Hezbollah chief admits that party members were interrogated by STL

During an interview with Al Manar TV Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah admitted that the prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) summoned Hezbollah members.

” It is true, in the past few weeks, the office of the prosecutor of the STL summoned a few members of Hezbollah. They summoned 12 part members and people close to Hezbollah. Now they will summon six extra people, but we are in the process of verifying whether they are Hezbollah members or people close to the party.” Nasrallah said (more…)

Kerry meets Lebanese PM & President

US Senator and former presidential candidate John Kerry met with President Suleiman at the Baabda palace. (more…)

Jumblatt to hold a press conference at 11:00 am Thursday at his residence in Clemenceau

Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV reported that PSP leader MP Walid Jumblatt will hold a press conference at 11:00 am Thursday at his residence in Clemenceau following his return from Damascus after meeting with Syrian president Bashar al Assad (more…)

Hezbollah: Syrian, Palestinian agents involved in Mughniyeh murder

Hezbollah’s second in command Sheikh Naim Qassem unveiled that Syrian and Palestinian nationals had provided Israel with information on Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh before his assassination.

In an interview with Saudi al-Watan newspaper the Deputy Secretary General of Hezbollah said “Investigation is not over yet. All information confirm that Israel was behind the killing,” adding “people from different nationalities participated” in the murder in a Damascus car bombing on Feb. 12, 2008.

“There is information about Syrian and Palestinian penetration through which Imad Mughniyeh’s personality was uncovered,” he said. (more…)

Geagea: FPM, Hezbollah alliance ‘unnatural’

During a meeting with Lebanese Forces members and a delegation of French Journalists on Wednesday, LF leader Samir Geagea said the alliance between Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement is “unnatural and contradicts the historical pillars of the Lebanese Christian community’s politics.” (more…)

Jumblatt, Assad meet in Damascus

Lebanese Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt met Syrian President Bashar al Assad on Wednesday, the official Syrian news agency SANA said. (more…)

Suicide Bombings in Southern Russia Kill 12

Russian officials say two suicide bombings in the violence-prone southern republic of Dagestan have killed at least 12 people and wounded 18 others.

The blasts happened Wednesday in the city of Kizlyar, near the border of Dagestan and Chechnya. (more…)

Lebanese Democracy: It Just Isn’t What You Think

By Ghassan Karam
Whenever the subject of democracy, modernity, equality or liberty come up, which is almost in every conversation, the Lebanese invariably advance the argument that the Lebanese society is the most liberal in the Middle East, and is the most advanced and the most democratic.

Lebanon’s booming economy fears future

Lebanon posted the highest growth rate in tourist arrivals in the world during 2009 with a 39 percent increase from the previous year. This year tourism is expected to grow by 20 percent.

US Senator John Kerry to visit Lebanon on Wednesday

Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, who is juggling climate change, aid to Pakistan and Congressional oversight of the war in Afghanistan — plunges this week into yet another major international conundrum: Middle East peace.

Kerry departs today to the region “to investigate the political situation in Syria and Lebanon and the prospects for progress in the Arab-Israeli Peace Process,” according to a schedule provided by his office. (more…)