Patriarch Youssef Dargham El Khazen

He was the first De Khazen family member to become Maronite Patriarch In a series of three members had the same position during the 18^th and 19^th century (the other two members were Patriarch Toubia Kaiss El Khazen and Patriarch Youssef Raji El Khazen).

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's pro-Syrian prime minister designate said on Wednesday he was stepping down after failing to form a new government to lead the country to general elections scheduled in May.  Omar Karami's resignation made timely elections more unlikely and deepened the political crisis triggered by the February assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. "We have once again reached a dead end," Karami told reporters. "That is why I have invited you today to present my resignation." But Karami said there was still enough time to hold the elections before the current parliament's term expires on May 31. The constitution requires the government to call elections at least a month before the vote.

BEIRUT, International Herald Tribune   The anniversary this year of "April 13" - the spark that started Lebanon's civil war - is like no other. Three decades after a gun attack on a bus triggered the 15-year sectarian conflict, Lebanon is once again in the throes of violence and political turmoil, after 15 years of relative calm and rebuilding. Still, this anniversary for the first time is characterized by Christian-Muslim unity and by the imminent dawning of an era when Lebanon will be free of foreign armies. Syria has pledged to withdraw its army by April 30, in compliance with UN and U.S. demands. Ending Syria's 29-year dominance of Lebanon would have been unthinkable a few months ago. It came only after weeks of anti-Syrian protests and international pressure brought after the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. sraeli forces withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000, and most Palestinian guerrillas - key players early in the civil war - also have left. The remaining gunmen are largely confined to refugee camps with their light weapons. In 1975, in contrast, they were running a separate state within Lebanon.

DAMASCUS (AFP) - Thirty years after Syria's tiny neighbour Lebanon plunged into civil war, the region's dominant powerbrokers in Damascus have witnessed a dramatic political reversal caused in part by the very troops sent in to separate the warring sides.  With Washington heaping pressure on Syria, and the United Nations demanding it pull its soldiers from Lebanon, the Syrian leadership has found itself on the defensive not only in Lebanon but also in the wider region. It's "the end of the regional role of Syria", says Syrian political analyst and writer Michel Kilo, stressing that the withdrawal of the estimated 14,000 troops who were still in Lebanon last year would also have an impact on Syria's power structure, economy and society in general.