By BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer,  WASHINGTON – Dismissing a qualified offer by Syrian President Bashar Assad to cooperate with a U.N. investigation of the assassination of a former Lebanese prime minister, the State Department on Thursday ruled out setting conditions for the probe.

By Hania Taan, Daily Star staff Thursday, November 03, 2005, BEIRUT: The leader of the Lebanese Forces (LF) said Wednesday he would like to see his Maronite Christian group in a closer relationship with Shiite party Hizbullah. Samir Geagea, head of the LF executive committee, said during the last parliamentary elections that LF had contacts and relations with Hizbullah "and we hope they advance forward."

Geagea made his stand clear during a news conference at the Cedars on Wednesday. Regarding LF’s relation with the Hizbullah in the light of the implementation of UN Resolution 1559, Geagea said that at present, "We should focus on Resolution 1595." This resolution called for the establishment of an independent commission to investigate the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

When asked if he supported Resolution 1559, he asserted that he supported resurrecting the state, reiterating "we cannot demand the implementation of any resolution except 1595." Geagea stressed that LF did not have a problem with anyone despite differing points of view. This is normal in a democratic regime, said Geagea.

DAMASCUS (AFP) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said the UN investigator into the murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri turned down a Syrian invitation to visit Damascus. 

Syria announced on Wednesday that it had invited Detlev Mehlis, the German magistrate heading the UN probe into the February 14 killing in a Beirut bomb blast, to sign a cooperation accord in Damascus. But Assad said in a speech at Damascus University that Mehlis had rejected a Syrian offer for him to visit Damascus as well as suggestions over cooperation between the UN probe and Syria’s own commission of inquiry into the murder.

Damascus had offered Mehlis the chance to agree a legal protocol with Syria and had also proposed that his inquiry could take place on Syrian territory while still under the banner of the United Nations, Assad said.

BEIRUT: MP Michel Aoun said President Emile Lahoud would only resign if the former general was chosen as the next president. Speaking in an interview aired by the BBC on Friday, Aoun said persons close to Lahoud told him "if Lahoud was forced to resign he would only do so if I am the next president."

Aoun attributed Lahoud’s stance to "his faith in my fairness, because if there is nothing against the president of the republic there won’t be a future lawsuit against him." 

According to Free Patriotic Movement spokesperson Tony Nasrallah, Aoun meant Lahoud was reassured that as a president Aoun would not allow the parliamentary majority to unfairly file law suits against him once he is out of office and loses his immunity.

Asked about the opposition of the parliamentary majority to his candidacy, Aoun said the issue of presidency was not open for discussion adding "If the parliamentary majority is capable of deciding without Michel Aoun, let them forge ahead."

DAMASCUS, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad launched a scathing attack against Lebanon’s leaders on Thursday, accusing them of turning their country into a hotbed of conspiracy against Damascus. In an unprecedented attack on the Beirut government, Assad said Prime Minister Fouad Siniora had allowed Lebanon to become a base for Syria’s enemies.

"The truth we see today is that Lebanon has become a passageway, a factory and a financier of these conspiracies," he said in a televised speech.Syria, long the main power-broker in Lebanon, ended its three-decade military presence in its neighbour in April amid an international outcry and mass protests over the February killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.Assad accused Hariri’s supporters of exploiting his death for political ends, saying the late Hariri had been Syria’s main ally in Lebanon."The truth is those people, or most of them, are blood merchants. They created a market out of Hariri’s blood … Everything has a price," Assad said.

Crossia: By Pierre el Khazen, Crossia is a hypothetical state that is geographically located in Africa. The population of this country descends from different countries in the Middle East and Europe. Arabs, Armenians, Greek, Italians, Phoenicians. The official religion in this country is Christianity and the official language is English and Italian. The system is […]

Massoud A. Derhally takes a taxi from Damascus to Beirut, in the process getting a first-hand view of real life and politics in Syria.