Lebanon

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Israel to Trade Convicts for 2 Soldiers

Hezbollah hails swap as evidence of its growing power

(Newser) - Israeli officials today approved a prisoner swap with Hezbollah to release the bodies of two soldiers whose capture triggered a 2006 war, Reuters reports. In return, Hezbollah secured the freedom of five gunmen, including one of Israel’s “most notorious convicts,” the New York Times says. Israeli PM...

Israel Invites Lebanon to Talks
 Israel Invites Lebanon to Talks 

Israel Invites Lebanon to Talks

Disputed sliver along border on table; offer follows Rice visit to region

(Newser) - Israel today invited the Lebanese government to direct negotiations, adding that it would be willing to discuss all issues, including a long-disputed area along their border, the New York Times reports. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who visited both nations earlier this week, is attempting to use negotiation over...

Mideast Peace Initiatives Dodge US Disapproval
Mideast Peace Initiatives
Dodge US Disapproval
Opinion

Mideast Peace Initiatives Dodge US Disapproval

America on the bench as region works itself out

(Newser) - Middle East nations are moving to resolve their conflicts without, and often in defiance of, Washington, write Hussein Agha and Robert Malley in the New York Times. Israel is in peace talks with both Hamas and Syria, and Lebanon has reached political reconciliation after a near civil war. All three...

Israel-Hezbollah Swap May Signal Progress

Exchange could foreshadow more controversial deals

(Newser) - The weekend swap of a Hezbollah spy for the remains of two kidnapped Israeli soldiers has whipped up speculation about the release of more Lebanese prisoners, the Independent reports. Although Israel denied the return of the remains was negotiated, the German foreign minister has been facilitating talks between the parties,...

Israel Returns Hezbollah Spy
 Israel Returns
 Hezbollah Spy 

Israel Returns Hezbollah Spy

Prisoner swap may be under way with Lebanon

(Newser) - Israel returned a Hezbollah spy to Lebanon today and may have started a prisoner exchange, BBC reports. Hezbollah quickly handed over the bodies of Israeli troops killed in 2006, but officials on both sides deny a swap is under way. Secret talks clearly are, perhaps aided by German mediators; a...

Lebanon Picks Prez, Ends 6-Month Crisis

But foreign policy, Hezbollah arsenal still divide nation

(Newser) - Lebanon elected its first leader in 6 months today by naming Gen. Michel Suleiman as president, the Washington Post reports. Fireworks filled the sky to a chorus of car honks after Suleiman secured the post with a near-unanimous 118 of 127 parliamentary votes. But the nation remains torn between US-Saudi...

Lebanon Pays High Price to Avert Civil War
Lebanon Pays High Price to Avert Civil War
ANALYSIS

Lebanon Pays High Price to Avert Civil War

Deal achieves short-term peace, but strengthens Hezbollah

(Newser) - The agreement that ended Lebanon's 18-month political crisis is nothing less than a sea change for the country, writes the Washington Post, strengthening Hezbollah and dealing a blow to America and its Middle East allies. The US-backed government in Beirut said that the last-minute deal averted a civil war, but...

Lebanon Forges Peace Deal
 Lebanon Forges Peace Deal 

Lebanon Forges Peace Deal

Power-sharing pact aimed at averting avert new civil war

(Newser) - A civil war in Lebanon may be averted by a new agreement reached in Qatar, reports the BBC. The deal includes fresh elections next year, a power-sharing government, a new president, and a pledge by Hezbollah not to use weapons in Lebanon. The pact was reached after five days of...

Deal Brings Lebanon Thaw, Promise to Talk

Opposition clears roadblocks; Beirut airport reopens

(Newser) - As Beirut International Airport welcomed the first commercial flights in a week, the Arab League announced today a deal that would end the worst fighting in Lebanon since the civil war and lead to talks aimed at ending the 18-month political crisis, Reuters reports. The talks, set for tomorrow in...

Battles Rage On as Army Hunts Down Hezbollah

Casualty toll reaches 42 dead in the 5-day conflict

(Newser) - Fighting raged on in Lebanon today after Hezbollah pulled out of West Beirut and faced army troops in the north and Druze mountains, AFP reports. One woman died and five were wounded in Tripoli, while, near Beirut, the Druze majority leader urged Hezbollah to surrender. "Civil peace and halting...

Hezbollah Pulling Gunmen From Beirut

Political group wins concessions from neutral Lebanese army

(Newser) - Hezbollah began withdrawing gunmen today from Beirut after winning concessions from the Lebanese army to overturn the government measures that sparked days of fierce fighting. The army, a neutral player in the ongoing struggle between the insurgent political group and the Western-backed government, said it would reinstate Beirut airport’s...

Lebanon Condemns 'Armed Coup'
 Lebanon Condemns
 'Armed Coup' 
UPDATED

Lebanon Condemns 'Armed Coup'

Hezbollah doing bidding of Syria, Iran in Beirut firestorm, government claims

(Newser) - Hezbollah’s takeover of Beirut is nothing less than an “armed coup,” Lebanon’s ruling party said today. “The armed and bloody coup which is being implemented aims to return Syria to Lebanon and extend Iran's reach to the Mediterranean,” one official in the US-backed government...

I Took Cash, No Bribes: Olmert

Vows to resign if indicted

(Newser) - Ehud Olmert resisted calls for his resignation today, after admitting on national TV last night that he accepted contributions from a New York businessman—but denying that any of it was a bribe. Olmert, under criminal investigation for allegedly taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from Long Island millionaire Morris...

Hezbollah Seizes Muslim Beirut
 Hezbollah Seizes Muslim Beirut 

Hezbollah Seizes Muslim Beirut

Major blow to US-backed government

(Newser) - Hezbollah militants have taken control of Muslim areas of Beirut and now control all the roads to the Lebanese capital's airport, Reuters reports. Gunmen forced a pro-government TV station off the air. At least 11 people have been killed, including those trying to flee the city, as sectarian violence continued...

Hezbollah Chief: Beirut 'War Has Started'

Open violence rattles streets a second day

(Newser) - What began as a strike yesterday is now “open war” in Lebanon, according to Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, CNN reports. Open violence continued for a second day today, with loyalists and opposition fighters clashing after the US-backed government tried to muscle through measures against Hezbollah on Monday, including a...

Blasts Accompany Crippling Lebanon Strike

Casualties unclear as workers demand higher wages amid government crisis

(Newser) - Explosions and gunfire sounded throughout Beirut today as a politically charged workers' strike turned violent. A Hezbollah-led opposition party had called for a one-day general strike, ostensibly for higher wages, the BBC reports. But things soon turned ugly, with flaming barricades along major roads, and gunfire between various factions in...

Audience Disses Zuckerberg SXSWi Interview

Reporter draws heckles, as CEO talks about changing world

(Newser) - Facebook is changing the world. At least, that was a dominant theme during Mark Zuckerberg’s Sunday keynote at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival, during which interviewer Sarah Lacy of BusinessWeek drew heckles from an increasingly impatient audience. Zuckerberg talked about Colombian activists and Lebanese youth using Facebook to...

US Warship Heads for Lebanon
US Warship Heads for Lebanon

US Warship Heads for Lebanon

Deployment of USS Cole signals 'we're engaged,' official says

(Newser) - The US has ordered a warship to the coastal waters of Lebanon amid fear the country's political deadlock could turn violent, Reuters reports. The country's presidential election has just been delayed for the 15th time and the US blames the political quagmire on Syrian meddling on behalf of its Hezbollah...

Pope Appeals for Lebanon Peace
Pope Appeals for Lebanon Peace

Pope Appeals for Lebanon Peace

Pontiff calls for end to infighting, election of 'president for all'

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI expressed concern today over the escalating tensions in Lebanon, calling on its people to find a “president for all Lebanese” to end the months of infighting that have stalled elections. After his noontime blessing, the pontiff told the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square that...

Hezbollah Chieftain Warns Israel of 'Open War'

Nasrallah blames foe for killing of top commander

(Newser) - The leader of the terrorist group Hezbollah said today that the assassination of one of its commanders amounted to a declaration of “open war” by Israel, NPR reports. "Zionists, if you want this type of open war then let the whole world hear: let it be an open...

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