Lebanon last played China on Tuesday. Despite losing the game, the boys in red and white proved to be effective at limiting China's towering NBA superstar, 7'5" (2.26m) Center Yao Ming. Yao (pictured right) was held to 14 points and missed most of the game after Lebanon's Ali Fakhreddine took down Yao with an accidental elbow to the jaw.  The performance of the Lebanese national team in the Asian Basketball Championships paints a very telling story. While winning a single game is attainable by most teams, playing 8 games in 9 days against high caliber opponents is a testament to Lebanon's resilience and determination to win. Coach Paul Coughter deserves significant credit for harnessing the winning streak and for leading the team to focus on achieving a higher standard.

While the coach and the team have done a terrific job, Lebanon's fans deserve as much credit for motivating the team to think big. Despite the home court advantage for Qatar, Lebanon had the majority of the crowd on their side throughout the tournament. Filling the stands with red, white and green flags, Team Lebanon supporters have made the national team a force to be reckoned with. Please Click "READ MORE" to view pictures of this wonderful match.

 Beirut, 15 Sept. (AKI) - The UN commission investigating the death of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri has asked that banking secrecy be lifted on the bank accounts of nine Lebanese and Syrian citizens, to review financial transactions over the last five years. The list includes a number of high-ranking figures; the current Syrian interior minister, Ghazi Kanaan, who was head of Syrian security in Lebanon until 2002, his successor until April 2005, Rustum Ghazale, the current Lebanese defence minister, Elias al-Murr, the editor of ad-Diyar newspaper, Charles Ayub, and former Lebanese MP, Nasir Qandil.
The UN list comprises more than thirty people, who are suspected of involvement in Hariri's murder.

 Police on Wednesday arrested three officials of an nationalist group, a day after they called on Lebanon to withdraw from the Arab League, a judicial official said. Prosecutor Mukhtar Saad said the three members of the Guardians of the Cedars were detained for "issuing a statement that incites internal sedition."

On Tuesday they gave a press conference in a hotel north of Beirut where they issued a statement, The group has long called for the expulsion of Palestinian refugees and their descendants from Lebanon. The statement also called Lebanon to withdraw from the Arab League "because we are not part of the Arab world." It added that the policy of pan-Arabism had brought only harm to Lebanon.  "Syria is worse than Israel," the statement added.

 Being perhaps the most unique urban reconstruction and city regeneration projects of its kind regionally and internationally, the multi-billion dollar Beirut City Centre project involves the development and reconstruction of the traditional Beirut City Centre into the 'finest City Centre in the Middle East'.

A mixed-use development, the Beirut City Centre covers over 1.9 million square meters of prime land, of which one third is reclaimed from the sea. On this land, Solidere is developing 4.69 millions m2 of built-up-space featuring 40% residential, 50% commercial and offices and 10% hotels, cultural and leisure services.

 Phase One of the Beirut City Centre project, which was successfully completed, saw the installation of top-of-the-line infrastructure and utilities and the reconstitution of the public domain. Highlights include restoration of more than 90% of retained buildings, construction of the Beirut Marina and one-kilometre sea defence structure and execution of new development projects including the United Nations (UN) building, the Embassy complex, Saifi Village residential district, as well as the start of development of residential blocks in the Wadi Abu Jamil residential sector and a number of prominent residential, and office buildings in other sectors of the City Center.