Berri at a Beirut hospital for surgery

Clemenceau Medical Center (CMC) issued a statement on Wednesday in which it said that Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri underwent kidney stone surgery in the morning, adding that he will be discharged Thursday morning.

CMC is an affiliate of US based Johns Hopkins Medicine International. (more…)

Lebanon releases the German engineer

Lebanese judicial officials say authorities have released the German engineer who was detained on suspicion of spying for Israel.

The man, who worked at the “Liban Lait” dairy factory in eastern Lebanon, was detained late Monday. He was suspected of involvement in passing on sensitive security information to Israel. (more…)

A mini summit in Lebanon to ease the tension

Lebanon First bloc MP Nohad al-Mashnouq told Reuters news agency on Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will visit Lebanon on Friday along with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz.

Baabda palace is reportedly gearing up to welcome the 2 Arab leaders for summit talks with President Michel Suleiman aimed at easing the tension in Lebanon, following the reports of Hezbollah indictments by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon ( STL) (more…)

Spain’s Catalonia region bans bullfighting

Catalonia became the first Spanish mainland region to ban bullfighting after its parliament voted Wednesday to outlaw the tradition on animal cruelty grounds. (more…)

152 killed in Pakistan’s worst ever air crash

The morning Airblue flight from Karachi was preparing to land when it went down in the fog-shrouded Margalla Hills to the north of Islamabad. (more…)

Hariri-Assad-Nasrallah meeting is under review

According to al-Hayat newspaper sources officials are studying the possibility of holding a meeting between Premier Saad Hariri, Syrian President Bashar Assad and Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

In an article published on Wednesday al-Hayat reported that the meeting is one of the suggestions made to resolve the differences among Lebanese politicians over the findings of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon . (more…)

Hezbollah official calls accusations a form of agression

Hezbollah top official in southern Lebanon Sheikh Nabil Qaouq stressed Tuesday that any accusation against members or leaders of the party is a form of aggression “which is more dangerous than the decision of May 5, 2008.”

He is referring to May 2008 when Hezbollah occupied western Beirut and tried (but failed ) to occupy Mt Lebanon (more…)

Hezbollah offical calls STL a ‘U.S Pawn’

Agriculture Minister Hussein al-Hajj Hassan , a key member of Hezbollah told New TV on Wednesday that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is a US pawn.

Hassan said that Hezbollah will reject the indictment by the tribunal of any of the party members in the 2005 assassination of Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. (more…)

Hezbollah MP: STL is the second crime after Hariri’s murder

Hezbollah MP Ali Moqdad told NBN television on Wednesday that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is the second crime after the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

“Since Hariri was assassinated, we were afraid the STL would be politicized,” he said, adding, “We knew from the beginning that the Hariri killing would shake the entire region, and not just Lebanon.” (more…)

U.S. plans to attack 2 ME countries says Ahmadinejad

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the United States and Israel plan to attack two countries in the Middle East as part of a conspiracy to apply pressure on Iran.

“We have precise information that the Americans have devised a plot, according to which they seek to launch a psychological war on Iran,” (more…)