27, 2007
BEIRUT: Iran denied Monday the existence of any joint plan with Saudi Arabia to break the political deadlock in Lebanon, but said the two regional powers were talking with all Lebanese sides in order to help resolve the situation. "There is no set Saudi-Iranian plan," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said during a news conference with former Lebanese Premier Salim al-Hoss, who is visiting Tehran as part of a mission to resolve the current political deadlock.
"But we are carrying out negotiations with the various Lebanese sides and there have even been suggestions to bring the sides closer," Mottaki added.
Iran’s top national security official, Ali Larijani, has held talks with Saudi officials in Riyadh twice this year, while his Saudi counterpart, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, visited Tehran in late January.
"The talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia were to shed light on the different angles of the situation in Lebanon and on how we can bring the different points of view closer," said Mottaki
In the charming if somewhat rundown marina of Larnaca, the cedar-emblazoned flag of Lebanon flies proudly from a yacht as nearby Israelis clad in kippa and prayer shawl prepare for the Sabbath. The holiday island of Cyprus and its coastal resorts, which have long played host to sworn foes in the Middle East, is once again gearing up to serve as safe haven for a troubled region.But given the bloodshed just 160km away across the water in Lebanon, the Israeli boats moored alongside the Lebanese yacht have opted to play it safe and not hoist the Star of David. For it was here, in a violation of the unofficial Arab-Israeli truce on this Mediterranean island, that a Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) commando killed three Israelis on their boat in Larnaca marina in September 1985, claiming they were Mossad agents.
النوايا لذلك مشيراً الى أن كلما طال أمد الأزمة تصبح الحلول أكثر صعوبة.
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) 14 feb 2007 — Tens of thousands packed into a city square Wednesday to mark the second anniversary of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination as hundreds of troops were deployed a day after bus bombings killed three people.Troops in full combat gear and armored cars deployed in and around Martyrs’ Square, where the country’s two main rival groups were present: government supporters commemorating Hariri’s death and opposition supporters continuing their daily sit-in to demand the government’s resignation.
Khazen.org presents its deepest condoleances to the family of the innocent victims and martyrs of Lebanon Michel Attar and Laurice Gemayel. Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday deplored the twin bomb attacks that claimed at least three lives near Beirut and urged Lebanon’s people and leaders to reject violence. "He entreats the Lebanese people and their leaders to unanimously reject violence and (work) at this tragic moment for national unity and the common good," The pope said in a cable to Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir in Lebanon.The message, sent on the pope’s behalf by Vatican State Secretary Tarcisio Bertone, said Benedict had been "deeply pained" by news of the bus bombings Tuesday in a Christian area northeast of Beirut. AINALAK,LEBANON
BEIRUT, The Associated Press Lebanon: Too much zeal for reporting may have led three Lebanese journalists to break into the apartment of a key witness in the slaying of former Prime Minster Rafik Hariri
BEIRUT (Reuters) –
BEIRUT (AFP) – Arab League chief Amr Mussa is due to return to Lebanon next month in a new bid to help resolve the country’s acute political crisis, a government minister has said. "We’re expecting him on February 8," Telecommunication Minister Marwan Hamadeh told AFP Wednesday."Regardless of progress (on resolving the crisis), his presence has become indispensable," he said.


