DUBAI (AFP) - A previously unheard of group in Iraq threatened to kill a Lebanese hostage it accused of working with a liquor distribution firm that "deals with the occupiers," according to a video posted on the Internet. "The Group for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" said it had "captured an importer of food and liquor in Baghdad who works for a company that deals directly with the crusader occupiers of Iraq." It demanded the company's "withdrawal from Iraq as soon as possible in order to free the Lebanese hostage -- otherwise woe on him and you."

The hostage, who speaking in Arabic gave the Armenian name of Garabet Jean Chekerjian, said he held dual Lebanese and Cypriot nationality. He was shown in the footage sitting on the floor with his hands and feet tied. A hooded gunman pointed an automatic weapon at his head. The captive exhorted Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and the Lebanese embassy in Baghdad to put pressure on his employers to pull out of Iraq."I hold dual Lebanese and Cypriot nationality and I work with the branches of the 'Jetco Trading' (phonetic) company in Lebanon, Cyprus and Iraq. The company supplies foodstuffs and alcoholic beverages to the occupation forces and the Iraqi army," he said.

DAMASCUS (AFP) - Syria vowed to cooperate fully with the head of the UN probe into the murder of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri, saying it was in the interests of Damascus to uncover the truth."Detlev Mehlis arrives in Damascus tomorrow... Syria will cooperate with him and extend all possible facilities to the international commission of inquiry," the official SANA news agency said Sunday."It is in the interests of Syria to reach the truth on the crime of Rafiq Hariri's assassination."

 An official daily, Ath-Thawra, said Syria would "cooperate in a serious and responsible manner" with Mehlis, who is visiting Syria as part of his commission's probe which has seen the arrest of four top pro-Syrian Lebanese security officials.Syria and its political allies in Lebanon at the time are accused of having a hand in the February 14 bomb blast on the Beirut seafront that killed Hariri and another 20 people.

Lebanon's Maronite bishops have called for the cloud of suspicion over President Emile Lahoud's head to be lifted. Lahoud, who is a Maronite, has faced increasing pressure to resign over the 14 February assassination, particularly since the arrests in the course of a UN investigation into the crime.

"The information which has come to the UN investigation and which has cast suspicion on certain suspects, including those who were in charge of civilian security, is an embarrassment," said a statement from the bishops, who represent the largest Christian community in Lebanon. The arrests have "given critics a field day," the bishops said, adding that the presidency "should be surrounded by a halo of respect."

 KIEV (AFP) - Ukraine called for the United Nations to review its decision to replace Kiev's peacekeeping contingent in Lebanon, following findings of "significant financial misconduct  by the troops.  "We will do everything so that the decision to replace the Ukrainian contingent is reviewed," Vassyl Filipchuk, a foreign ministry spokesman, told reporters in Kiev.

Last Friday UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe said that a UN probe "has shown significant financial misconduct by Ukrainian military personnel, including the commanding officer, who served with the mission."She added that the UN had taken steps to replace the Ukrainian unit in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and to prevent the recurrence of such misconduct.