Lebanon

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Syria Eyes a New Start With America
Syria Eyes a New Start With America
Dec 24, 2008 10:04 AM CST

Syria Eyes a New Start With America

President Assad moots direct talks with Israel, strategic pact

(Newser) - After years of frosty relations with George W Bush, the president of Syria is looking for a new diplomatic start with Barack Obama in 2009. In an interview with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, Bashar al-Assad says he is willing to work with the United States to stabilize Iraq, and...

DNA Study: Ancient Phoenicians Still With Us

Phoenician blood in North Africa, MidEast

(Newser) - The Phoenicians may have disappeared as a distinct society a few thousand years ago, but it turns out their imprint remains very much alive today. Genetic researchers have discovered the DNA of the seafaring civilization in the blood of men—as many as 1 in 17— who live today in...

All-American Harleys Take Off in Mideast

Lebanon bike tour celebrates iconic rides

(Newser) - It may seem incongruous, but in a region rife with anti-American sentiment, the all-American symbol has found a home: Harley-Davidsons are on the rise in the Middle East, even in conservative countries like Saudi Arabia. The hogs’ popularity was marked this month by Lebanon’s first-ever Harley-Davidson tour, which saw...

Syria Formalizes Lebanon Ties
 Syria Formalizes Lebanon Ties 
Oct 14, 2008 3:12 PM CDT

Syria Formalizes Lebanon Ties

Damascus hopes symbolic gesture eases international pressure

(Newser) - Syria today established formal diplomatic relations with Lebanon for the first time since the nations won independence in the 1940s, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Bashir al-Assad’s regime sent its first-ever ambassador to Iraq yesterday, moves one expert says show Syria “wants to play ball with the world....

Bus Bomb Kills 18 in Lebanon
 Bus Bomb Kills 18 in Lebanon
Aug 13, 2008 4:49 AM CDT

Bus Bomb Kills 18 in Lebanon

Explosion kills soldiers, civilians; dozens more wounded

(Newser) - A bomb that exploded on a bus in Lebanon's second-largest city killed at least 18 people and wounded 40. At least seven of the dead were soldiers, reports the Times of London. The attack took place in the port town of Tripoli, where a sect of Shiites associated with the...

Freed Militants Vow to Continue Fight With Israel

Fighters aim to follow steps of 'martyred' Hezbollah leader

(Newser) - A day after being freed in a prisoner exchange, Hezbollah fighters vowed to continue to fight Israel as they prayed at the grave of a fallen commander, the AP reports. “At this moment, I am yearning more than before to confront them,” Samir Qantar, who had been jailed...

Freed Terrorists Enjoy Hero's Welcome

Hezbollah brass band greets child killer released after nearly 30 years

(Newser) - Freed terrorist Samir Qantar, who bludgeoned a 4-year-old child to death with the butt of his rifle in a raid on an Israeli community, was given a red-carpet and rose-petals hero's welcome yesterday by Lebanese president Michel Suleiman and Hezbollah leaders, reports the Times of London. Qantar, who has been...

Israel Releases 5 Prisoners, 200 Bodies in Hezbollah Deal

Exchanges for remains of 2 missing soldiers

(Newser) - Israel released five Lebanese prisoners and nearly 200 bodies today, the New York Times reports, completing a deal with Hezbollah that netted the Jewish state the bodies of two of its captured soldiers. The most notable prisoner was Samir Kuntar, who had spent more than three decades in Israeli prison...

Hezbollah Returns Bodies of 2 Israeli Soldiers

Corpses of servicemen who sparked 2006 war back home

(Newser) - Hezbollah handed over the corpses of two slain Israeli soldiers in an exchange at the Lebanon-Israel border this morning, Reuters reports. The soldiers' capture sparked the 2006 war that killed 1,200 in Lebanon and 159 Israelis. Once the remains are identified, Israel will free five Lebanese prisoners, including one...

New Mediterranean Union Eyes Mideast Peace

'Gesture of peace' launches new 43-nation group

(Newser) - The inaugural meeting yesterday of the Union of the Mediterranean, which brought together the 27 EU countries and their neighbors to the south, kicked off discussions about a number of mutual projects. But French President Nicolas Sarkozy used it as an opportunity to flex some diplomatic muscle by bringing Syrian...

Hezbollah Included in Lebanon Unity Government

Militant group gets one cabinet slot among 16 for opposition in move to calm strife

(Newser) - Lebanon’s political factions finally formed a unity government today, Reuters reports, with militant group Hezbollah included in the coalition formed after weeks of wrangling. With Hezbollah and its allies effectively holding veto power, it appears Syria—long allied with the militants—will regain some of the dominance it long...

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 
Jun 18, 2008 2:06 PM CDT

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
Jun 3, 2008 10:00 AM CDT

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 
Jun 1, 2008 3:27 PM CDT

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
May 22, 2008 9:15 AM CDT

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 
May 21, 2008 3:32 AM CDT

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...

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