By ALBERT AJI, Associated Press Writer DAMASCUS, Syria - Syria will withdraw troops from mountain and coastal areas in Lebanon in line with a 1989 agreement, Lebanon's defense minister said Thursday amid international pressure following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.  Lebanese Defense Minister Abdul-Rahim Murad said the troops will be withdrawn to the eastern Bekaa Valley on the Syrian border, but he gave no timeframe. Lebanese and Syrian military officers have begun meetings to define "the dates and the way" the withdrawal will take place, Murad said, adding that the pullback was in line with the Arab-brokered Taif agreement that ended Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war.

By ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press Writer BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanon's pro-Syrian prime minister said Wednesday he was willing to resign in an effort to contain growing anger at his government and Damascus over the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Prime Minister Omar Karami made the offer to step down in a newspaper interview. "I am ready to resign on condition that we agree on a new government in order to avoid falling into a constitutional vacuum," he told the daily An-Nahar. Karami said he will seek a vote of confidence in Parliament on Monday, when lawmakers meet to discuss Hariri's assassination in a Feb. 14 bombing in Beirut that also killed 16 others. The debate was requested by opposition legislators.