Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh said Friday that Hezbollah (Party of God) is a security-keeping force in the south of the country. "Hezbollah is not a militia group but a military force against foreign occupation," the minister told Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV channel.

It is a force that joins the government troops in safeguarding Lebanon and maintaining the country’s security, so it is supplementary to the government forces, he said. As for UN Security Council Resolution 1559 which urges Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah and Palestinian militant groups in the country, Salloukh said it is necessary to hold an inter-Lebanese dialogue among various factions on the issue so as to reach consensus about the implementation of the resolution.

 BEIRUT, Nov 7 (KUNA) — US Deputy Assistant Secretary Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Elizabeth Dibble held talks here with Lebanese officials Monday regarding preparations of the upcoming international conference to support Lebanon.

Diplomatic sources told KUNA that Dibble is to hold talks with Prime Minister Fouad Al-Siniora and Minister of Finance Jihad Azour, in addition to Minister of Justice Charles Rizk and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fawzi Salloukh. Dibble is to discuss current developments with Lebanese officials in light of Security Council resolution 1636 and the extension of the mission of the UN Independent Investigation Commission probing the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafiq Al-Hariri to December 15.

 Editor-In-Chief of Lebanese Al-Diyar newspaper Charles Ayoub has warned against exploiting the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri for serving the interests of the major powers.

In an editorial, Ayoub said that the event brought great dangers to the region, calling for unifying stances to save Syria and Lebanon of the pre-meditated schemes which aim at destabilizing and partitioning the region.He also warned against the repercussions of the event on the region’s stability, pointing out to the promises that the international investigation team gave to the Iraqi people when they inspected Iraq in searching for the weapons of mass destructions.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Syria is considering a formal U.N. request to question six Syrian officials in Lebanon in connection with the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, a Syrian official said on Monday.In Beirut, a Lebanese political source said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s brother-in-law Major General Assef Shawkat, head of military intelligence, is among the six.

The request by chief U.N. investigator Detlev Mehlis appeared designed to test Syria’s willingness to comply with a Security Council resolution demanding full cooperation with the probe into the February 14 assassination of Hariri."We have received a request and we are considering it," the Syrian official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara, making no specific reference to the questioning request, said Damascus was keen to cooperate with the probe.He "affirmed that Syria is keen on cooperating fully with the international investigation committee and installing the appropriate mechanisms to do so", the official Syrian news agency SANA reported.

 National Catechism Day was celebrated across Lebanon yesterday. Cardinal Sfeir said that