Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt said on Sunday that the public sector should be preserved, adding that he would not be part of a cabinet that promotes "privatization." He said Public Works and Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi was

Lebanese Forces (LF) MP George Adwan was quoted as saying on Sunday that dialogue was a quintessential component of state-building. Adwan reiterated to Ad-Diyar newspaper that LF boss Samir Geagea was willing to meet with Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah

Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir welcomed on Sunday Future Movement Saad Hariri's designation for the post of prime minister as a "very good" step. "We wish him luck in his mission to form a government," Sfeir said during Sunday's sermon

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) told the Lebanese public Saturday they should not respond to any telephone calls from Israel made in recent days. Phone users have been hearing a pre-recorded voice asking for information regarding missing Israeli soldiers Ron

Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri will conduct on Monday parliamentary deliberations over the make-up of the next government, a process that could take days or weeks to conclude. The Future Movement leader, who was appointed via a decree signed by

Egyptian police detained three leading members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood on Sunday, including a member of the group's executive Guidance Council, the Brotherhood said. The Brotherhood is Egypt's most powerful opposition group, and seeks an Islamic state through democratic

Saudi King Abdullah held talks Sunday with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, who was in the kingdom for a short visit, the official news agency SPA said. The two leaders discussed "mainly the Palestinian issue," in addition to "ways to enhance

Iran has detained several local British Embassy staff, sparking a new row with Britain Sunday that underscored the hardline leadership's efforts to blame post-election unrest on foreign powers. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband demanded the release of all the staff

A sharp clampdown by Iranian authorities may have quelled street protests, but the fight goes on in cyberspace. Groups of "hacktivists" - Web hackers demanding Internet freedom - say they are targeting Web pages of Iran's leadership in response to

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is to propose a limited three-month freeze on Occupied West Bank settlement growth in response to increased pressure from Washington, Israeli media reported on Sunday. Barak, who plans to meet US Middle East envoy George