Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned Thursday as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying he did so with great regret but must focus entirely on clearing his name of sexual assault charges.

"I want to protect this institution which I have served with honor and devotion, and especially -- especially -- I want to devote all my strength, all my time, and all my energy to proving my innocence," he said.

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.

A prominent U.S. State Department official denied to An Nahar in remarks published on Saturday recent reports that the American administration is considering opening dialogue Washington has labeled as terrorist, including Hizbullah.

He said that on the political level, there can be no dialogue with Hizbullah because it is a terrorist organization creating instability in the Middle East.

Around 90 Lebanese arrived at Beirut airport on Thursday night escaping violence in Bahrain where the government is cracking down on anti-government protesters.

An Nahar daily said Friday that a Middle East Airlines plane landed at Rafik Hariri international airport with 132 people on board. Among them were the 90 Lebanese nationals and several Bahrainis and Syrians.

Armed forces rolled Monday into Bahrain from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to help restore order in the strategic Gulf kingdom where protesters have shut down the financial center.

Thousands of mostly Shiite protesters occupied Manama's business district, turning the regional banking hub into a ghost town as they pressed their calls for democratic change from the Sunni Muslim monarchy.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that Syria’s relations with Iran and Hizbullah are not in the interest of Damascus in the long-run.

That’s why Washington sent a new ambassador to Damascus, Clinton said during a testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

U.S. President Barack Obama has imposed personal sanctions on Libya's Moammar Gadhafi and four of his sons, in a clear attempt to further weaken his teetering regime and punish brutal assaults against his people.

Obama wielded presidential power in an executive order Friday to seize the assets of Gadhafi and named family members in the United States and globally within the auspices of U.S. financial institutions, saying the "human dignity" of Libyans "cannot be denied."

Central Bank Governor Riyad Salameh has said U.S. officials confirmed to him that no other Lebanese bank would be targeted by the Treasury Department.

Salameh, who is currently in Washington, told Marcel Ghanem’s Kalam al-Nass talk show on Thursday that the U.S. “isn’t targeting Lebanon’s banking sector.”

Satellite photos published by a Washington think tank on Wednesday appear to show Syrian efforts to conceal a second suspected nuclear site allegedly linked to a reactor bombed by Israel in 2007.

The photos acquired by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) indicate Syria tried to cover up its nuclear activities after the air raid, and could lead the U.N. nuclear watchdog to step up demands for inspections.

As pro-democracy uprisings spread across the Middle East, Saudi authorities are feeling increasingly isolated and concerned that Washington may no longer be a reliable backer, officials and diplomats told the New York Times.

“The Saudis are completely encircled by the problem, from Jordan to Iraq to Bahrain to Yemen,” said one Arab diplomat, voicing a view that is common in the halls of power in Riyadh.