Written by Yakoub El Khazen      Patriarch Toubia Kaiss El Khazen of Bekaata Kanaan           He is …

By Lin Noueihed  RIYYAK, Lebanon (Reuters) - Syria withdrew its last soldiers and intelligence agents from Lebanon Tuesday, ending a 29-year military presence in its small neighbor. s the Syrian troops crossed the frontier in green buses, many Lebanese hailed their departure as the start of a new era, but analysts said Damascus would remain influential. "With the completion of the Syrian forces' withdrawal from Lebanon, a new political era in the relations between the two brethren countries starts based on close cooperation in all fields," Lebanon's new Prime Minister Najib Mikati said. Syria told the United Nations it had completed its pullout from Lebanon in line with Security Council resolution 1559.

By Lin Noueihed  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's most powerful pro-Syrian security chief resigned on Monday, hours before the last Syrian forces were due to leave their tiny neighbor and end Damascus' 29-year domination.  The resignation of Jamil al-Sayyed, head of the General Security, signaled the collapse of the Syrian-installed security apparatus that had effectively run Lebanon for years. "Security chiefs are usually appointed with politics and change when it changes," Sayyed said in his resignation letter. Sayyed said last week he was ready to step aside during a U.N.-ordered international investigation into the Feb. 14 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, which sparked angry protests against the Syrians many blamed.

Written by Yakoub El Khazen    John Lewis Burckhardt’s visit to Keserwan in March,1812.     John Lewis Burckhardt (Johann Ludwig Burkhardt), …