Will the real Israel please stand up so that its Arab neighbors - who have enough of their own problems, thank you very much - can at last know who and what they are dealing with? It has almost always

More than 20 United Nations agencies working in the Middle East met in Beirut over the weekend to coordinate their efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) set for the Arab region. The Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) meets to

Violent clashes that erupted on the streets of Beirut in May were encouraged by politically biased reporting by much of Lebanon's Arabic media, a watchdog organization said on Friday. The Maharat Foundation commissioned a study of news coverage from May's

The head of the Internal Security Forces thanked on Friday the European Union for its support of the ISF's recently completed strategic workshop. Ashraf Rifi said the workshop pinpointed ISF's weaknesses and strengths, adding that the ISF would implement its

President Michel Sleiman offered his condolences to the leader of the Lebanese Democratic Party (LDP), Minister Talal Arslan, at his residence in Khaldeh on Sunday, following the assassination of LDP official Sheikh Saleh Aridi last week. Sleiman was welcomed by

When the smiling six-year old with the big dark eyes set off in March last year on a school trip to visit the battle-sites of the summer 2006 war with Israel, he was looking forward to a day away from

Nadim Gemayel, son of President Bachir Gemayel, urged Christians on Sunday to learn from past mistakes and put an end to divisions "if we want to contribute in building a sovereign state." Speaking during a memorial service commemorating the 26th

As a central banker, I should not show emotions. Yet, let me admit that I feel happy and honored to be among you tonight. At a recent senate hearing, Mr. Alan Greenspan [former chairman of the US Federal Reserve] was

Trader and investor confidence fell after the Saleh Aridi assassination, undercutting an early-week rebound on the Beirut Stock Exchange reflected by a $10.8 million cross trade on Solidere stocks, according to BLOMINVEST BANK's The Lebanon Brief.

Iraqi police on Sunday arrested five men suspected of involvement in the brutal abduction and killing on Saturday of a four-member team from the Al-Sharqiya television channel, police said. Two suspects were arrested as they were driving a car which

An Iraqi translator told a US soldier's pre-trial hearing Sunday about the gruesome murder of a detainee who was shot and later had his face disfigured by an incendiary grenade. The hearing of Staff Sergeant Hal Warner entered its second

A suicide car bomb claimed by the Taliban killed two Afghan doctors and a driver working for the United Nations on Sunday, the UN said, a day after a provincial governor was assassination by a remote-controlled bomb. The UN team

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has vowed to resign after his party chooses his successor, has been dogged by graft scandals, wartime failings and abysmal approval ratings since taking office. His image took a further beating with police repeatedly

The trial of 19 alleged Darfur rebels accused of taking part in an unprecedented attack on the Sudanese capital in May was adjourned on Sunday after six defendants said they were minors. The judge at the special court in Khartoum

Iraqi officials have said the country plans to rebuild the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, complete with a museum to portray crimes committed by the regime of executed dictator Saddam Hussein. Located 25 kilometers west of Baghdad, the prison was closed

Hizbullah staged a mock battle on Saturday night to reenact the death of Hadi Nasrallah, son of Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who died in a military operation against Israel 11 years ago. About 100 fighters took part, some acting

Kuwaiti stocks dived below the 13,000-point mark on Sunday for the first time in nine months, with traders blaming a shortage in liquidity. The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) Index finished at 12,848.50 points on the opening trading day of the

Parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri said during an iftar dinner on Sunday that the success of the upcoming dialogue requires that no preconditions be set by the rival sides.Speaking earlier on Sunday, Hariri also said that he had no objection

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir urged the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to serve all of Lebanon "without any discrimination or bias." Addressing LAF commander General Jean Kahwaji during a Sunday Mass at the seat of the Maronite Church in Bkirki,

Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar said in comments published Saturday that Syrian authorities had informed him during a meeting of the Syrian-Lebanese committee in charge of the missing persons issue that there were no missing or kidnapped Lebanese in Syria. Najjar