Is there a fatal connection between the initial letter "B" and places torn apart by struggles for power between different religious communities? I started as a journalist in Belfast in the early 1970s when the city was convulsed by sectarian warfare between Catholics and Protestants. In later years, I moved to Beirut to cover the many-sided civil war, at the heart of which was the conflict between Muslims and Maronites. After 2003, I spent long months in Baghdad, writing about the fighting between Shia and Sunni which culminated in the slaughter of 2006-7.

Israeli source says soldiers returned fire after a Lebanese soldier shot at them Israeli troops have opened fire across the border at a Lebanese soldier who who shot at them, an Israeli military source has said. The source said soldiers were working along the border when a Lebanese soldier opened fire. No Israeli soldiers were wounded and it was unclear whether the Lebanese soldier was hurt. Israel fought a 34-day war with Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas in 2006. The border has been mostly quiet since, but violence erupted on 15 May this year when Israeli soldiers fired on Palestinian demonstrators who swarmed the Lebanese frontier. Seven civilians were killed, according to a United Nations report. Israel Middle East Lebanon guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Seven kidnapped Estonians are released in Lebanon after four months in captivity.

A Hezbollah leader has rejected calls to arrest four men accused of assassinating Lebanon's former prime minster, Rafik Hariri, in 2005.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah rejects indictments of four of its members by the UN-backed tribunal over the 2005 assassination of Lebanon's former PM Rafiq Hariri.

The press in Lebanon and the wider region is split in its response to the issuing of four arrest warrants by the UN-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 murder of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah says two of the Lebanese Islamist group's members have confessed to working for the CIA, while a third is under investigation.

Lebanon's army clamped down on two sectarian districts of a northern city today after a rally in support of anti-government protestors in Syria triggered deadly clashes between rival gunmen.

Lebanon announces a new cabinet led by Prime Minister Najib Mikati nearly five months after he took office.

A UN convoy has been hit by a blast near the city of Sidon in southern Lebanon, witnesses say, and there are reports of casualties.

Thousands of Syrians flee to Lebanon with tales of brutality

Something terrible happened in the small Syrian town of Tel Kalakh. At the most it was a massacre of 40 civilians; at the least a day of live-firing into unarmed protesters, torture, arrests and panic. Almost half the Sunni Muslim population fled over the river frontier into Lebanon, babes in arms, old people in wheelchairs, pushed through the shallow waters of the Nahr el-Kbir.

Seven Estonian tourists kidnapped in eastern Lebanon in March plead for help from Arab and French leaders to secure their release.

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri has accused Hezbollah of holding the country's future hostage to its weapons, and has called on his supporters to rally on Sunday against what he called "non-state arms."

To Beirut. Storms. Heavy rain. Seas sweeping over the little port by my home.

Ministers from Turkey and Qatar suspend efforts to mediate in the political crisis in Lebanon following the collapse of the government last week.

Hassan Nasrallah is expected to speak for the first time since his party's ministers quit the Lebanese government.

Saad al-Hariri is asked to stay on as Lebanon's caretaker prime minister after the government was toppled by Hezbollah and its allies.

Hezbollah and its allies brought down the Lebanese government yesterday amid growing tensions over a UN-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of Rafiq Hariri, a former prime minister.

Hezbollah threatens to quit Lebanon's cabinet unless its demands over a UN tribunal into Rafik Hairiri's assassination are met - a move that could topple the government.

• Cables reveal key infrastructure and potential terror targets • Qatar accused of using al-Jazeera as tool of diplomacy • Saudi Arabia seen as cash machine for terror • Full coverage of the WikiLeaks cables 7.45am: A second working week of WikiLeaking kicks off with yet more controversy. WikiLeaks has published a list of "critical infrastructure and key resources" across the world. The Times dubs it a "targets for terror" list. The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus also sees it as a potential hit list: "If the US sees itself as waging a 'global war on terror' then this represents a global directory of the key installations and facilities - many of them medical or industrial - that are seen as being of vital importance to Washington," he writes. He describes the cable as "probably the most controversial document yet from the Wikileaks". Meanwhile, WikiLeaks continues to make ripples across the world. The Daily Beast tracks the personnel changes forced on the US...

The explosive allegations shaking Lebanese politics

Israeli plans to withdraw troops from the northern half of a village, deemed by the UN to be inside Lebanon, create a dilemma for residents.

The radical Muslim cleric, Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed, says he has been sentenced to life in prison in Lebanon.

Hezbollah has stressed the need to investigate the case of false witnesses, who misled a UN tribunal on the assassination of Lebanon's ex-premier Rafiq Hariri.

Why Ahmadinejad's trip stirred up controversy in Lebanon

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is due to make a visit to southern Lebanon, close to the Israeli border.

The Lebanese security forces arrest nine people suspected of spying for Israel, the country's army has said in an official statement.

Lebanon's economy has been growing despite the global financial crisis yet a strengthening of public finances is needed, says the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

A Russian political analyst has highlighted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's upcoming visit to Lebanon as a “historic” event.

Award-winning Lebanese journalist May Chidiac claims there is a shocking lack of freedom of expression in her country. But she refuses to be silenced. She pledged to go on speaking her mind while being honoured on Sunday at the 60th annual International Press Institute (IPI) awards in Vienna. Chidiac, left, was named as one of the 60 press freedom heroes for her outstanding commitment to journalism. She told the audience: "After decades of fighting for freedom with my words, and after endless harassments, a near fatal attempt on my life left me missing an arm and a leg, and with pain that accompanies me until this day … I still carry the flame of true journalistic values with no hesitation or fear," Chidiac's injuries occurred when a bomb exploded in her car in 2005. At the time, she was one of the few critics of Syria's then hegemony within the Lebanon. She spoke of three Lebanese friends who were either assassinated or survived assassination attempts "because they were.......

Hezbollah's recent revelation in airing photos taken by Israel's unmanned surveillance planes has markedly affected the sale of the drones.

Lebanon's defence minister says the country has opened a bank account to receive donations to supply its poorly-equipped army.

The Lebanese Army says an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft has conducted another unwarranted overflight across the country's airspace in what appears to have become a continuing trend.

An Iranian-made television series about the life of Christ being shown on two Lebanese channels has been taken off air after complaints from Christians.

Lebanon's Defense Minister Elias Murr has criticized the US for halting military aid to the Lebanese army over Israel's security concerns.

Lebanon's parliament speaker has called for "appropriate steps" with respect to Hezbollah's revelations regarding the assassination of late Premier Rafiq Hariri.

Lebanese politicians have hailed evidence presented by Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah on Israel's involvement in the murder of late Premier Rafiq Hariri.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah reveals what he says is evidence of Israeli involvement in the murder of ex-Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri.

Lebanese MP Mohammed Raad says the army's last week confrontation with Israeli forces at the south border shows that resistance has become part of the military's soul.

Hezbollah says it is to prove through a "thunderous" revelation that Israel masterminded the former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri's assassination.

The Israeli Navy has opened fire on a Lebanese fishing boat a few days after a border clash between Israel and Lebanon escalated tensions in the region.

Lebanese craft workers are facing competition from cheaper importers including China, with many struggling to survive.

Two Israeli aircraft have violated Lebanese airspace, breaking the sound barrier over several villages in the eastern part of the country.

A Lebanese prosecutor has pressed charges of spying for Israel against another employee of the state-owned Alfa mobile phone firm amid an anti-espionage crackdown in the Arab country.

The Syrian government has condemned the Israeli attack against the Lebanese troops, in which at least three Lebanese soldiers and a top Israeli army officer were killed.

Lebanese and Israeli soldiers exchange fire along the border between the two countries, Lebanese and Israeli sources say.

The Lebanese army says they have arrested another employee in the country's telecommunication network on suspicions of cooperating with Israeli intelligence services.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani has visited southern Lebanon amid cheers from the Lebanese who gave the emir a hero's welcome.

An unprecedented trip to Lebanon by Syrian and Saudi leaders

Lebanese Prime Minster Saad Hariri says if Lebanon maintains its current national unity it will be able to defend itself against any new Israeli war.

Lebanon has captured a third person on suspicion of spying for Israel after it arrested two others in a telecommunications company.

The head of Beirut's airport security has resigned after a man managed to sneak into a runway and hide in a jet bound for the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement says it is ready to give a crushing response to any future Israeli attacks, warning Tel Aviv of another humiliating defeat.

Israel criticises Britain's ambassador to Lebanon for eulogising a late Lebanese cleric said to have inspired Hezbollah.

Middle East editor dismissed after saying she "respected" late Lebanese Shia leader.

The funeral of Lebanon's most senior Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, takes place in Beirut.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has expressed his condolences over Lebanese Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah's passing.

Lebanon's leading Shia Muslim cleric, a key figure in the founding of militant group Hezbollah, has died aged 74, hospital sources say.

Angry Lebanese villagers have blocked UNIFIL vehicles from entering a village in south Lebanon over the arrest of a local youth by the French patrol.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman has declared that Israel could launch a new war against Lebanon, vowing tough response to those Lebanese convicted of spying for Israel.

Beirut raises concerns as Israel plans to drill for gas near Lebanon's territorial waters, saying its own potential reserves will be affected.

The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah insists that it is highly prepared and ready "at any time" to counter any potential attacks by the Israeli regime.

Israel has wrapped up a three-day military exercise on occupied land belonging to Lebanon and Syria, according to Lebanese media.

Hezbollah's Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qasim has denounced UN Security Council's (UNSC) stance on Iran's civilian nuclear program and called the body an Israeli advocate.

With Israel set to lay claim to natural gas fields recently discovered in the Mediterranean, the resistance movement of Hezbollah moves to warn Tel Aviv against extracting from Lebanon's resources.

Amid repeated Israeli allegations about the existence of long-range missiles in southern Lebanon, UN peacekeepers in the area say no evidence has been found to prove the claim.

Hezbollah has praised veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas for her "courageous" comments in support of Palestinian people, which cost her a forced retirement.

Lebanon's military has fired on overflying Israeli warplanes, as the country continues to witness the violations of its airspace on almost a daily basis.

Two Israeli-Arab activists are charged with being spies for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah's secretary general has vowed response to any renewed Israeli offensive on Lebanese territory.

Lebanon warns the US over the dragging Mideast peace process amid growing skepticism around Washington's mediation between Palestinians and Israel.

Lebanon's Druze leader Walid Jumblatt says Israel is looking for pretexts to launch a new offensive on Lebanon while awaiting the green light from Washington.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has held talks in Ankara with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Natalia Antelava explains how the killing of a murder suspect has led some Lebanese to question whether has revealed a darker side in their society.

Lebanese officials believe that a US stance to strengthen "moderate elements" within Hezbollah should begin by addressing Israel's policies in the region.

Israel has been planted in the Middle East to serve the policies of the Western powers, an official of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah says.

The Lebanese have set a new Guinness world record by putting together 6,500 Keffiyehs, the symbolic Palestinian scarf, in order to mark Nakba Day.

Rebuilding Beirut is putting the city that captured hearts at risk, finds the BBC's Natalia Antelava.

A Hummus competition between Israel and Lebanon has entered a new phase in the wake of Beirut's production of the largest plate to date of the Middle Eastern dip.

The UNIFIL spokesperson has confirmed that the UN peacekeepers have found no Scud missiles in their area of operation in south Lebanon.

The Commander of Lebanon's Armed Forces, General Jean Kahwaji, has announced that his country will counter any probable offensive by Israel.

Qatar's Prime minister has charged Israel with posing new threats against Lebanon and Syria by accusing Damascus of supplying Scud missiles to Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has denounced Egypt's move to sentence 26 men with alleged ties to the Lebanese movement to jail terms, calling the move 'politically motivated.'

Hezbollah has sharply rejected US allegations about the Lebanese movement's missiles, vowing to continue armed resistance against Israeli aggression.

Israel and the US repeat their claims about the enormity of arsenals owned by Hezbollah and Syria's alleged arms transfer to the Lebanese resistance movement.

Lebanon complains to the UN Security Council about Israel's move to inaugurate a memorial on Lebanese land, which Beirut says is an act of territorial violations.

The United States has repeated its warning to Syria over an alleged transfer of ballistic missiles to Lebanon's Hezbollah, boasting all options are on the table.

US warns that any transfer of Scud missiles to Lebanon's Hezbollah would be "incendiary".

A top US official warns Syria of repercussions if claims it supplied Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah with Scud missiles are true.

Hezbollah has censured the latest report by the inspector of UN Resolution 1559, Terje Roed-Larsen, saying it constitutes a flagrant tutelage on Lebanon.

Lebanon's premier has likened Israeli allegations on Hezbollah's weaponry to US claims about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD), used as a pretext to invade the country.

US calls potential transfer of Scud to Lebanon's Hezbollah "provocative behaviour".

The US has summoned a Washington-based Syrian diplomat to protest what Israel has claimed to be efforts to supply the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah with missiles.

The Lebanese army intelligence has reportedly arrested a man from the eastern city of Bawarej in Zahle on suspicion of spying for Israel.

Israeli jets have violated Lebanese airspace, breaking the sound barrier over several villages in the southern part of the country.

Israeli troops fired at least two flares over southern Lebanon late on Saturday, forcing the Lebanese army to go on alert.

Israel's ill-fated 1982 invasion of Lebanon, seen entirely through the eyes of the young soldiers in an Israeli tank

The Lebanese army says it has opened fire on two Israeli warplanes that were violating the country's airspace at medium altitude.

A Lebanese military judge has filed a lawsuit against four people on charges of collaborating with the Israeli regime.

Hundreds of people have gathered in the Lebanese capital city of Beirut in a show of protest against the Israeli practices in Jerusalem (al-Quds).

Lebanon's March 14 alliance has proposed a plan urging Lebanese and other Arab nations to defend the country at a time of regional and international turbulence.

Lebanese MP regrets past criticism of Syrian president and seeks new beginning.

The leader of Lebanon's Druze community has admitted that he has made "inappropriate" remarks about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has called for the consolidation of ties between Lebanon and Syria.

Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement has condemned the new Israeli plan to build 1,600 new Jewish homes in the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds.

Lebanon's resistance movement Hezbollah says that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has been biased towards Israel.

Lebanese lawmakers and high-ranking officials have held informal talks after it was publicized that the US Embassy has inquired about details concerning Lebanon's mobile phone service providers.

The Hezbollah leader warns that the US embassy in Beirut engages in espionage activities for Israel, cautioning that the collaboration may lead to the “destruction” of Lebanon.

Lebanon military authorities say Israeli jets have violated the country's air space and broke sound barriers over several villages in southern parts of the nation.

Lebanese politician Samir Geagea has criticized Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah for threatening to hit Israel's infrastructure in case of war.

Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem has said that the Lebanese resistance movement is prepared for any surprise from Israel, such that Tel Aviv must think twice before any act of adventurism.

By cartoonist Leon Kuhn whose work can also be seen on his own website http://www.leonkuhn.org.uk where postcards of some of his cartoons can be ordered.

See Leon Kuhn's page on "SpideredNews | Politics" at http://www.spiderednews.com/LeonKuhn.htm

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has warned of Israeli attempts to start a military confrontation with Lebanon, Syria and Iran.

Lebanon prepares to mark the fifth anniversary of the killing of former PM Rafik Hariri, which changed its political landscape.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri says he is concerned about the "escalating and dangerous" threat posed by Israel.

Lebanese search teams have retrieved the black box flight recorders from the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed into the Mediterranean, reports say.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri has called on the international community to take measures to prevent a possible Israeli attack on his country.

Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem has said that the Lebanese resistance movement is ready for any surprise from Israel.

The pilot of an Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed into the sea flew in the opposite direction from the path recommended by the control tower after taking off from Beirut in thunderstorms, Lebanon's transportation minister said today.

Recovery teams search for bodies and "black box" after Ethiopian jet crash.

All weekend, it had been storming across Beirut, bringing the first snows to the mountains above the capital, a near tempest of lightning and thunder that blasted across the seafront Corniche and the runways of the city's international airport. The Lebanese often wondered just how safe it was to fly out of their country in these winter storms. And in the early hours of yesterday morning, their fears were given terrible expression when Ethiopian Airlines flight ET409 exploded in the sky scarcely two miles from Beirut, less that five minutes after take-off.

Airliner carrying 90 people plunges into Mediterranean Sea in bad weather.

Airliner carrying 90 people plunges into Mediterranean Sea in bad weather.

All 90 people aboard an Ethiopian Airlines plane were feared dead after it plunged into the Mediterranean, minutes after taking off from Beirut in a thunderstorm today.

Two Britons are feared dead after an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashes shortly after take-off from Lebanese capital Beirut.

Ethiopian Airlines plane with 90 people on board crashes into sea just minutes after takeoff from Beirut

An Ethiopian Airlines plane carrying 89 people crashes into the sea off Beirut in flames in bad weather just after take-off.

An Ethiopian Airlines plane with 85 passengers on board reportedly crashes into the sea shortly after take-off from Beirut.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has played down the possibility of a war on Lebanon after a member of his cabinet warned of a likely conflict with Hezbollah.

PM Netanyahu distances himself from comments by a minister suggesting Israel was heading for a new war with Lebanon.

A proposal to create a pan-Arab television monitor is a "disturbing" move that could could lead to censorship of broadcasts critical of Arab governments, a media watchdog said on Saturday.

The Saudi-Egyptian proposal to establish a regional office to supervise satellite broadcasters is aimed directly at Qatar-based Al-Jazeera, the Palestinian Hamas group's Al-Aqsa TV and Hezbollah's Al-Manar channel, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said.

"This proposal is disturbing, to say the least," the group said in a statement.

"The danger is that this super-police could be used to censor all TV stations that criticise the region's governments. It could eventually be turned into a formidable weapon against freedom of information."

Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah says he is confident that any new conflict with Israel would see the Lebanese resistance movement emerge victorious and change the face of the Middle East region.

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman discussed in a meeting with President Ahmadinejad's visiting deputy the need for Iran and Lebanon to coordinate their positions at the UN Security Council.

Three people, including two children waiting for their school bus, have been injured in a bomb blast that struck Kfar Fila in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement has denounced reports published by the German magazine Der Spiegel that claim that the Shia party is trafficking cocaine as 'fabrications aimed at distorting its image.'

The Lebanese army says its anti-aircraft artillery fired at four Israeli fighter jets flying over the country's southern airspace at low altitude on Monday.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri will travel to Turkey on Sunday for an official visit to discuss developments in the areas of defense, health, and agriculture.

One Danish soldier attached to UNIFIL has been killed and another has been injured in a car accident in the Wadi al-Hjeir area of Lebanon near the border with Israel.

Lebanon's Information Minister Tarek Mitri has voiced concern over the US government's decision to adopt stringent security screening measures for Lebanese passengers.

Lebanon's Foreign Minister Ali al-Shami says that the country will not surrender to “threats against Hezbollah's arms.”

Lebanese army on Tuesday fired intensively at four Israeli Phantom jet fighters flying at a low altitude over south Lebanon, the country's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Lebanese anti-aircraft guns have opened fire on four Israeli fighter planes that were violating airspace over the southern part of the country.

Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah says the oppressed nations will achieve victory against the "American hegemony."

One person killed and several wounded after gunmen fire on bus carrying labourers.

One person killed and several wounded after gunmen fire on bus carrying labourers.

Unknown attackers have raked a Syrian bus with gunfire in northern Lebanon, killing one person and injuring several others, an official says.

A bus carrying Syrian workers comes under fire in northern Lebanon and at least one person is shot dead, security sources say.

Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah has hailed the Lebanese prime minister's visit to Syria, calling it a practical step to open up 'new horizons' in ties between the two Arab neighbors.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have held "fruitful" talks.

Lebanon's Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir says that he is opposed to the government's decision to allow the Hezbollah resistance forces to retain their weapons.

The BBC's Natalia Antelava looks at domestic abuse in Lebanon - believed to be experienced by three-quarters of women in the country.

The power given to the opposition in Lebanon's new government, and Damascus's role in sealing the deal, is a sign that Syria's influence is once again on the rise, says the BBC's Natalia Antelava.

A profile of Alec Collett, the British-born journalist kidnapped in Lebanon almost 25 years ago whose remains have just been found.

Lebanese anti-aircraft guns open fire on an Israeli drone that violated Lebanese airspace over the south of the country.

After years of political paralysis, Lebanon's politicians are still pulling the country in different directions, says Natalya Antelava.

Israel has voiced concerns over the military power of Lebanon's Hezbollah, saying the movement is capable of putting the main cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem (Al-Quds) in range of its possessing rockets.

Lebanon's Hezbollah says its opposition alliance has agreed to join a national unity government under PM-designate, Saad Hariri.

Lebanon's Hezbollah has agreed to join a national unity government proposed by Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, ending months of political deadlock.

Lebanon's envoy to the United Nations has warned of an imminent Israeli attack on his country, condemning the regime's recent artillery attack on the southern village of Houla.

Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon has confirmed that Israel is running intelligence-gathering networks in Lebanon.

In the face of growing threats from Israel, Lebanon's Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun says that Hezbollah should remain armed and the Lebanese army should be well-equipped.

A UN investigation into explosions in southern Lebanon says that Israel denoted spy devices it planted on Lebanese after their discovery by Hezbollah resistance movement.

If confirmed, the devices would represent violations of Security Council resolution 1701 which halted the 33-day war.

UNIFIL said it had protested to the Israeli military about over-flights by drones while the Lebanese army and the peacekeepers were investigating on the ground.

Lebanese army troops opened fire on the Israeli drones, the UNIFIL statement said.

Williams said the use of drones was an obvious violation of Lebanese sovereignty and resolution 1701 "and not particularly helpful at a time of obvious tension in the south".

The Lebanese army is investigating the cause of a blast that rocked the outskirts of the southern town of Houla overnight.

The blast occurred after Lebanon's Hezbollah discovered cables used for spying in the al-Abbad area near Israeli's border post, DPA reported on Sunday.

Two 50-metre cables were reportedly discovered in the area, one of which was used for wiretapping and the other for broadcasting.

Hezbollah has lauded Saudi-Syrian rapprochement, which laid special emphasis on unity as an important element for the Arab world.

The first UN team that probed the 2005 murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri sought to falsely implicate Damascus, Syria said in a letter seen here Thursday.

The letter from Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said former UN chief investigator Detlev Mehlis of Germany and his assistant Gerhard Lehmann had sought "to implicate the Syrian Arab Republic at any cost" in the February 14, 2005 bombing which killed Hariri and 22 others in Beirut.

He also urged the world body to investigate the matter, in the letter addressed to the US presidency of the UN Security Council.

Moallem based his allegations on statements made by one of the four Lebanese generals held for nearly four years without charge over the Hariri case until they were ordered released last April.

He said statements made by security services director Jamil Sayyed made it clear that the goal of the team led by Mehlis and Lehmann "had been, right from the start, to implicate the Syrian Arab Republic at any cost in the assassination."

"They attempted to induce Sayyed to persuade Syria to identify an official victim who would admit to the crime and subsequently be discovered to have committed suicide or killed in a road accident, whereupon a settlement would be reached with Syria," the letter said.

In another violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, Israeli forces open fire on a Lebanese vessel in the country's territorial waters.

Lebanon's Hezbollah says the only way to end the country's political crisis is through dialogue, adding that the resistance group is ready to help form a government based on four principles.

Nadine Medawar launches her first music CD

Premier-elect Saad Hariri rebuffs interventions in Lebanon's cabinet formation, stressing Hezbollah will be part of the new government even if Israel does not like it.

Men with alleged links to the Lebanese Hezbollah movement have reportedly been tortured by police ahead of their trial in Egypt.

Hezbollah says Israeli warning against the inclusion of the Islamic movement in the Lebanon's unity cabinet is part of Tel Aviv's strategic plans.

An Iranian delegation visits Lebanon and meets with several top opposition figures as the changing political climate tilts power in favor of Hezbollah.

The BBC's Andrew North reports on how migrant workers are allegedly being turned away from many of Beirut's thriving beach clubs.

A Hezbollah delegation meets with Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt, stressing a consensus among political factions over cabinet formation.

Amid an escalating war of words between Israel and Lebanon, Tel Aviv says Beirut would be responsible for any confrontation should Hezbollah join the new government.

The senior Israeli military official says the army foresees no tensions in the northern border and accuses Hezbollah of trying to provoke a fresh regional war.

Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah has said that the Israeli regime may launch another attack on Lebanon by the next spring.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah renews calls for the Lebanese nation to embrace resistance as the only way to counter Israeli threats.

The Lebanese army has put its forces on high alert in response to the escalation of tensions over the establishment of an Israeli military outpost along the country's border.

A Lebanese prosecutor has formally charged a car dealer with espionage activities for Israel and passing information about Hezbollah.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has met the Syrian president and Lebanon's prime minister-designate to discuss Middle East peace.

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has accused Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu of sending "negative messages and distortion of facts".

Iran has hailed the formation of a national unity government in Lebanon, expressing its full support for improving relations between all Lebanese rival parties.

Lebanon's prime minister-designate Saad Hariri rules out rumors that his cabinet will be formed under foreign influence, reports say.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana holds first-ever high-level talks with a Hezbollah representative to Lebanon's Parliament.

Saad Hariri is emerging as the favorite to lead Lebanon's government after his pro-Western March 14 coalition won the weekend elections.

Western-backed alliance claims victory over Hezbollah-led coalition in parliamentary polls.

Lebanese security forces have arrested two brothers on suspicion of spying for Israel amid anti-espionage campaign in the country.

Lebanese people will go to the polls to vote in an election which will pit Hezbollah against the current US-backed majority in Lebanon's parliament.

Polls look set to be determined by divided Christian districts.

Parties wrap up election campaigns and police deploy country-wide ahead of vote.

Lebanese people are set to vote in elections pitting the ruling Western-backed coalition against the Hezbollah-led bloc.

Lebanese security forces have arrested four more people on suspicion of spying for Israel, expecting more arrests amid the crackdown on spy rings in the country.

Ahead of key elections in Lebanon, BBC News has gained a rare access to the representative of the military wing of what is believed to be the most powerful militia in the Middle East.

An Israeli general has verified that Israel failed in its attempt to assassinate Hezbollah's secretary general during its second war on Lebanon.

Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah speaks of the new 'serious' and 'dangerous' challenges that the resistance movement is facing.

How the arrest of suspected Israeli spies in Lebanon could undermine Israel's ability to wage another war against Hezbollah.

Lebanese security forces have intensified a campaign against Israel's espionage activities in the country which has started the countdown for the June 7 parliamentary elections.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemns as 'provocative' a recent report by a German magazine, which attempts to link Hezbollah with Hariri's death.

Alleged escape comes as number of suspected spies arrested so far rises to 15.

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Breaking News » World » Middle East » Lebanon

Documentary on Palestine, including plight of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon

Resistance and Liberation Day has its origins in the May 2000 liberation of Southern Lebanon by Hizbullah from a brutal 22 year Israeli occupation. The first time the Israeli war machine...

After the Iraq war the media tried desparately to marginalize antiwar Galloway, with little success.

One of the the few poloticians that has morals and sticks to them.

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George Galloway savages Sky News over bias in its coverage of Israel's attack on Lebanon, 2006

Rihab Kanaan, a Palestinian poetess was born in Beirut 1959. The Intifadah and the Zionist occupation brutal manner to curbing it were the theme of her poems.

She was called...

Norman Finkelstein, a Jewish American political scientist and author, specializing in Jewish-related issues and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular talks about the Lebanese militia...

Best Lebanon War Documentary. Lebanese Doctors and Civillians Speak Out against the Terrorism they are facing from Israel. Chemical Weapons, Cluster Bombs, Massacres Shocking Documentary...

http://www.arabfilms.org

The music is in Arabic, but the video doesn't need translating.

Music Video : Patti Smith plays new song called "Qana" @ Lollapalooza 2006. It's about the conflict in Lebanon and the massacre of civilians at Qana.

Legendary Reporter Robert Fisk announces his retirement in an Interview on NZ's 'Campbell Live'. He gives his reasons & explains his sense of despair on how little impact his work has had.

Robert Fisk decries U.S. media's failure to report the truth about Hezbollah and the conflict in Lebanon. Here is a related ICH article on the subject during the conflict. "Free in Our...

Today on CNN, Seymour Hersh of the New Yorker, the one who mainstreamed the Abu Gahrib story, has confirmed with insiders that Bush and the Israeli Government planned months in advance that...

Short public service announcement about the crisis in Lebanon featuring Suheir Hammad and Danny Hoch

Photographs by Birte Bajwa 12 July 2006 - 14 August 2006 QuickTime player. Downloadable from http://QuickTime.com

Photographs by Birte Bajwa September 2006 (5 Weeks after the ceasefire) QuickTime player. Downloadable from http://QuickTime.com