Lebanon
Latest stories
Hariri, Hizbullah Restore Contact in Bid to Preserve Peace

Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Hizbullah have restored contact in a bid to preserve peace.

Local media on Wednesday said Hariri met Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's political advisor Hussein Khalil at Center House.

W140 Full Story
Aoun: If Conflict Erupts, It Won't Be Sectarian, But Rather for Reform

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday stressed that any potential conflict in Lebanon would not be of "sectarian" nature, "but it would rather be for change and reform, which are more important than the Special Tribunal for Lebanon."

Aoun noted that all parties should be concerned with change and reform.

Full Story
Geagea: No Settlement on STL, I Hope Lebanon Doesn't Pay Price of Any Destructive Middle East Confrontation

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea noted on Tuesday that the recent Saudi-Syrian summit did not yield any new results seeing as all parties have already taken a clear stand over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and all matters related to it.

He told the BBC that it is unfortunate that the summit took up such great media attention "because the issue at hand is an internal Lebanese one. It is time that internal Lebanese affairs only be determined by internal Lebanese sides."

W140 Full Story
Soaid: Ahmadinejad's Visit Revealed Hidden Matters, Restored Arab and International Interest in Lebanon

Coordinator of the March 14 General-Secretariat former MP Fares Soaid noted that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent visit to Lebanon has restored Arab and international interest in the country.

He said in an interview with the daily Asharq al-Awsat Tuesday that his visit was followed by Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal's trip to Egypt, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's trip to Saudi Arabia, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Jeffery Feltman's trip to Lebanon.

W140 Full Story
Hariri to Meet Assad at an Upcoming Summit, which May be Postponed

A summit between President Michel Suleiman and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is expected to be held on Tuesday or Thursday, reported al-Khaleej Emirati newspaper Tuesday.

It also revealed that Prime Minister Saad Hariri is also expected to visit Damascus soon, while other information stated that he will not hold talks with Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah before he meets with Assad.

Full Story
Nasrallah, Jumblat Meet, Review Efforts to Contain Crises

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah discussed the latest local and regional developments with Druze leader Walid Jumblat Druze.

A statement issued by Hizbullah on Monday said Nasrallah and Jumblat also reviewed efforts to contain crises and challenges facing Lebanon.

W140 Full Story
Ban Concerned by New Lebanon Tensions

Lebanon has been hit by a new climate of "uncertainty" that could cause new instability across the region, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned.

In a report released only days after a controversial visit to Lebanon by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the UN chief called on regional powers to stay out of the country's affairs and also said Israel must halt military overflights.

W140 Full Story
U.S., France, Britain, Russia Warn: No Meddling in Hariri Tribunal

The United States, Britain, France and Russia warned against meddling in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The remarks came during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Monday on the Israel-Palestinian crisis.

Full Story
Assad to Abdullah: Hariri Has to Reject International Tribunal Which Aims to Destroy Resistance

Syrian President Bashar Assad and Saudi King Abdullah, who met in Riyadh Sunday, did not reach an agreement on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, local media reported Tuesday.

Al-Akhbar newspaper, citing Syrian sources, said Riyadh also avoided discussing the arrest warrants issued by Syria against a number of Lebanese officials or pressure on Prime Minister Saad Hariri to modify his position on the STL indictment.

W140 Full Story
Jumblat Says Ahmadinejad's Visit Strengthened Lebanon's Steadfastness

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has slammed those "who are still theorizing about Lebanon's neutralism under the emblem of keeping it away from axes, despite the fact that Lebanon is at the core of the region and directly and inevitably involved in its issues due to the factors of history and geography."

"The pretentious slogans that speak of Arab solidarity have proven their futility during the latest experience at the Serte (Arab) summit which failed in producing the minimum requirements for confronting the various challenges and difficulties," Jumblat added in his weekly column in his party's mouthpiece Al-Anbaa.

W140 Full Story