judge, and Jason Riggs, 33, a state trooper, were fishing on Great Slave Lake with guide Jonathan Knickle, 23, when they decided to stop in a remote area. After they had gone ashore, their boat started to ...

A dormant five-year-old Arab initiative for peace with Israel is a serious offer and will be the cornerstone of discussions at next week's Arab summit, Jordan's foreign minister said on Thursday.

Police defused a small bomb at the American University of Beirut on Thursday in what appeared to be the latest of a series of attempts to cause explosions in Lebanon, security officials said.

LEBANON ? The town has become the first municipality in Connecticut to officially recognize and designate local important farmland soils.

The chief investigator probing the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri on Wednesday backed the creation of an international tribunal to prosecute the alleged perpetrators.

Lee Day had grown accustomed to winning. The long time Lebanon baseball coach ? now entering his 26th season ? had seen his Warriors post winning records in seven straight seasons prior to last year's 8-19 finish.

A United Nations-appointed investigator is reporting significant progress in his probe into the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission had made significant progress in several areas of its investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others on 14 February 2005, Commissioner Serge Brammertz told the Security Council this morning.

The murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri was tied to his political activities and a special tribunal should be set up to try his killers, the head of a U.N. inquiry said on Wednesday.

A top aide to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr was released from jail Wednesday, a source in Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office said.

Mamdouh Habib, who says he was subjected to torture in captivity, is campaigning for a seat in New South Wales Parliament.

Belgium's foreign minister accused Syria on Wednesday of not wanting to help solve Lebanon's political crisis, by opposing an international court to try suspects in the killing of former premier Rafiq Hariri.

Iraqi insurgents used two children as cover to get through a checkpoint in Baghdad and then blew up the car while the kids were still inside, a U.S. general said Tuesday.

Each dish planned for the 12th annual Share Our Strength?s Taste of the Nation...

Graffiti now marks a burned out warehouse that just a few months ago signaled an economic rebirth along Kalamazoo Street.

Demonstrators and the media have been reminding us of the fourth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. This may be the beginning of the fifth year of this war, but it is only one skirmish in a conflict with a lengthier past and a long future. Pundits, politicians and protesters who want to isolate Iraq from the rest of the world war, of which it is just one part, suffer from tunnel vision.

Lebanon: British Airways is increasing the number of direct services from Amman. [AMEInfo.com]

Australia's Islamic clerics should volunteer as surf lifesavers and firemen to improve their image in a country which has "had enough of us," an influential Muslim leader suggested Wednesday.

Prosthetic limb-fitting centres in southern Lebanon are struggling to cope with the rising toll from the one million unexploded munitions left over from last year's war with Israel.

We are bid to celebrate the fourth birthday of a lie. In 2003 they lied about Iraq's weapons arsenal. They lied about Saddam Hussein's "imminent threat" to Britain. Some of them lied that he was involved in 9/11. Today, steeped in the psychology of denial, they lie that things are really fine, are getting better, are better than before, are on the turn. There might have been mistakes, but there ...

A patrolman for the North Lebanon police force has been named the township?s Officer of the Year. Officer Andrew M. Herberg, 30, was recognized at the township Board of Supervisors meeting last night.

In 2000, Israel fulfilled a key U.N. resolution by withdrawing its last troops from southern Lebanon, bringing an end to a costly 22-year occupation. The resolution also required Lebanon to re-establish its authority in the south.

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Rival Palestinian factions clashed in a refugee camp in northern Lebanon, shaking the camp with explosions and wounding at least two gunmen, officials at the camp said. Lebanon's state-run news agency said as many as five were wounded in the battle.

Strategic alliance defies U.S., worries some Arab countries When Iraq hanged Saddam Hussein, furious Sunni Muslims in the militant group Hamas held mourning ceremonies. That did not sit well with Shiite Muslim Iran, one of Hamas' key backers but also a strong Saddam foe.

Beirut - Members of the anti-Syrian majority in Lebanon headed to parliament Tuesday to try to pressure the body's speaker, Nabih Berri, to reconvene parliament as the right place for Lebanon's dialogue. The anti-Syrian MPS said the right dialogue s...

Commercial broadcaster ITV on Monday revealed what it alleged were the names of all 16 marines who were present when television reporter Terry Lloyd was shot dead during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Mayor Rocky Anderson called for President Bush's removal by impeachment Monday as anti-war protesters rallied at City Hall on the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Speaking to a crowd of hundreds, Anderson delivered a litany of accusations.

VALDOSTA ? Famed international journalist Dr. Robert Fisk is scheduled to make two Valdosta appearances this week. A British journalist, Fisk is best known for his coverage of the Middle East for the United Kingdom?s The Independent since 1988, covering the Lebanese civil war until 1990.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, 9:20 p.m. March 19 (AP): Rival Palestinian factions clashed in a refugee camp in northern Lebanon on Monday, shaking the camp with explosions and wounding at least two gunmen, officials at the camp said. Lebanon's state-run news agency said as many as five were wounded in the battle.

The Lebanese Army maintained a heavy presence on Monday in a Palestinian refugee camp where an Islamic militant group is based.

The Mt. Lebanon School Board on Monday night approved a controversial tax-increment financing plan for a proposed luxury condominium complex.

Britain's biggest commercial broadcaster ITV on Monday revealed what it alleged were the names of all 16 marines who were present when television reporter Terry Lloyd was shot dead during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

West Albany and Lebanon came away with team titles in their respective divisions Saturday in the 2007 Dance and Drill State Championships at Memorial Coliseum in Portland.

Israel formally declared last year's fighting with Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas a war on Monday, but it is searching for a name for the 34-day conflict.

Iran-Saudi Arabian Embrace: A New Beginning? LONDON: The news coming from the Middle East of late spoke of growing concern among Iran's Sunni Arab neighbors about the Shia state's growing power.

Metro police are responding to a report of a wreck on Briley Parkway just past the Lebanon Pike exit. The wreck was reported at 8:28 a.m. There are no reports of injuries.

How quickly the Amish forgave after the Nickel Mines shootings in October stunned the world. Filmmaker Martin Doblemeier will give insight into why the Amish forgave -- and forgave so quickly -- in his new documentary, "The Power of Forgiveness," Monday at Elizabethtown Colleg...

The Israeli government on Monday officially declared that its conflict last summer in Lebanon was a "war." Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Ya'acov Edri told The Jerusalem Post the government now will decide on a name for the war.

Nizar Hana dreams big. Really big. Eleven million square feet, 8,000 shops and 4,000 offices, all in one complex. In Iraq.

An Israeli ministerial commission on Monday decided to officially declare last year's conflict in Lebanon a "war," after the government had previously refused to use the term.

By Mohd Iskandar Ibrahim HE may not be on Forbes magazine's list of the world's richest men but for now, self-proclaimed Lebanese 'billionaire' Elie Najem feels like a million bucks. The reason? His wife, Farinnie Mohd Farid, 20, recently gave birth to a baby boy.

With its porch roof supported by four tall columns, the elegant Meade House looks as if it were plucked from a Southern plantation and set down on Lebanon Road.

When Iraq hung Saddam Hussein, furious Sunni Muslims in the militant group Hamas held mourning ceremonies. That did not sit well with Shiite Muslim Iran, one of Hamas' key backers but also a strong Saddam foe. Yet the dispute over Saddam's execution did not break the Hamas-Iran alliance, either.

Re: M. Russell?s March 16 letter. The letter from Russell concerning Israel and the Palestinians is ridiculous and ignorant. First of all, three million Israelis are surrounded by 30 million Arabs.

Indiana State students will have an opportunity to learn CPR, first aid and how to be ready for a disaster as part of American Red Cross month. On Tuesday, Hani Singer, a member of the Lebanese Red Cross, will speak about the Red Crescent Movement and the International Red Cross.

Misses ... Let's face it: A day that starts without Regis Philbin is a day that starts on the wrong side of the TV. The Insider means no disrespect whatsoever to Kelly Ripa, who probably could share the host chat and desk with a stuffed teddy bear and get laughs to spare.

In Israel during the Lebanon War, Gulf War and two intifadas, an immigrant translator writes how she never really experienced a war. Before you continue...

Ajax cut PSV Eindhoven's lead to five points in the Dutch league after beating the defending champions 5-1 Sunday. Also Sunday, AZ Alkmaar drew 0-0 at Heracles Almelo, and Feyenoord was held to a 0-0 draw by visiting Willem II. PSV still leads the league with 67 points with five game remaining. Ajax is next with 62 points, followed AZ with 60.

Israeli and visiting U.S. forces are holding a biennial air-defense exercise this month but on a reduced scale, partly out of reluctance to stoke tensions with Iran, Israeli security sources said on Sunday.

Nepalese soldiers are teaching computing skills to the women of Houla, a Shiite Muslim village a little more than a mile from Lebanon's southern border with Israel. Elsewhere in the southeast part of the country, troops from Spain meet their Lebanese...

The For Your Information column appears daily in The Miami Herald's Broward section. You'll find classes, clubs, programs for senior citizens and children, and community entertainment events. On Fridays, Broward's Weekend section features comprehensive listings of the coming weekend's entertainment events and a look at what's ahead.

The trendy ports of call for Mediterranean cruises this summer will be in Greece and on the sea's North African shore.

The American fleet has a new favorite liberty port, and it's in the Persian Gulf. Bahrain, is a small (665 square kilometer) island kingdom off the coast of Saudi Arabia.

Kings of Leon's Caleb Followill chatted with John Norris at South by Southwest. Also: pipin'-hot Pipettes, wild BBQ chases and more Rage rumors.

The new wariness of collectors to buy or exhibit works that do not have the most rigorously documented history jeopardizes the business of even the most established dealers.

Paramedics had to take two horse drivers to a local hospital with minor injuries Friday after an accident during a race at the Lebanon Raceway.

"It's al-Masri again," said a banner headline in Bildzeitung, the nation's largest-circulation newspaper. Khaled al-Masri, a naturalized German citizen of Lebanese origin who had gained international sympathy after returning to Germany with stories of...

Lebanon: Lebanon's Bank Audi has slammed a report by Dubai's Shuaa Capital, which rated the institution's shares as 'neutral', according to the Daily Star. Shuaa's 24 page study effectively recommended investors to steer clear of the bank's stock but Freddie Baz, Bank Audi's CFO, said the shares were a clear bargain. He claimed US and European investors were eyeing the bank's shares, which had a profits-to-earnings ratio of 12.5 on Friday. [AMEInfo.com]

President George W. Bush on Friday thanked Saudi King Abdullah and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for participating in a recent conference on Iraq and discussed Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, the White House said.

Syria on Friday welcomed the latest interim report by the UN commission of inquiry into the 2005 murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, describing it as "professional."

The chief investigator probing the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri said his team has narrowed the possible motive for killing the wealthy tycoon to his political activities.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will pay an official visit to Lebanon on March 30, a government source told AFP on Friday.

Metro police are responding to a report of a wreck on Briley Parkway at the Lebanon Pike ramp. The wreck was reported at 6:50 a.m. There are no reports of injuries.

A new militant Islamic organization, Fatah al Islam, has formed at a refugee camp in Tripoli, Lebanon, under the leadership of a Palestinian fugitive.

LEBANON, N.H. The state Board of Education has approved an unusual proposal to create a new charter high school in Lebanon (New Hampshire) for students who do not perform...

George Youssef is a young chef, but he has a long history in the restaurant business. Born in Lebanon, Youssef immigrated to Montreal with his family when he was 10. His parents opened a Lebanese restaurant, and Youssef worked there growing up.

Models in G-strings and lacy bras shivered from the cold as they strutted the catwalk at the foot of snow-covered slopes in Lebanon to promote the conservative Middle East's largest ski resort.

Lebanon ? Seven workers versus an average of 2.8 million gallons of wastewater daily. That's the number of full-time workers Lebanon employs to treat all the waste coming from the city's sinks, showers and, yes ? toilets.

A UN commission probing the killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri reported some progress in its investigation Thursday and asked for its mandate to be extended.

The first noticeable difference was the crowd. The cold loft bar had only 30 people scattered about at Beirut's showcase at SXSW 2006 . Last night, Emo's was full to capacity: 600 music fiends.

The UN commission probing the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri requested Thursday that its mandate be extended beyond its June expiration.

LEBANON ? The Lebanon Jaycees presented the 58th Annual Distinguished Service Awards to a packed house at the American Legion Club Tuesday night. More than 200 people attended the ceremony, which honored five citizens and one community group for their work during 2006.

Interpol plans to issue international requests for the arrest of five prominent Iranians and a Lebanese militant in connection with the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural center in Argentina

Lebanon: The Dutch Embassy in Lebanon has donated almost $400,000 to the Artificial Limbs Centre at the Sidon Orphan Welfare Society, the Daily Star reported. The centre has had an influx of patients following Israel's 2006 summer bombardment. The centre tries to help amputees live a normal life. [AMEInfo.com]

(RTTNews) - EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana urged Syria on Wednesday to work for peace and security in neighboring Lebanon and Iraq during a visit that ended a two-year diplomatic boycott of Damascus.

Editors note: Since it won the World Press Photo of the Year earlier this month, Spencer Platt's photo of wealthy young Lebanese riding in a flashy convertible through a war-ravaged neighborhood in Beirut has been the subject of controversy.

Early in the first quarter, Mt. Lebanon held a one-point lead over Schenley and appeared poised to keep the game from turning into a blowout.

United Nations troops patrolling southern Lebanon have found few arms caches there. That has heightened concerns about Hezbollah making preparations elsewhere for another war with Israel.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon, in a report seen here Wednesday, has expressed concern about the "reported activities of unauthorized armed elements" in Lebanon and has urged Israel to end its air incursions into Lebanese airspace.

My Lebanese girlfriend does not want to listen to The Cure?s song ?Killing an Arab.? ?Turn it off,? she demands. This is odd. Helen is a huge Cure fan; in fact, I never really listened to The Cure until we started dating.

Lebanese lawmaker Saad Hariri, son of slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, expects a breakthrough in the Lebanese crisis before the Arab summit.

An Israeli inquiry into last year's Lebanon war could topple Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, Israel is in political turmoil after the commission of inquiry declared that it is taking aim at the national leadership.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, on his first visit to Syria in two years, urged Damascus on Wednesday to work for peace and security in neighbouring Lebanon.

Firefighters are at the scene of a house fire in Mount Lebanon Wednesday morning.

The European Union's foreign policy chief urged Syria on Wednesday to do more to help ease tensions in Lebanon and Iraq during a visit that ended a two-year freeze on high-level EU contacts with Damascus.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana arrived in Syria on Wednesday on his first visit in two years to hold talks with President Bashar al-Assad aimed at easing the political crisis in Lebanon.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, on his first visit to Syria in two years, was due to hold "frank" talks on Wednesday with President Bashar al-Assad aimed at easing the political crisis in Lebanon.

The authorities said they had arrested four men in Beirut whom they described as members of Fatah al-Islam, a radical Palestinian faction, in connection with the bombing of two minibuses in the city last month that killed three people and wounded 23. Two other members of the group were being sought in the attack, on the eve of the second anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister ...

An opponent of a plan to build a Super Wal-Mart in Lebanon is collecting signatures against the proposal.

Lebanese actor Rafik Ali Ahmed says his country's sectarian politics is like a torn pair of trousers -- it needs to be changed.

Four Syrians held by the Lebanese authorities have confessed to bombing two buses in Lebanon last month, killing three people, Lebanon's interior minister said on Tuesday.

Zach Condon is the Google Champion !! Having officially triumphed over both the troubled Lebanese capital and the popular collegiate drinking game with which Zach's band shares its name, Beirut -- aka the No. 1 Google Search Result for "Beirut"-- are celebrating their world wide web victory with a few world wide engagements.

Eight Israeli soldiers were killed during fighting with Hezbollah on the Lebanon border. Not pictured is Shlomi Yirmiyahu. With its conflict in the North escalating dramatically, Israel began to grieve for eight soldiers killed in surprise attacks by Hezbollah along the Lebanese border.

Police say they may be closer to catching a man who is accused of killing his girlfriend.

Syrian Vice President Faruq al-Shara called on Lebanon Tuesday not to "politicise" a proposed UN court to try suspects in the 2005 murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, widely blamed on Damascus.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Tuesday he backed Saudi efforts to resolve the political crisis in Lebanon, in a visit to Riyadh on a Middle East tour aimed at easing the stalemate.

Damascus - Syria on Tuesday said it would not change its policy as demanded by some Western countries in relation to the Lebanese crisis, noting that attempts to isolate the country had been futile. Comments to this effect were published in an editori...

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana was due to hold talks with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Tuesday on the second leg of a Middle East tour aimed at easing Lebanon's political stalemate.

The world's third-richest man, Carlos Slim, is gaining rapidly on Bill Gates and Warren Buffett with a fortune that grew $19 billion last year ? the largest wealth gain in the past decade tracked by Forbes magazine.

Lebanon: Dr. Saad Al-Barrak, Managing Director and Deputy Chairman, MTC Group announced the setting up of a USD 250,000 (local currency one billion Kwacha) fund for children in Zambia while on a two day visit to the country to acquaint him with investment opportunities in the country. [AMEInfo.com]

After Israel's 1982 war with Lebanon, Westerners became targets of a new wave of extremist groups. The 1986 abduction of Brian Keenan by Islamic Jihad while en route to work at the American University of Beirut was one of a line of high-profile kidnappings that also included John McCarthy, Charles Glass and Terry Waite. Keenan's case inspired the Tony-nominated 1992 drama, "Someone Who'll Watch ...

Syria told a visiting U.S. State Department official Monday that it is willing to engage in "serious" dialogue with Washington on all Middle East issues, just days after both countries attended a conference in Baghdad on restoring security to Iraq.

The commission charged with investigating Israel's failings in the Lebanon war will this week publish part of an interim report on political responsibility, Channel 10 television reported on Monday.

Beirut - Police arrested a Palestinian carrying a bomb ready to explode in the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon. A patrol of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) arrested in Sidon a man carrying a bag with a TNT explosive charge weighing 200 gramme...

Beirut - European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana opened talks in Beirut Monday with Lebanese leaders as part of a regional tour to help end Lebanon's political crisis. Solana told reporters at Beirut airport that his regional tour was very,...

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana vowed on Monday to push for a political solution to the four-month-old power struggle in Lebanon as he started a visit to the Middle East.

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Monday he would push for a political solution to the four-month-old power struggle in Lebanon as he started a three-nation Middle East tour.

Lebanon: A co-operation agreement was signed Monday 12 March 2007 in Vienna between Boyadjian & Associates project finance and management consultants based in Beirut and Va Tech Finance a European export and project financing firm [AMEInfo.com]

Lebanon: Misys Banking Systems, a global leader in banking software and solutions, announces today that Lebanon & Gulf Bank (LGB) has selected Misys Almonde to comply with Basel II regulatory requirements and fulfill its Asset Liability Management requirements. [AMEInfo.com]

March 12, 2007: Southern Lebanon used to be a playground for freelance arms dealers. Hizbollah had plenty of Iranian cash, and no one, not the Lebanese police, army or coast guard, was keeping anyone out. Hizbollah controlled access, and if you had weapons to sell, you were welcome. No more.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said on Monday that the Arab peace initiative contained positive elements but also clauses that were contrary to the idea of a two-state solution.

The long list of nominees for the sixth annual Shortlist Music Prize was announced Thursday (March 8), and included discs from Art Brut , Beck , Beirut , CSS Editors, Hot Chip , Joanna Newsom , Neil Young , Peeping Tom , The Roots , Teddybears , The Gossip , Tom Waits , TV on the Radio , Vaux , The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and others.

Police officers protect the scene where a Hezbollah missile broke through the roof and struck a railway depot July 16. Mid-range rockets fired by the Lebanese militia Sunday killed eight people and wounded 17 in northern Israel, the bloodiest ballistic attack on the Jewish state in memory.

Beirut - Downtown Beirut, a ghost city for the past three months amid a political standoff, hummed back to life Sunday as people thronged restaurants offering free or reduced-price lunches. People walked shoulder-to-shoulder under the archways of the ...

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas met on Sunday for the second time in less than a month, but with few hopes that the encounter will yield a breakthrough in the stalled peace process.

Such moments define the current existence of the Bears and a dozen or more teams around the nation anxiously awaiting the verdict of the Division I men's basketball committee as it prepares to unveil its playoff bracket Sunday. Any games still being played might domino into a berth or a rejection for Missouri State. Tournament locks might be fretting over seeding or matchups. The Bears have no ...

Build Lebanon Trails, a community coalition devoted to creating 45 miles of accessible trails in and around the town of Lebanon, will be holding a groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, March 17, to celebrate funding of its first trail.

Though she won first prize in the 2000 Operalia competition (overseen by supertenor Placido Domingo), has sung in all the world's great opera houses (Covent Garden, La Scala, the Met) and has won multiple Juno Awards (Canada's equivalent of the Grammy), soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian might be best known to the world at large as a friend of Frodo.

CANONSBURG - Albert Gallatin's greatest basketball season came to a close on Saturday with a 66-60 loss to Mount Lebanon in the first round of the PIAA Quad-A playoffs.

Michel Friedman, center, head of Keren Hayesod in Germany, attends a recent pro-Israel rally in Berlin. With Germany considering offering peacekeeping troops in southern Lebanon, politicians and Jewish leaders are weighing in on what the German army?s role should be.

As Israel pounds Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon with bombs, artillery fire and advancing ground troops, some Lebanese at home and abroad ? especially Christians ? are quietly applauding Israel?s offensive.

Lebanon: The Harris Corporation, an international communications and IT company, has won an order in Lebanon from pan-Arab satellite broadcasting network, Orbit. Products purchased include the Harris IconMaster modular master control and branding solution, IconLogo channel branding solution, Inscriber RTX custom broadcast graphics systems, Integrator router and a range of solutions for infrastructure support. [AMEInfo.com]

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visits northern Israel, July 26. International efforts to end Israel-Hezbollah fighting moved into high gear after the tragic killing of civilians in Kana, but there remain fundamental differences between Israel and Lebanon over what needs to be done next.

TODAY Hostage drama When American professor Michael Wells is taken hostage during a trip to Beirut, his grieving wife Lainie transforms his home office into a bare room that "brings her closer to her husband."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday he will visit Israel and the Palestinian territories later this month in an effort to help revive the Mideast peace process.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel began planning for war in Lebanon months before last summer's conflict against Hezbollah guerrillas, countering criticism that he was caught off guard and acted too hastily in launching the military operation, Israeli media reported.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel began planning for war in Lebanon months before last summer's conflict against Hezbollah guerrillas, countering criticism that he was caught off guard and acted too hastily in launching the military operation, Israeli media reported.

Lebanon: The United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and in conjunction with the Government of Lebanon, announced the start of reconstruction on the Mudeirej Bridge in the Sofar-Mudeirej region of Lebanon. [AMEInfo.com]

Lebanon: Although political stability and long-term planning are prerequisites for tourism growth, this year key opinion leaders are considering HORECA as another necessary element which can help boost Lebanon's main industry. [AMEInfo.com]

Lebanon: Nissan Middle East recently announced, in partnership with Rasamny-Younis Motor Co. SAL (RYMCO), exclusive dealer of Nissan in Lebanon, its market share leadership across all motoring segments in Lebanon for last year, leading the market with a total of 14% market share, registering total sales of over 2000 units. [AMEInfo.com]

The Lebanon Fire Department will hold a promotional ceremony during its fire board meeting at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the main station, 1050 W. Oak St. Three department members will be formally promoted during the ceremony.

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanese parliamentary leaders met for the first time in four months in an effort to end a power struggle that has divided the government and paralyzed the nation. No statements were...

Sunni and Shiite political leaders in Lebanon have taken the first step toward a possible easing of political and sectarian tensions in the country.

The leader of Lebanon's parliamentary majority and the parliament speaker of the opposition met late Thursday for the first time in four months, a move that marked the first tangible step toward ending a political crisis that has divided the government and paralyzed the nation. CBS News Interactive: Mideast Conflict CBS News Interactive: About Lebanon

The leader of Lebanon's parliamentary majority and the parliament speaker of the opposition met late Thursday for the first time in four months, a move that marked the first tangible step toward ending a political crisis that has divided the government and paralyzed the nation. CBS News Interactive: Mideast Conflict CBS News Interactive: About Lebanon

Beirut - The head of Lebanon's anti-Syrian parliamentary majority Saad Hariri was hopeful Friday that his meeting with pro- Syrian House Speaker Nabih Berri might end the country's political crisis. After a four-hour overnight meeting, the office of b...

The European Union plans to restart high-level contacts with Syria by sending foreign policy chief Javier Solana to Damascus for talks on Lebanon and the Middle East, Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern said on Friday.

The U.S. faces choices and risks this weekend at an international conference in Iraq: Does it sweet-talk or strong-arm adversaries Iran and Syria, and can it talk to them at all without raising suspicions from its moderate Arab allies?

The meeting was widely seen as a significant thaw in the months-long stalemate that has brought Lebanon to a political halt.

Lebanese majority leader Saad al-Hariri said on Thursday he would soon meet Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a key opposition leader, to discuss ways to end the country's four-month-old political crisis.

Bun B held up his silver chain to show off the 4-inch-square, diamond-encrusted "B" hanging at the end. It flashed in the spotlight. "If you're gonna buy a chain for $30,000, be sure it's not the only $30,000 you have." Good advice.

Hostage drama When American professor Michael Wells is taken hostage during a trip to Beirut, his grieving wife Lainie transforms his home office into a bare room that "brings her closer to her husband." Tormented during his absence by a reporter who wants to talk to her and a government who wants her to say nothing as they negotiate his return, "Two Rooms" tells the poignant story of one ...

Two U.N. peacekeepers from Belgium were killed and others were seriously injured in a traffic accident in Lebanon.

The Warriors went one-and-out in the state 5A women's basketball playoffs, falling to Bend High School 64-47 on Feb. 28. Bend's stifling defense kept Lebanon to just one field goal in the entire first half and forced Lebanon into numerous turnovers.

The Bush administration opened the door yesterday to one-on-one discussions with both Iran and Syria at this weekend's Baghdad conference, as long as the talks are limited to the subject of peace and stability in Iraq.

March 8 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates's net worth swelled to $56 billion, making him the world's richest person, followed by Warren Buffett, at No. 2, according to Forbes magazine's annual survey of billionaires.

An interim report on Israel's conduct during the Lebanon war will not single out individuals for criticism, Israeli television reported late Thursday.

A senior US official headed to Syria Thursday for talks on the Iraq refugee crisis that will mark the highest-level contact between the two governments in two years.

March 8 (Bloomberg) -- Paulo Maluf, a Brazilian federal congressman and former governor of Sao Paulo, was charged in New York with stealing more than $11.5 million from a Brazilian public works project.

A former Iranian deputy defense minister who disappeared last month during a visit to Turkey has left his country and is cooperating with Western intelligence agencies, it was reported Wednesday.

An Israeli defense firm on Thursday unveiled a portable robot billed as being capable of entering most combat zones alone and engaging enemies with an onboard armory that includes a machine-pistol and grenades.

In a heated garage a few blocks south of Lebanon's downtown district, one of the world's renowned turkey call makers plies his trade.

Two U.N. peacekeepers from Belgium were killed and others were seriously injured in a traffic accident in Lebanon. UNIFIL Spokesman Liam McDowall said the troops were killed in the Kfar Chuba region in southern Lebanon, Expatica reported.

The prime minister tells TIME his country is not sliding into civil war, but he can't ask Hizballah to disarm until Israel does

In brief, a short-lived New Pantheon Prize was established by one of the Shortlist founders. It went to Sufjan Stevens , but following some legal dealings we won't bore you by explaining here, the New Pantheon went kaput and Stevens is now considered the winner of the 2005 Shortlist Prize.

Rival Lebanese leaders could reach a deal this week to end a political crisis which has sparked the country's worst civil unrest since the 1975-1990 civil war, a senior opposition source said on Monday.

A Lebanese man confessed Monday to putting a bomb on a train in Germany and said it was intended to warn against insulting the Prophet Muhammad rather than to kill, a judicial source said.

A senior Saudi prince called on Wednesday for regional cooperation conducive to economic prosperity that would dispel fears of Iranian-inspired Shiite ascendancy in the Middle East.

Is that trigger-happy gunslinger in the White House about to take aim at Iran? You would think so if you read the Guardian newspaper in Britain, which has written, ?Pentagon plans for possible attack on nuclear sites are well advanced.?

Sixty-one artists have been chosen as possible contenders for this year's Shortlist Music Prize.

Syria denied on Tuesday allegations that arms are making their way over the border into Lebanon and warned against any moves to station international troops along the frontier in Lebanon.

The state comptroller, Micha Lindenstrauss, delayed presenting his interim findings on the government?s performance in protecting the ?home front? during the Lebanon war. His findings, the first of several investigations into the military?s and government?s handling of the 34-day war, were to be presented to a parliamentary committee, but under government pressure and claims that those under ...