The upcoming Cabinet formation process will most probably grant President Michel Sleiman the tipping voice, well-informed sources close to Prime Minister- designate Saad Hariri said on Wednesday. The sources said discussions between the opposition and the March 14 coalition have

Four students abducted Wednesday by a group of gunmen in the mountainous region of Aqoura were released 90 minutes later by their captors in the nearby Homsya town after being stripped of their possessions, according to a security report. Later

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's latest report on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 does not sufficiently address the "dangers" of recently discovered Israeli spy cells, Lebanon's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Ban's 10th report, issued late on

Days after officials in Washington announced that a US ambassador would soon be sent to Syria, reports have emerged of an upcoming Syrian-Saudi Arabian summit to be held in Damascus that could include Lebanon. Conventional wisdom holds that any improvement

Today, and despite the successful democratic parliamentary elections accomplished on a national scale, the political leadership of our country remain once again faced with the same previously witnessed dilemma of satisfying different conflicting demands and conditions. Situation:

Lebanon's budget deficit continued to rise as a result of mounting government spending and amid signs that there is no imminent solution for the country's chronic public debt. According to the report by the Finance Ministry on Wednesday, the fiscal

Figures issued by the Arab Investment & Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dha?man) indicate that Lebanon ranked third among 12 Arab countries in the value of overall export credit insurance contracts signed in 2008, as reported by Lebanon This Week, Byblos

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Wednesday Israel would consider a limited moratorium on new construction in Jewish settlements, linking the step to US efforts to bring Arab states into a broad peace process. The offer, which Barak made in

Iran's embattled opposition leader urged his supporters Wednesday to keep pressing for their rights, and he joined a reformist ex-president to denounce what both men called the regime's "coup" against those contesting the outcome of last month's presidential election. Mir

Two top aides to President Nicolas Sarkozy held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad this week, the French Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, in the latest sign of improved ties between France and Syria. The meeting in Damascus on Tuesday

Iran's hardline president Wednesday cancelled his first foreign trip since his re-election was confirmed, leaving African leaders to turn their focus to Somalia and a continental government. Libyan leader and current African Union (AU) chief Moammar Gadhafi made no mention

Iraqi politicians from across the ethnic and sectarian divide welcomed Wednesday the US troop pullout from cities as a step toward sovereignty, even though they feared it might trigger more violence. US combat troops pulled out of Iraq's towns and