By David Gardner It is midnight on Saturday in downtown Beirut and the Buddha Bar is heaving. A cavernous copy of its Parisian namesake, with a 20ft-high Buddha statue as its presiding spirit, the bar is just the latest incarnation of the Lebanese craving for novelty and gift for fun. The son of a Maronite Christian warlord assassinated, allegedly by the Syrians, during the 1975-90 civil war, thrusts his way through the throng to the bar with the help of a bodyguard out of central casting: black T-shirt, tailored leather jacket, wrap-around shades and designer stubble. A vast Johnnie Walker whisky icon towers over the bar itself, causing one regular patron to observe that,

BEIRUT, Feb 3 (AFP) – The Lebanese opposition has stepped up its campaign for Syrian troops to quit the country, on the back of mounting US impatience with Damascus, which left the Baathist regime on Thursday calling for dialogue. As Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Muwallem held a round of talks with dozens of politicians in Beirut on Wednesday, members of the anti-Damascus opposition met behind closed doors to turn the screws on the Syrian question. Afterwards, it called for a complete Syrian withdrawal in accordance with the Taef agreement and an immediate end to the “dangerous crisis” between Beirut and international community.

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. 

Tony Haddad, Lebanese American Council for Democracy: Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Congressman Eliot Engel introduced a resolution today calling Lebanon a Captive nation and demands the release of all Lebanese detained by Syria in the Syrian and Lebanese Jails. January 26, 2005 Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself and Mr. ENGEL) submitted the following resolution; Expressing the grave concern of Congress regarding the occupation of the Republic of Lebanon by the Syrian Arab Republic. Whereas the Syrian Arab Republic is the only country currently occupying another country that is a full member of the United Nations, in violation of all international laws and norms, including Untied Nations Security Council Resolutions 425, 426, 520, and 1559.

By Rebecca Ostriker, Globe Staff ,  Israeli-Lebanese border tensions, children in teeming Indian brothels, Peruvian government corruption, American death-row prisoners, Muslims detained indefinitely after 9/11. Sounds like a fascinating night out at the movies, right? You