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

By Katherine Zoepf,  At Element, the young crowd sits in oversized red plush armchairs, dines on Thai beef carpaccio and dances under swirling confetti lights. At the wildly Crystal, where the specialty is champagne and visiting Saudis are said to gather, Porsches and Bentleys crowd the curbs outside. At M-Box, bar-top dancing is something of a competitive sport: Would-be customers stand in a steel shower-stall-like foyer to be carefully appraised for acceptability, and T-shirt wearers can forget about getting in.

BEIRUT (AFP) – Glassblower Hussein Khalifeh is one of the last guardians of the age-old skills that produce Lebanon’s rich oriental cultural heritage, and his know-how is threatened by cheaper foreign products and the lack of state subsidies.  And he is not alone. His ordeal is shared by the last remaining local craftsmen struggling to keep their dying trades alive and pass on their skills in weaving, embroidery, copper engraving, pottery, mosaics and ceramics. “People are closing down. Their children are either attracted by more steady jobs or are emigrating,” said Khalifeh, who runs a family business in the sleepy southern coastal town of Sarafand.