Jabal Lubnan, Lebanon News Archives

Lebanese troops shot and killed a suicide bomber near Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp Saturday, a senior military official said.

The official said the Palestinian man wearing an explosive belt approached an army checkpoint just outside the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp on the outskirts of the southern city of Sidon.

Soldiers manning the army checkpoint saw the young man climb out of a car and throw a hand grenade which failed to explode, the official said. The soldiers warned the man not to move, but he ignored the orders and moved quickly toward them with his hands on his waist.

By David Ignatius Sunday, June 1, 2008; Page B07 What happens when a superpower becomes preoccupied by a costly war and loses some of its ability to coerce friends and enemies toward the outcomes it favors? ...

Friday, 30 May, 2008 @ 5:42 AM in Beirut Beirut / Paris - According to the " Le Canard Enchaine " newspaper, French President Nicolas Sarkozy will be visiting Lebanon in mid-June to Lebanon to congratulate ...

BEIRUT: Rebuilding the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp will cost around $400 million and will take two to three years, Ambassador Khalil Makkawi, head of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, told ...

For three consecutive seasons tourism revenue, once Lebanon's lifeblood, was reduced to a trickle by violence and political uncertainty.

Just a week after feuding Lebanese leaders sealed a political deal to end 18 months of conflict, restaurants have re-opened, hotel bookings have soared and tourists have replaced gunmen on the streets of ...

Beirut: Lebanese President Michel Sulaiman will appoint a prime minister tomorrow to head a new cabinet that will be formed as part of an agreement to end 18 months of political conflict.

People sunbathe near the swimming pool of the St. George's hotel in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 28, 2008.

On May 25, General Michael Suleiman, commander of the Lebanese army for ten years, was elected Lebanon's 12th president, filling a position, left vacant during a six-month period of political crisis that drove ...

This tiny Gulf state emerged this week at the forefront of regional diplomacy, successfully shepherding the negotiations between feuding Lebanese factions to end months of political turmoil and violence.

With regional powers, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, aligned behind rival players in Lebanon, Qatar is uniquely suited to help mediate Lebanon's crisis. It's seen as charting an unashamedly independent path in the maze of Arab politics,

"Just a year ago, Saudi Arabia was trying to do this [mediation], but Saudi Arabia is considered an interested party. But Qatar is somewhat in between," says Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Endowment's Middle East Center in Beirut. "Qatar, on the Lebanon issue, is the only country with good relations on both sides and has the money to back it up."

In this photo released by Lebanon's official news agency, the Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, left, meets with outgoing Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, right, at the presidential palace in Baabda near Beirut, ...

The Lebanese interior ministry announced an indefinite ban on motorbikes, provocative convoys, slogans or flag waving in the capital Beirut.

Iran - Lebanon - Mottaki Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Monday hailed Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri for his wise management of efforts for settlement of Lebanese crisis and the outcome ...

Lebanon's peace deal has cast new light on the prominent role sought by Qatar, a tiny energy-rich Gulf country aspiring to take on a larger Mideast regional diplomatic role while also bidding to host an ...

Lebanon's newly-elected Pres-ident Michel Suleiman being sworn in at Parliament in Beirut yesterday.

HH the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and parliament majority leader Saad Hariri after signing an agreement between ...

Lebanon's parliament elected army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman as president Sunday in a long-delayed vote that was a key step toward restoring political stability after an 18-month stalemate.

Celebratory gunfire and occasional explosions reverberated across the capital, Beirut, as news of Suleiman's election was announced.

In the general's hometown of Aamchit on the Mediterranean coast north of Beirut, hundreds of people broke out in cheers and dancing in the main square as they watched the vote on a giant screen.

Saturday, 24 May, 2008 @ 2:06 PM in Beirut By Raed Rafei Beirut - Hezbollah's offensive against mostly Sunni Muslim political rivals in Lebanon has sullied its image in the Arab world as an armed force engaged ...

Today is Sunday, June 1, the 153rd day of 2008. There are 213 days left in the year.

It has not taken long for the Lebanese people to demonstrate the unparalleled resiliency for which they have been famous for generations.

People celebrate in Beirut, as Prime Minister Fouad Saniora talks on TV, after Lebanese politicians came to an agreement Rival Lebanese leaders reached a deal on Wednesday to end 18 months of political conflict ...

Hezbollah fighters have pulled back since seizing parts of Lebanon's capital, but their brazen display has made one thing clear: A private army blamed for terrorist attacks on Western interests and dedicated to the destruction of Israel will be a fixture in this weakened country for a long time.

Lebanon is an ideal incubator for Hezbollah's military clout, just as Afghanistan served al-Qaida. Lebanon's U.S.-funded military doesn't interfere with the thousands of rockets and missiles that militants are believed to have hidden in basements and bunkers throughout Shiite Muslim areas of the tiny country.

The guest speaker at Peachtree City's 10th Annual Memorial Day Celebration Monday, says he will connect the dots between today's Global War on Terror and the 1983 bombing of the U.S. military barracks in ...

This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Wednesday May 21 2008. It was last updated at 15:43 on May 21 2008.

FROM the brink of civil war, there are real hopes that a long-term solution to the latest sectarian conflict to disrupt Lebanon has been found.

Hezbollah activists plant a tree at the site where the opposition had set up a protest camp, at an official ceremony in downtown Beirut yesterday.

Lebanon's finance minister says he hopes the breakthrough deal on ending the country's political crisis will have a positive effect on the economy and attract foreign investment.

The United Nations Security Council is expected to issue a statement on Friday in support of a Qatari-mediated deal signed earlier this week between rival Lebanese factions, according to which Beirut has ...

Thursday, 22 May 2008, 10:39 am Press Release: US State Department C. David Welch, Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Washington, DC May 21, 2008 Briefing on Lebanon and Other Middle East Issues MR.

BEIRUT, : Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah said Thursday that the current period requires Arab and Islamic efforts to settle the remaining problems and complications, and praised Iran's ...

BEIRUT: Staff at Lebanon's Baabda presidential palace, empty for six months, are feverishly preparing for the long-awaited arrival of a new tenant, mowing the lawn, cleaning windows and dusting chandeliers.

BEIRUT: The heart of Downtown Beirut was buzzing again as shops and restaurants prepared Thursday to reopen their businesses with a splash after the opposition ended an 18-month protest that had turned the area ...

Huddled at home in front of their TVs during last week's fighting, the Lebanese relived one of their worst memories: masked gunmen setting up makeshift checkpoints and demanding people's identity cards.

SOMETHING RADICALLY NEW AFTER DOHA By Michael Young Daily Star - Lebanon May 22 2008 Whatever else is said about the agreement between Lebanon's leaders reached in Qatar on Wednesday, it will likely transform ...

News that Israel has for months been secretly negotiating with Syria has sent a frisson of excitement through the Middle East - overshadowing, at least momentarily, the new political deal in Beirut.

The Bush administration sought Wednesday to put a positive spin on a deal between Lebanon's feuding factions, saying it is key to short-term stability even though it gives the militant Hezbollah movement more ...

A Lebanese woman holds a banner during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, May 20, 2008.

Lebanon needs a new law banning sectarian prejudice and incitement, to help heal rifts that widened after last week's fighting between opposition and pro-government forces, the Beirut-based Khiam Rehabilitation ...

The biggest stumbling block to peace in the Middle East is the mindset of suspicion, reaction and hatred among its sentient people.

DOHA. Lebanon'S Hezbollah-led opposition yesterday rejected a proposal at Arab-brokered talks with its pro-government rivals aimed at ending a political crisis which took the country to the brink of civil war.

The next American president will inherit many foreign policy challenges, but surely one of the biggest will be the Cold War.

Monday, 19 May, 2008 @ 2:23 PM in Beirut By Borzou Daragahi Beirut - Through their apartment windows or from just over the tops of their newspapers, the artists, writers, students, journalists and lawyers ...

BEIRUT, Lebanon, MAY 14, 2008 .- The Maronite patriarch of Antioch called for dialogue in Lebanon as he continues his international trip to personally meet with leaders, including the U.N. secretary general, ...

BEIRUT: Ongoing political talks being held by Lebanese leaders in Qatar need to address violations of humanitarian law that occurred during recent clashes between pro-government and opposition gunmen, according ...

Sunni Muslims are bitter and fearful after Shiite Hezbollah's triumph in Beirut, watching their backs on the streets and some even moving to safer spots.

It is an ominous sign of how Lebanon's latest political crisis has sharply worsened sectarian tensions in a country still traumatized by its 1975-1990 civil war.

'They entered and they carried out the plan. But who did they liberate Beirut from?' Mohammed Zaghloul, a 41-year-old Sunni, asked bitterly of Hezbollah, as he sat on a street corner in the Tarik Jadideh neighborhood, once controlled by Sunni groups.

In three years, since the murder of former PM Rafik Hariri, Hezbollah has attempted three coups -- and failed.

Lebanon's wealthy are escaping in style. After violence broke out this month, air and sea ports in Lebanon have effectively shut down, but the country's well-heeled are bolting by yacht to nearby Cyprus.

President Bush pivoted to the Arab side of the Mideast peace dispute on Saturday, but he may well get a less glowing reception than he did in Israel earlier this week.

Bush opened two days of talks here with a string of leaders key to U.S. goals in the region: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. On Sunday, Bush is meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and several Iraqi leaders.

Lawmaker Mohammed Raad, right, who heads Hezbollah's delegation in Qatar, talks to journalists ahead of the Lebanese government and Hezbollah-led opposition leaders second day of talks Sunday, May 18, 2008, in ...

Rival factions in Lebanon have agreed to re-launch a national dialog after fierce fighting between Hezbollah militants and pro-government militias killed at least 65 people and wounded at least 200 in the worst ...

The warring parties in Lebanon agreed to a deal brokered by Arab diplomats, and incoming flights to Beirut's International airport have resumed ending a week of bloody, political crisis.

I am not sure what was the worse part of this week. Living in Lebanon? Or reading the outrageous words of George Bush? Several times, I have asked myself this question: have words lost their meaning? So let's ...

This week Israel's Military Intelligence Chief Major General Amos Yadlin complained to the Israeli daily Haaretz that "Hezbollah proved that it was the strongest power in Lebanon stronger than the Lebanese and ...

Saturday, May 17, 2008 BEIRUT: Rival Lebanese leaders flew to Qatar on Friday aiming to end a protracted political conflict that has pushed the country to the brink of a new civil war.

For three years, Sunni Muslims have dominated Lebanon's government. Now they are bitter and fearful after Hezbollah's seizure of parts of Beirut in street gunbattles _ an ominous sign of how the country's ... via PR-inside.com

Arab League mediators say a peace deal has been reached between the Lebanese government and the Hezbollah-led opposition. via Australian News

“Politically, it's obvious that the opposition won the first round”

Lebanese factions took another major step toward calming a flare-up of sectarian and political violence yesterday by agreeing to immediately resume long-stalled talks over a new government. via Boston Globe

“Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere, The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst , Are full of passionate intensity.”

While America's secretary of state devotes her time to doomed Israel-Palestinian talks and America goes ga-ga over a candidate whose main foreign policy strategy is to talk to dictators, still another crisis ... via Global Politician

“We should learn from the past”

BEIRUT, Lebanon, MAY 14, 2008 .- The Maronite patriarch of Antioch called for dialogue in Lebanon as he continues his international trip to personally meet with leaders, including the U.N. secretary general, ... via Global Catholic Network EWTN

“Army units will prevent any violations, whether by individuals or groups, in accordance with the law even if this is going to lead to the use of force”

The Lebanese army expanded its troop deployment to several tense areas around the country yesterday, saying its soldiers would use force if needed to impose order after clashes between the U.S.-backed ... via Edmonton Sun

“People are worried as a result of Hizbullah's actions and we need reassurances”

BEIRUT: Lebanon's politicial crisis showed early signs of resolution on Wednesday after the Cabinet rescinded two controversial decisions that had prompted deadly street battles in Beirut and other parts of the ... via The Daily Star

“Due to the situation in Beirut and the continued blockade of roads and the difficulty of movement... we have decided to reduce the number of Kuwaiti diplomats”

Kuwait decided on Tuesday to reduce the number of diplomats in its mission in Beirut but the embassy will remain open, the official KUNA news agency quoted the Kuwaiti ambassador as saying. via Free Republic

In three years, since the murder of former PM Rafik Hariri, Hezbollah has attempted three coups -- and failed. via Across the Bay

“The Armenian citizens will come back to Armenia by Yerevan-Aleppo flight”

ARMENIAN CITIZENS ABANDONING BEIRUT PanARMENIAN.Net 13.05.2008 18:57 GMT+04:00 /PanARMENIAN.Net/ On May 13, four Armenian citizens, who wanted to leave Beirut, were driven in an Armenian Embassy's car to the ... via Groong Armenian News Network

“I was invited aboard, I just happened to have quality friends”

Lebanon's wealthy are escaping in style. After violence broke out this month, air and sea ports in Lebanon have effectively shut down, but the country's well-heeled are bolting by yacht to nearby Cyprus. via The West Australian

“I found him to be an honest guy. He loves his family, he's easy to talk to, he's a strategic thinker. And so we'll see what happens.”

The United States said today that reaching a Mideast peace agreement within the next eight months 'might be improbable but it's not impossible,' cautioning that no major breakthroughs are expected when ... via CourierPostOnline

“This will affect (Iran's) relations with all Arab countries, if not Islamic states as well.”

Saudi Arabia sent Iran a sharp warning over Lebanon Tuesday, saying Tehran's support for Hezbollah will damage its relations with other Muslim and Arab countries. via WHDH

Published: Tuesday 13 May 2008 14:34 UTC Last updated: Tuesday 13 May 2008 15:17 UTC Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, says that Iran is putting its relationship with the Arab world and ... via Radio Netherlands Wereldomroep

“The army is no longer the army”

The Lebanese army announced on Monday evening that it would start using force to stop fighting between supporters of the governing coalition and the Hezbollah-led opposition, a step the army had not taken ... via Deseret Morning News

Hizbollah gunmen melted off the streets of Beirut at the weekend after Lebanon's Prime Minister called on the Lebanese Army to restore law and order after sectarian clashes erupted on Thursday. via The New Zealand Herald

“It's hard to remember a less auspicious time to pursue Arab-Israeli peacemaking than right now”

President George W. Bush heads back to the Middle East on Tuesday facing broad skepticism over his chances of securing an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal before he leaves office in less than nine months. via Sunny 98.5

The northern Lebanese port of Tripoli has once again become the scene of fierce fighting between supporters of the pro-Western government and Shiite militias, loyal to the opposition led by Hezbollah. via The London News.Net

Deploring the violence that has engulfed Lebanon over the past week, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on all parties in the fractured country to resume dialogue as part of a process that should ... via United Nations

“About 7,000 people have fled from Bab al-Tebbaneh, which marks the front lines, because of the battles”

The majority of fighting in the capital of Lebanon stopped Sunday after the military demanded a halt on attacks in Beirut, officials said. via Daily India

“That's probably why we have this crisis and I fear we may have other crises.”

By briefly taking over Beirut, Hezbollah has shown a readiness to use force against the governing coalition and could bring more to bear in an attempt to end Lebanon's power struggle on its terms. via AlertNet

“It's a very dangerous step in the long run because it is clear that Hizbullah is Iran's long arm. I hope Lebanon's government and army will come to their senses or we will face the reality where Iran rules Lebanon”

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday called the situation in Lebanon "serious" after deadly clashes between pro-government and opposition forces, some of which are backed by ... via The Daily Star

“A large plane has been sent to Damascus. It will take aboard all the Russian citizens who wish to fly to Moscow tonight”

Russian citizens who failed to leave Lebanon on Saturday due to the armed clashes in Beirut can take a special flight of Aeroflot - Russian Airlines tonight, company press secretary Irina Dannenberg told ... via ITAR-TASS

“We will start deploying in the area of clashes now.”

From correspondents in Middle East, 10:30 PM IST A ceasefire was established Sunday between followers of the Druze leader Walid Jumblatt and opposition followers after clashes broke out on Jumblatt's stronghold ... via India eNews

Arab foreign ministers kicked off an emergency meeting here on Sunday to discuss the situation in Lebanon, where sectarian fighting between anti and pro-government supporters during the past several days cast ... via Xinhuanet

“After months of paralysing the democratically elected Lebanese government, Hezbollah has now turned its arms against the Lebanese people and challenged Lebanon's security forces for control of the streets”

CRAWFORD: The White House on Friday urged Iran and Syria to halt support for Hezbollah after its fighters in the Lebanese capital routed forces loyal to the government. via Daily Times

“All we want is peace. We don't want people from the same country fighting. If they want to fight, fight other people”

Qatar evacuates citizens from Lebanon DOHA * The escalating tension between pro-government gunmen and fighters loyal to Hezbollah have solicited varied reactions from Lebanese residents in Qatar. via The Peninsula