The President’s next step…. Appointing a national unity government for Le...

BEIRUT 15:35 GMT – Now that Lebanon have a president, after 7 months, the Lebanese are waiting for the formation of the national unity government. After last Sunday’s presidential election, the Lebanese people...

Beirut is Cautiously Calm, while 7 Dead at Mount Lebanon

UPDATE 3   12:30 GMT - Hezbollah has just issued a communiqué saying that Waleed Jinbelat’s  Socialist Party militia had kidnapped three of its members, and executed two of them in...

Saudi Blog-Father Freed: "I'll be Blogging Soon"

Fouad al-Farhan, the "godfather of Saudi bloggers", is free after four months in prison without charges. Though Saudi Arabia touts its modernization under King Abdullah, such persecution does not paint so pretty a...

Moroccan in custody for Facebook spoof

A Moroccan man was ordered to be in court today over a false facebook page he uploaded on the net. He claimed to not understand what he was posting, but there could be some serious consequences for him. There have...

DEBKAfile: In new videotape Al Qaeda’s No. 2 issues dire threats against tw...

"DEBKAfile: In new videotape Al Qaeda’s No. 2 issues dire threats against two government heads, UK’s Gordon Brown and Lebanon’s Fouad Siniora July 10, 2007, 8:21 PM (GMT+02:00) Ayman Zawahiri’s tirade catches Britain in a highly edgy state after three attempted...

Middle East Meltdown by Justin Raimondo

"As the situation on the ground in Iraq veers out of control, the rest of the Middle East is coming undone – a state of affairs directly attributable to our policy of "regime change" throughout the region. On the western front, Lebanon is teetering on the brink of (yet...

Hezbollah Driven By Iran and Syria, Lebanese Premier Claims

"The Lebanese Prime Minister has blamed Iran and Syria for organising a general strike in Beirut that led to rioting and the deaths of at least three people Fouad Siniora, the pro-Western Lebanese premier whose...

Lebanon's War of Words

"With Hizballah raising the level of its anti-government rhetoric and prime minister Fouad Siniora virtually under siege, any chance for compromise in Beirut looks increasingly dim. The Grand Serail, an Ottoman-era palace that houses Lebanon's government, began its life as a...

Losing Lebanon to Civil War? ? ? ?

"Once a beacon of democracy in the Middle East, Lebanon is veering toward civil war. Here's what went wrong. It's never a good sign for a country when the Prime Minister and most of his Cabinet members spend their days barricaded in an Ottoman-era compound. That's what Fouad...

Hizballah's Rally Highlights the Government's Weakness

"U.S.-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's grip on power is further eroded as hundreds of thousands in Beirut demand his ouster. The Hizballah security teams — identifiable by their combat boots, black fatigues and beards — that gathered Friday morning in the...

Stoking the Fires in Lebanon

"Beirut isn't burning just yet, but if the U.S. continues to cross a red line by pushing for a politically charged trial that Syria won't stand for, a full-scale blaze will surely erupt. Beirut is boiling, as a Lebanese friend called to tell me. Over the weekend, Hizballah...

Rice Makes Surprise Visit to Beirut

"Secretary of state Condoleezza Rice made a surprise stop in the besieged Lebanese capital today to try to prop up the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and to reassure Arab allies who have become increasingly impatient with the Israeli air assault, which has killed...

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