Israel has cost the U.S. about $1.6 trillion since 1973

Can Israel afford to continue to occupy Palestinian territory? “Israel’s ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories is damaging the economy of the Jewish state,”

Arab League endorses direct Palestinian-Israeli talks

The Arab League has endorsed direct Palestinian peace talks with the Israelis, but has left the timing to the Palestinians, officials said.

The US has been pushing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to restart the direct talks, suspended since 2008.

Mr Abbas has been demanding guarantees on borders and a freeze on all Israeli settlement activity. (more…)

US urges Syria to play a more constructive role

Saudi Arabia’s king arrived Thursday in Damascus to try work with his Syrian counterpart, President Bashar Al-Assad, to defuse the potentially explosive situation over the possible implication of Hezbollah in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah — a Muslim group backed by Syria and Iran — has made recent television appearances saying clearly that his organization would not accept any blame and would fight against the charges. (more…)

STL rejects Hezbollah outcry

A U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon ( STL) set up to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese statesman Rafik al-Hariri on Thursday rejected charges by Lebanon’s Hezbollah armed group that its work is politically motivated.

“Experience of other international tribunals has shown that the results of the work of such institutions speak for themselves and contradict the unsubstantiated allegations of hostile interference, (more…)

Mini summit confirmed for Friday

The Lebanese presidential office confirmed today that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will accompany Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz to Lebanon on Friday for a summit aimed at easing tensions in the country.

“The Saudi monarch and Syrian president will come together to attend the hours-long summit,” a presidential official told reporters. (more…)

Hariri sources: Only STL prosecutor deals with indictments

Informed sources from Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s office told As Safir newspaper that the objective of the visit of the Saudi monarch to Lebanon is to deal with 2 issues: (more…)

President Ahmadinejad’s Fulminations.

By Ghassan Karam

Mahmud Ahmadinejad the Iranian President is a chauvinist, a traditional ecologically ignorant chauvinist. This post is not about traditional politics, and is not concerned with either the role of the Pasadran,

Basketball: Lebanon beats Japan 2-1 in warm-up series

Lebanon sealed a 2-1 series victory over Japan as they won the final game of their triple set 93-80 in Fukushima. (more…)

Mitri: The cabinet stressed importance of unity, dialogue

Lebanon’s Information Minister Tarek Mitri briefed the media following Wednesday’s cabinet session at the Grand Serail that was chaired by PM Saad Hariri (more…)

Geagea: All STL false witnesses are Syrian intelligence

In his last speech, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah questioned the credibility of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon by claiming that the International court used testimonies of false witnesses in the investigation into the 2005 assassination of Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. (more…)