The leakage of kerosene from a ship unloading its cargo off the coastal town of Dora caused an environmental crisis in Lebanon on Wednesday as authorities mulled ways to contain the incident.

The ship was unloading kerosene to gas and oil companies on the Dora shore when the leakage began due to a malfunction in the pipeline of the vessel’s tank, said LBCI TV network.

The March 14 General Secretariat warned on Wednesday that any compliance with Hizbullah’s agenda will place Lebanon at odds with the Arab world that is yearning for freedom, justice, and democracy.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah proved that Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati is not playing a centrist role in Lebanon when he stated that the next government will be subject to his conditions on the arms and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.”

Israel on Wednesday handed over to U.N. peacekeepers two Lebanese shepherds who were kidnapped near the border in southern Lebanon a day earlier.

Lebanese citizens Leon Alam, 35, and 55-year-old Mohammad Zahra were handed over to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon via the Naqoura border crossing.

A leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar Wednesday revealed that Health Minister Mohammed Jawad Khalifeh had informed then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman that House Speaker Nabih Berri was disputed with Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

The WikiLeaks cable dated August 19, 2006, reported Khalifeh as saying that Nasrallah believes himself to be “greater than Salaheddine and all of us.”

Speaker Nabih Berri believed that liberating the Shabaa Farms would eliminate the reasons for maintaining the Resistance, revealed a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar Wednesday.

A WikiLeaks cable dated July 25, 2006, reported on a meeting between the speaker and then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman during which Berri voiced his opposition to Hizbullah’s disarmament if the Shabaa Farms remained occupied.

The United States sought to use the indictment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to back Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri after his government was toppled by the Hizbullah-led alliance, As Safir daily reported Wednesday.

The newspaper said that the U.S. administration contacted tribunal officials immediately after the toppling of the cabinet to use the indictment as a political pressure aimed at bringing back Hariri to power and sidelining Hizbullah.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati reportedly presented his first draft cabinet lineup to President Michel Suleiman on Tuesday, a sign that the new government could be formed soon.

An Nahar daily and a source close to Miqati said in remarks published Wednesday that both officials discussed the draft lineup which is a mix of politicians and technocrats.

Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri telephoned Bahrain’s King Hamad reiterating to him his condemnation of all acts that harm the interests of the Lebanese either in Bahrain or in the rest of Arab and Gulf countries.

An Nahar newspaper said Wednesday that Hariri held the telephone conversation with King Hamad on Tuesday.

Hizbullah and Amal have condemned the burning of a copy of the Qoran by controversial U.S. Pastor Terry Jones at a small Florida church earlier in the week.

The burning was carried out by pastor Wayne Sapp under the supervision of Jones, who last September drew sweeping condemnation over his plan to ignite a pile of Qorans on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Bahrain authorities detained on Tuesday five Lebanese residents from the Fneish family for allegedly contacting unidentified foreign “parties,” a clear reference to Hizbullah.

Al-Akhbar newspaper on Wednesday quoted informed sources as saying that “Bahraini security forces raided the ‘Beiruti’ restaurant in central Manama at 10:00 am, detained five Lebanese employees, and confiscated documents and computers.”