Arab League insist on guarantees before Palestinian-Israeli direct talks

The head of the Arab League has said that Palestinians cannot move into direct peace talks with Israel unless “written guarantees” are given beforehand.

Amr Mussa, the secretary general of the 22-member pan-Arab organisation, spoke in Cairo as Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, held meetings aimed at breathing new life into the stalled peace process. (more…)

Clinton arrives in Pakistan with $7.5 billion package in hand

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived here Sunday for high-level deliberations with Pakistani leaders, the latest in a series of encounters that the Obama administration hopes will chip away at decades of suspicion between Pakistan and the United States. (more…)

Sfeir is in Kesrouan

Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir kicked off his tour in Mount Lebanon’s Kesrouan district on Sunday, stopping at the Saydet Kawwala church in Oqaibe, MTV reported.

A reception was held in his honor in Oqaibe.

the town of Zeitoun was the next stop in his tour. (more…)

Hariri: Let’s all deal with STL calmly

Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri who is in Damascus on a two day official visit was asked on Sunday by a reporter about the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) and his response was : “Let’s all deal with the matter calmly, ” MTV’s correspondent reported. (more…)

Berri, Baroud reach a deal on French -Lebanese security pact

Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri and Interior Minister Ziad Baroud ’s recent meeting was aimed at reaching a solution to the obstacles that emerged over approving the security pact between Lebanon and France, according to An Nahar newspaper.

The main obstacle was the definition of “terrorism.” (more…)

Hariri in Damascus to sign 17 agreements

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is in Damascus, Syria for a two-day visit accompanied by a delegation of 13 ministers for talks and finalization of several agreements. (more…)

An Alfa employee escapes to Israel

An Alfa telecom employee who is a suspect in spying for Israel escaped 2 days ago to israel through Aiteroun crossing ( also known as Kilo 9 gate) in Bint Jbeil province of south Lebanon, according to An Nahar.

He was identified with his initials N.R.M.A.. According to An Nahar he is from Dbaiyeh in Metn province .

3 employees of Alfa have already been arrested on charges of spying for Israel

Editorial: Can We Talk?

On July 7, CNN fired its senior editor of Middle East affairs, Octavia Nasr, after she published a Twitter message praising Sayyed Fadlallah

Lebanon minister: Hezbollah is ‘accusing itself’ of Hariri murder

Minister of Social Affairs Salim Sayegh said Saturday that the continuous spy revelations reflect the strength of the Lebanese security services.
“These revelations do not reflect weakness of the security services, but on the contrary,” Sayegh told Asharq radio station.

“They show that the security services have for the first time used modern technology and equipment to achieve results,” he explained. (more…)

Iranian based Iraqi cleric meets Assad in Damascus

Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr visited Damascus on Saturday from his base in Iran for talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Iraqi affairs.

During the meeting, Assad urged Iraqi leaders to quickly form a government and put an end to a four-month coalition stalemate, SANA the official Syrian news agency reported. (more…)