US, UN chief slam Syria election

The United States said on Monday Syria’s parliamentary election “borders on ludicrous” while UN chief Ban Ki-moon slammed the Syrian government for holding a national election while violence is still raging and for failing to involve all parties.

“It’s not really possible to hold credible elections in a climate where basic human rights are being denied to the citizens and the government is continuing to carry out daily assaults. (more…)

Hezbollah accuses US of blocking Iran donations to Lebanon

Hezbollah officials MP Mohammad Raad and Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah Sheikh Naim Qassem have accused the US of dispatching US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman to Beirut to prevent Lebanon from signing agreements with Iran.

The visit to Beirut last week of Iranian Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi (more…)

Iraq frees Hezbollah prisoner accused of killing US soldiers

An Iraqi court on Monday declared a Hezbollah commander accused of killing U.S. solders in Iraq in 2007 not guilty for lack of evidence and ruled that he be set free.

The case of Ali Mussa Daqduq has been a thorn in diplomatic relations between Baghdad and Washington (more…)

Analysis: Lebanon walks Syria tightrope

By Roula Khalaf
A year ago, Lebanon was bracing for trouble. With Syria’s uprising raging next door – and politics in Beirut divided along pro and anti-Syrian lines many assumed it would be a matter of time

Jumblatt: We’ll challenge them at the Ballot boxes

During a rally on Sunday in Sawfar, Mt Lebanon organized by the Progressive Socialist Party to honor its veterans , PSP leader MP Walid Jumblatt challenged Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun by telling him without mentioning him by name We will challenge you at the Ballot boxes in the upcoming parliamentary elections (more…)

Analysis: Five myths about America’s decline

By Ian Bremmer: Drawn-out wars, economic struggles, exploding debt — it’s easy to point to these signs and conclude that America is in an irreversible decline;

Aoun slams Jumblatt, Suleiman, Arabs, US; calls Syria a democracy

Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun launched another attack against Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt during a ceremony on Saturday marking the seventh anniversary of his return from exile in France.
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Missing Chinese Dissident Under US Protection, report

A U.S.-based China rights organization says the blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng is under U.S. protection and that talks are underway between U.S. and Chinese officials. (more…)

Lebanese student perseveres, secures US job

Senior Vick Arslanian immigrated from Achrafieh in Beirut, Lebanon to the United States in the summer of 2002. Having learned to read and write English at an early age, one would think the move was fairly easy. It wasn’t. Arslanian remembers how difficult it was to adjust to his new life. (more…)

Iran copying captured U.S. drone, report

Iran’s military has started to build a copy of a U.S. surveillance drone captured last year after breaking the software encryption, Iranian media reported on Sunday. (more…)