Mikhail Margelov, the chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the Russian Federation Council, the deputy head of the Russian delegation to PACE finds it correct to leave the Council of Europe, in case the Assembly during its autumn session

ÀðìÈíôî. "Ñåðæ Ñàðãñÿí ïûòàåòñÿ ïîäíÿòü ñâîþ ëåãèòèìíîñòü â ãëàçàõ ìåæäóíàðîäíîãî ñîîáùåñòâà ïóòåì âûðàæåíèÿ ãîòîâíîñòè ïîéòè íà óñòóïêè â âîïðîñå ïðèçíàíèÿ Ãåíîöèäà àðìÿí è â õîäå ïåðåãîâîðîâ ïî êàðàáàõñêîìó óðåãóëèðîâàíèþ", - çàÿâèë ñåãîäíÿ ïåðâûé ïðåçèäåíò Àðìåíèè, ëèäåð îïïîçèöèè Ëåâîí Òåð-Ïåòðîñÿí, âûñòóïàÿ

The British head of the UN Mine Action Program in South Lebanon and his 990-member team of de-miners will receive the 2008 Nansen Refugee Award for their courageous work in removing tons of deadly munitions that had prevented the safe

Fatah officials in the volatile Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon said Monday they would hand over the gunman who shot dead an al-Qaeda inspired militant, sparking heavy clashes in the camp, to Lebanese authorities. Fatah said they were

In its semi-annual survey on the creditworthiness of 177 countries, Institutional Investor magazine ranked Lebanon in 113th place worldwide and 16th among 20 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region in the September 2008 survey. Lebanon ranked 115th

Iran runs a network of agents in the six Arab monarchies of the Gulf that could be used to destabilize the region, a senior defector charged in an interview published on Monday. Adel al-Assadi, who was consul general in Dubai

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, said on Monday he expected the global financial sector to shrink as a result of the international credit crisis. "The financial sector, not only in the US but also in the

The August 2008 Russo-Georgian war and the aftermath - an emboldened Russia - has specific implications for Gulf security. Although one can argue that before the Georgian crisis Russia had made serious inroads to the Gulf states, Moscow is now

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa arrived in Beirut on Monday to take part in a national dialogue among Lebanon's rival leaders, scheduled for Tuesday at the Presidential Palace. Moussa will be representing the Arab League in the dialogue, whose

Military Investigative Magistrate Rachid Mezher listened heard the testimony of Hizbullah member Mahmoud Abboud, suspected of shooting a Lebanese military helicopter in the region of Sejod, killing Lieutenant Samer Hanna in late August, according to a judiciary report on Monday.

Parliament's Administration and Justice Committee held its weekly meeting on Monday to wrap up its discussions of the electoral law and electoral reforms. Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud and Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar attended the meeting. The committee discussed the required

Chief UN investigator Daniel Bellemare arrived in Saudi Arabia on an unannounced visit, As-Safir newspaper reported Monday. It said Bellemare arrived in Jeddah on Sunday night, two days after a member of the team investigating former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik

Israel's shelling of the Gaza village of Beit Hanoun in November 2006 that killed 19 Palestinian civilians may constitute a war crime and the victims should receive compensation, a UN report said Monday. "In the absence of a well-founded explanation

A dozen Mauritanian soldiers were killed in an ambush Monday by members of Al-Qaeda's North African branch, a security official said. The unit had been "on a normal patrol on the northern border" when the attack took place 70 kilometers

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates met American and Iraqi commanders in Baghdad Monday, reviewing what he said would be "a mission transition" as the US force shrinks and turns over more of the country to Iraqis. Within minutes of Gates'

A delegation from press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) was refused entry into Syria from Lebanon, the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCMFE) said on Monday. The group, including RSF general secretary Robert Menard and Middle

Twenty-six years ago Monday the massacre in Sabra and Chatila began. Three-and-a-half days later, hundreds of Palestinian and Lebanese men, women and children had been murdered by Christian militiamen who worked by day and under Israeli flares at night. Hundreds

It is no secret that the national dialogue scheduled to begin at Lebanon's Presidential Palace today will pose several monumental obstacles for the participants and the communities they purportedly represent. In fact, however, the process will be made even more

An exhibition celebrating Palestinian cultural heritage was held in the UNESCO Palace building on Monday, part of a series of events commemorating the 26th anniversary of the Sabra and Chatila massacres in Beirut's Palestinian refugee camps.