Syrian opposition to launch national council to fight Assad regime

Opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were meeting Saturday in Istanbul to launch a “national council” to coordinate the fight against the Damascus regime, organizers said.
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Interview of Hezbollah murder suspect causes jitters in Lebanon

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati asked Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi to follow up on the interview which was published Friday in TIME magazine with one of four Hezbollah members indicted by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) in the murder of Lebanon’s former PM Rafik Hariri . (more…)

Lebanon at UN refuses to condemn attacks on Israel

Lebanon blocked the U.N. Security Council on Friday from condemning a series of terrorist attacks in Israel. (more…)

One of 4 accused in Hariri murder: They know where I am

A TIME reporter found himself introduced to one of the four members of Hezbollah accused of playing a role in the assassination of Rafik Hariri.

Analysis: Uneasy transition awaits post-Assad Syria

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad looks doomed, politically if not militarily, and the longer he clings to power by brute force the harder it will be to achieve an orderly transition and mend a ruined economy.

Syrian regime killing thousands to survive

While his loyalists in Damascus call him “Lieutenant General Doctor,” his enemies in the West call him a “weak dictator.” That’s Bashar al-Assad, the President of the Arab Republic of Syria, the secretary general of the governing Ba’ath Party of Syria, and currently the world’s bloodiest despot. (more…)

How to Topple Syria’s Assad

“Better late than never” is the only thing that could be said about The United States and the EU finally calling on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

STL to Beirut: Step up effort to arrest suspects

The president of a U.N.-backed court ( Special Tribunal for Lebanon -STL) trying to prosecute the assassins of Lebanon’s former prime minister Rafik Hariri has urged Beirut authorities to step up efforts to arrest four men indicted for alleged involvement in the 2005 suicide bombing. (more…)

Syrian refugees in Lebanon lost hope of returning home soon

WADI KHALED, Lebanon, Aug. 18 (UPI) — Syrian refugees fleeing the violence of the 5-month-old uprising against the regime of President Bashar Assad say they have lost hope of returning home soon. (more…)

Sarkozy warns Lebanon: France may reconsider UNIFIL participation

French President Nicolas Sarkozy told the Lebanese president and prime minister that France “may reconsider its participation in UNIFIL” if it is attacked again.

He was referring to the roadside bombing attack in the southern city of Saida (Sidon) last month which resulted in the wounding of three French UNIFIL soldiers . (more…)