Syria enters Israeli-Lebanon row

Damascus stands by its partners in Beirut as they struggle to control the lingering threat from Israel, the Syrian ambassador to Lebanon said in Beirut.

Bilateral relations between Lebanon and Syria are on the mend following years of tensions reaching back to the Lebanese 1975-90 civil war. The sides exchanged ambassadors in 2009. (more…)

Saudi arrests over 100 linked to al-Qaeda ‘terror plot’

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, has arrested about 100 people suspected of having links with al-Qaeda, the interior ministry has said.

A statement from the ministry on Wednesday said the suspects were plotting attacks on oil and security installations in the kingdom.

One cell consisted of 101 people, and two smaller cells were made up of six men each. (more…)

UK revises Israel travel advice

UK revises Israel travel advice – British citizens traveling to Israel should be aware that their passport details could be captured for “improper uses,” Britain’s Foreign Office has warned. The advice follows London’s accusation that the Israeli government was responsible for forging UK passports used in the murder plot of Palestinian Hamas official Mahmoud Mabhouh  ( pictured right)  in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dispute with Israel underscores limits of U.S. power, a shifting alliance

The two-week-old dispute between Israel and the United States over housing construction in East Jerusalem has exposed the limits of American power to pressure Israeli leaders

Hussein: STL will not threaten Lebanon’s security

Minister of State Adnan as-Sayyed Hussein told OTV on Wednesday that the investigations of Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) will not threaten Lebanon’s security.

According to Sayyed Hussein, Lebanese-Syrian relations should be normalized and the STL should be able to conduct its work smoothly.

President Michel Suleiman’s visit to Syria is possible at any time, he added. (more…)

Khoury: Legal and ethical limits are being crossed

President Michel Suleiman’s political adviser, Nazem Khoury, told Future News on Wednesday criticisms against the Lebanese president have gone too far. (more…)

NASA engineer completes Antarctica marathon, raises flag of Lebanon

By Grace Halabi
Lebanese-American George Haddad endured a treacherous trip to the Earth’s southernmost continent, ran a 26 mile marathon, and raised the flag of Lebanon at the end.

Jumblatt: The Road to Damascus is now open

Prime Minister Saad Hariri met with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt on Tuesday at the Grand Serail to discuss the latest domestic developments.

Following his meeting with Hariri Jumblatt said the road to Damascus was now open, in reference to his expected visit to Syria, whose date he said would soon be set by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. (more…)

Sfeir reiterated that presidency is above all else

Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir reiterated to his visitors on Tuesday that “the presidency remains above all else” and wondered whether the sources of the campaign against President Michel Suleiman were “internal or external.”

Sfeir was responding to the attack of President Suleiman by former minister Wiam Wahab , who called on him to resign.

Sfeir also discussed with his visitors the issue national dialogue , hoping it “would achieve the hoped for results.” (more…)

Blair: ‘I am always described as a friend of Israel. It is true’

So much for a crisis in the Israel-U.K. relationship.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, speaking on a day his government moved to expel an Israeli diplomat over an alleged forged-passports case, wowed a gathering of Washington’s most powerful pro-Israel lobby by reaffirming his support for the Jewish state.

“I am always described as a friend of Israel. It is true,” Blair told the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. “I am proud of it and tell you why.” (more…)