Lebanon, Politics, (arabicNews)2/1/2005 The Lebanese prime minister Omar Karami welcomed the return back of Maj. Michael Aoun who opposes the Syrian presence in Lebanon and lives in his exile in Paris since 14 years.
In a press statement Karami held with his Syrian peer Naji Otari, Karami said that several invitations were sent to him since a while to come back to Lebanon, stressing his right to that. He added that despite the fact that there are legal obstacles impeding this measure, these can be removed legally, denying that there is any hostility against Aoun.

By: Joseph Hitti, Jan 30 As we watch millions of ordinary Iraqis vote freely for the first time in their history, I cannot but contrast the process with that of Lebanese elections. Iraqis in Iraq are voting in their first ever parliamentary elections, and that is an unimaginable achievement that is likely to reverberate in neighboring Syria and elsewhere in the Arab World. But the Lebanese people have always voted (since the 1920s), except for a 20-year interruption caused by the Syrian occupation.

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The UN Security Council renewed the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, but recommended the mandate be modified in the future, the UN announced. By a unanimous vote, the 15 members of the council agreed to extend the mandate of the peacekeepers for six more months, until July 31, 2005. The peacekeeping force, formally known as the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, was established in 1978 following an escalation of armed clashes along the Lebanese-Israeli frontier.

Friday 28 January 2005, Aljazeera,Lebanon's government has passed a draft law setting conditions for a contentious general election this year. This year's election is set to be the most hotly contested vote since the end of the 1975-90 civil war, with Syria's role in Lebanon a central issue. Political debate over Syria's role has raged since a UN Security Council resolution last September called on foreign forces to quit Lebanon. Syria has some 14,000 troops in Lebanon and plays a big part in domestic politics. Opposition to Syria's role, traditionally mainly among Christians, has widened to include other political powerhouses such as Druze chieftain Walid Jumblatt, once a key ally of Damascus.