While Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri expressed hope on Friday for the prompt formation of a cabinet, he refrained from setting any time-table for the process as complications appear to go beyond the distribution of ministerial portfolios.Hariri, who has been striving

A high-ranking judicial source denied on Friday that Lebanese authorities had received any Egyptian request demanding that Hizbullah's secretary general, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, join the 26 suspects being trialed by the Egyptian Supreme Court of Emergency State Security.Twenty-six suspects, including

Shiite religious figures hit back on Friday to accusations made by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir that Hizbullah was serving Iran's interests over Lebanon's, saying their weapons helped liberate the south from Israeli occupation.Sheikh Afif Naboulsi, the head of the south

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has canceled a visit to Spain next week amid alleged disagreements between the two nations over the command of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).Barak was scheduled to meet Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis

The last barrier to government formation remains a purely domestic squabble largely over divvying up Christian cabinet shares, in a rare break with the paradigm of Lebanon's political woes stemming from the interference of outside powers, a number of analysts

The US Special Coordinator for Lebanon warned on Friday that any further security breaches from Lebanon and Israel could lead to a resumption of hostilities between the two nations.Michael Williams' statement voicing concern over Tuesday's exchange of rocket fire across

The brother and the attorney of Sarah Andree Bejjani who was murdered at a New York hotel in September visited Lebanese Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar on Friday to discuss developments in the case. Bejjani's attorney, Arlette Bejjani thanked Najjar for

Almost 16,000 motorcyclists have been fined or had their bikes confiscated over the past nine months.The Internal Security Forces (ISF) said Friday that a total of 15,790 motorcycles have been confiscated or drivers fined from January 19 of this year

Over half of all Lebanese university graduates entering the labor market emigrate each year in search of better job opportunities.This striking claim is the result of a comprehensive study of alumni trends, entitled "Higher Education and Labor Outcomes in Lebanon."The

Lebanon's Health Ministry this week appointed the non-governmental organization Accreditation Canada International (ACI) to help improve the country's healthcare services.ACI was selected to identify improvement opportunities in the Lebanese health-care system and ensure optimal use of ministry resources.

The Lebanese General Security Office will be issuing identification documents for Palestinian refugees who lost their papers, announced The Palestinian Organization for Human Rights (RASED) announced on Thursday. RASED called on all Palestinians who have lost their documents to head

The project to launch an auction for broadband Internet licenses is being prepared, said the executive director of the telecommunication regulatory committee Kamal Shehadeh on Friday. Shehadeh spoke during the Fifth Middle East Network Operators Group meeting (MENOG 5) held

A wanted suspect escaped a Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) patrol on Thursday and dumped the body of another suspect after exchanging gunshots with LAF soldiers near the village of Hawr Taala in the Bekaa. The soldiers encountered a suspected vehicle

Three university students were killed in a car accident overnight on Thursday in a freak accident in south Lebanon, according to the National News Agency. The one-car accident took place on the new eastern highway between the towns of Ansariyeh

Alarm is spreading among Lebanese over fears of a large-scale swine flu outbreak in schools after the country's first A(H1N1) death this week, but officials say there is no need to panic."People are panicking extensively, and most are focusing on

Lebanese health experts calling for a comprehensive smoking ban have been given additional impetus to their cause after a major international public affairs magazine published a major study warning youth smoking rates were increasing dangerously.In a report published earlier this

The Middle East's most powerful Islamic political movement is undergoing a leadership struggle as young, more moderate activists try to push the Muslim Brotherhood to soften its fundamentalist ideology and become a more democratic force.The direction the Brotherhood takes could

Jacques Chirac will be the first former French president to be tried for corruption, officials said Friday, after charges from his years as mayor of Paris returned to taint the twilight of his long career.Chirac stands accused of giving political

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday met Washington's Middle East envoy ahead of a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton aimed at reviving the moribund peace talks.Netanyahu told Senator George Mitchell he hoped his discussions with the

Iran insists on simultaneously exchanging its low-enriched uranium for nuclear fuel produced overseas, the state news agency said Friday, calling the demand a "red line" that will not be abandoned.The condition undermines the basis of a UN-backed plan demanding Iran