Lebanon has appointed an ambassador to Syria, the first time the two neighbors will have full diplomatic relations since gaining independence. Visit this link to read more: Lebanon appoints envoy to Syria

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman is planning to file an official protest at 'the kidnapping' of two Lebanese nationals by Israeli troops. Visit this link to read more: Lebanon to protest arrests by Israelis

Cohabitation by rival parties in the same government is often fraught with problems, a fact evinced by difficulties experienced in even such stable democracies as France. In Lebanon, where the system is much more fragile and the parties that inhabit it can only be described as dysfunctional, the potential for paralysis is multiplied many times over. Visit this link to read more: Lebanon can't be governed by parties that won't work together

The Lebanese government released the country's 2006 and 2007 Economic Accounts, part of a series of national accounts publications launched since 2002. The overall result for 2006 was a partial stagnation with a growth rate of mere 0.6 percent. In 2007, the consequences of the war began to fade. Visit this link to read more: 'Lebanon's economy shows potential for growth'

Telecommunications Minister Jebran Bassil announced on Friday that MTC Touch, one of the two mobile operators in Lebanon, will launch BlackBerry technology next month. Introduced in 1999, BlackBerry delivers information over the wireless data networks of mobile phone service companies. Over 140 countries use BlackBerry services through 350 operators. Visit this link to read more: Lebanon's MTC Touch to launch BlackBerry service

Israel captures two Lebanese civilians on a raid across the border into Lebanon, as the Lebanese demand Israel to lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip. Visit this link to read more: Israelis raid as Lebanese protest

Israeli soldiers captured two Lebanese civilians in a raid across the border into South Lebanon on Friday, a Lebanese security official said. Tarraf Tarraf and his brother Hassan Tarraf, both aged about 50, were taken on Lebanese territory near the border village of Blida, the official said. Visit this link to read more: Zionist troops abduct two men during raid into South Lebanon

Hizbullah's defense of South Lebanon in the 2006 war with Israel employed conventional warfare tactics far more than asymmetrical "guerrilla" or "terrorist" methods, a US government report has said. The report, commissioned by the US Army War College, said that Hizbullah's unwillingness to give up ground to advancing Israeli forces. Visit this link to read more: US report acknowledges Hizbullah 'skills'

The ART GOLD division of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the government of Belgium this week announced a $3 million agreement, entitled "Building Peace through Local Development." The funds, donated by the Belgian government, will be targeted at citizens and institutions of selected pilot areas of North Lebanon and the Bekaa. Visit this link to read more: UNDP, Belgium announce $3 million development deal for Bekaa, North

The United States plans to deliver M-60 tanks to Lebanon in spring next year as part of a commitment to help the country's army, a senior US State Department official said in Beirut on Friday. David Hale, US deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, denied the US is in competition with Russia. Visit this link to read more: Hale says M-60 tanks will arrive in spring, make LAF heartier

Thousands of people have joined a rally in a southern suburb of Beirut in a show of solidarity with Gazans against the Israeli blockade. Visit this link to read more: Lebanon rallies to show unity with Gaza

A senior Iranian diplomat welcomes a Russian military aid to Lebanon, saying Tehran favors a strong Lebanese army which can counter Israeli threats. Visit this link to read more: Iran hails Russia military aid to Lebanon

Several politicians in Lebanon have hailed Russia's decision to provide 10 MiG-29 fighter-bombers to the Lebanese Armed Forces as a sign of Moscow's growing commitment to this country's independence and sovereignty. But as tempting as may be to consider Moscow's offer a purely benevolent gesture timed to coincide with the Christmas season. Visit this link to read more: Lebanon cannot afford to get caught between a Russian-US power struggle

Telecommunication Minister Jebran Bassil said on Thursday that the government's priority is to liberalize the mobile telecom sector, expand the networks and reduce the rates. "Some people view this sector as the oil of Lebanon. This is a wrong perception because the revenues of the telecom should not be the main source of income. Visit this link to read more: Bassil reiterates need to liberalize telecom sector

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Hale said on Thursday that the Lebanese people will vote in next year's parliamentary elections for "the leaders who will lead them to a better future." Hale, who arrived in Beirut Wednesday afternoon amid low publicity, said after meeting Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir in Bkirki. Visit this link to read more: US confident Lebanon will hold free, just elections - Hale

Lebanon's Defense Ministry has expressed its surprise and pleasure with Russia's decision to send 10 MiG 29 fighter-bombers to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), but retired members of Lebanon's military brass seem to be at odds over how valuable the aid actually is. The addition of 10 fourth-generation MiG 29s - single-seat. Visit this link to read more: Former generals divided over Russian offer to provide LAF with jets

Lebanon, one of the world's key migratory bird corridors, has turned into a death trap for the avian population due to illegal hunting of increasingly rare species. Environmentalists cry foul every hunting season, which typically lasts from October to December, when poachers kill birds by the thousands in the mountains and the eastern Bekaa region despite a 1995 hunting ban. Visit this link to read more: Illegal bird hunting drives rare species toward extinction

It was the summer of 1982 when Zahira Najjar, 66, last saw her son Abdallah, then 17 years old. The family was in Bhamdoun, a mountain resort east of Beirut, at the height of Lebanon's 15-year Civil War.Only Syrian forces were on the ground when Abdullah went to find transport to the capital to get his wounded leg seen to, Najjar said. Visit this link to read more: Recent political thaw with Syria puts spotlight on missing Lebanese

"Don't panic," the former US ambassador to Lebanon, Jeffrey Feltman, told his Lebanese friends at a conference organized jointly last week by the Lebanon Renaissance Foundation and the Aspen Institute. And the Lebanese panicked, because the March 14 majority doesn't know how to make itself relevant as the transition in Washington accelerates. Visit this link to read more: Let's not be crushed by the Syria train

With banking behemoths from New York to Hong Kong teetering in an ocean of red ink, banks in little Lebanon are enjoying a record year. Profits are expected to hit $750 million, while the country's gross domestic product will reach its highest point in many years. How has the financial system in Lebanon. Visit this link to read more: How one country skirted the banking storm

Lebanon cannot overcome the negative impact of the world financial crisis if it does not reform its economic model to become more productive, former Finance Minister Georges Corm said Wednesday. "Lebanon has to shift from an economy dependant on the flows and remittances coming from outside to an economy. Visit this link to read more: Corm advocates remodeling of Lebanese economy to 'do miracles like other countries'

Local parties reacted Wednesday to Russia's decision to provide Lebanon with 10 MiG-29 fighter-bombers as the head of Moscow's defense cooperation body confirmed the planes would be free of charge."Russia's Defense Ministry has decided to deliver to Lebanon, as part of defense cooperation, 10 MiG-29s from our existing contingent." Visit this link to read more: More praise for Russia's promise of 'free' MiGs

The head of the United States Agency for International Development's Lebanon mission has provided grants to three Christian bodies in Keserwan, the US Embassy said in a statement on Wednesday. The Father Robert Institute for the Young Deaf in Sehaile received $49,000 to upgrade. Visit this link to read more: USAID touts funding for Christian bodies

If you ever wondered how to make someone you meet in the street laugh instantly, try and ask them how to best fight corruption in the Lebanon. "Combat corruption? Hahahaha" or similarly joyful remarks were the most frequent answer when The Daily Star asked passersby in Beirut about strategies to get hold of the use of bribery. Visit this link to read more: 'People are always ready ... to be corrupted'

Lebanon has not done enough in 2008 to address the plight of its population of female migrant workers and falls "far behind" the efforts of other Middle Eastern countries, rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday. "Lebanon lags far behind almost every country in the region when it comes to protecting migrant women's rights," said Nisha Varia. Visit this link to read more: Lebanon 'far behind' in protecting migrant workers

An offer by Russia to supply Lebanon with 10 advanced fighter jets highlights the contradictions in the US policy towards the Lebanese military. Visit this link to read more: MiGs raise stakes in Lebanon defence debate

Moscow says it is sending 10 MiG-29 fighters jets to Lebanon as a gift and sign of military assistance. Visit this link to read more: Russia 'to give' Lebanon war jets

Moscow has assured Beirut that it would provide the Lebanese army with 10 MiG-29 fighter jets, says Defense Minister Elias Murr. Visit this link to read more: Russia to equip Lebanon with MiG-29

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is on alert after receiving warnings over a possible attack by al-Qaeda terrorists. Visit this link to read more: UNIFIL warned of possible terror attack

Israel is developing plans to "destroy" Hizbullah in an armed onslaught of such severity that it would require no more than five days to complete, a senior Israeli military officer has said. The commander of Israel's artillery division, which fired an average of 5,000 shells a day into Lebanon during the summer war in 2006, said. Visit this link to read more: Top Israeli officer says Hizbullah will be destroyed in five days 'next time'