Saudi minister asserts kingdom’s keenness not to interfere in any country's internal affairs

Italian judge appointed president of Hariri tribunal

Lebanon approves first Syrian ambassador

Lebanese forces defuse explosive device near Gemayel's home, arrest Syrian suspect

An Italian judge will head up a special UN court set up to try suspects in a series of attacks in Lebanon, including the assassination of the former prime minister, officials said.

Antonio Cassese, was elected to head the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).

Cassese was born in 1937 and was the first president of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia from 1993 to 1997.

The STL was created by a 2007 UN resolution and began work on March 1 at Leidschendam, near The Hague.

Among the crimes it will investigate will the 2005 assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, victim of a massive car bomb.

Besides Cassese and a Belgian judge Daniel Fransen, responsible for pre-trial legal preparations, nine other judges will be appointed to the court, a tribunal statement said.

Their names will be made public "when all the protection measures have been put in place.

In London, The head of Lebanon's Western-backed majority bloc in parliament, Saad Hariri, said that the general election in June will be a straight choice between Hezbollah and the country's sovereignty.

"Our course is justice, independence, freedom, sovereignty and most importantly -- Lebanon first," Hariri told AFP in an interview, referring to his coalition backed by the West as well as Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

"That is not the case for the other side," he added, referring to the Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.

Hariri, the son and political heir of slain ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, also insisted that if the Shiite group Hezbollah and its allies won the June 7 vote, he would not join the government.

"It is my democratic right not to take part in such a government and to be in the opposition," he said. "They are desperate for power, but not me."

The June election is being closely watched by the international community as it will determine whether Lebanese voters choose to maintain the course with a Western-backed alliance or opt for one headed by Hezbollah, which Washington considers a terrorist organization.

Hariri said if his coalition wins, it will invite the opposition to join a unity government but on condition there is no blocking minority, as is currently the case.

"The current government is not functioning," he said. "Because there is a blocking minority and tension inside the government. Nobody is able to do anything. We haven't been able to pass a budget, approve laws or reforms."

The government headed by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who is allied with Hariri, was formed last July following a presidential vacuum and political crisis that brought the country close to civil war.

The Hezbollah-led opposition at the time secured a one-third, veto-wielding share in the 30-member cabinet.

Hariri said he was confident that the sectarian bloodshed which shook the country last year, pitting his mainly Sunni alliance against Shiites, would not be repeated in the run-up to the vote.

"There was a tense speech in the past which is not there anymore," he said. "We now also have a president who is a stabilizing factor."

He added that he believed the issue of Hezbollah's weapons arsenal would be dealt with in time, as have other thorny issues such as relations with Syria or the setting up of an international tribunal to try the killers of his father in a February 2005 bomb blast on the Beirut seafront.

"I have always said that the issue of Hezbollah's weapons must be dealt with through dialogue," Hariri said. "The June vote will give us the opportunity to reshuffle the cards ... and try to come up with a better environment politically."

He said he was encouraging Lebanese abroad to cast their ballots but denied reports that his party was offering them plane tickets and cash to take part in the vote.

"We are telling people: 'Yes you can be angry and upset but if you don't cast your ballot on June 7, you have only yourself to blame if the outcome isn't what you want,'" Hariri said.

Asked about his plans if the Hezbollah alliance wins the vote, Hariri replied, smiling: "I will go on a long vacation."

Lebanese President General Michel Suleiman received the Minister of Culture and Information of Saudi Arabia Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khojah, who bade farewell to the President on the occasion of the end of his term of office as Saudi ambassador to Lebanon.

During the meeting, they reviewed overall brotherly relations binding the two countries and ways of their further activation and promotion in the interest of the two countries.

Following the meeting, the President decorated Dr. Khojah with the National Medal of Cedar of the rank of the highest senior officer in recognition of his efforts exerted to promote relations between the two countries in various fields.

The Head of Lebanese Parliamentary Future Bloc, Member of House of Representatives Saad Al-Hariri held in Beirut a dinner party in honor of Minister of Culture and Information of Saudi Arabia Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khojah.

The party was attended by Prime Minister Fouad Al-Siniora, a number of ministers; senior officials; heads of parliamentary blocs; members of House of Representatives and Arab and foreign ambassadors.

Addressing the party, the Minister of Culture and Information said that what brings together the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Lebanon is bigger than the official relations as they are the product of genuine humanitarian ties, noting that the leaderships of the two countries have made these official and humanitarian ties unique in their objectives deserving the status of brotherhood.

He said, "I am not here to remind of the positions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia towards Lebanon. The Lebanese people should feel that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud does not give them up and the Saudi people feel that the Lebanese people love and receive them warmly.

Dr. Khojah believed that the national unity is Lebanon's strongest weapon, calling on all Lebanese for dialogue, which leads to a unified vision for the future of Lebanon.

In a welcoming speech of Dr. Khojah, Al-Hariri noted that Dr. Khojah has assumed one of the most important ministries in the Government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, after spending several years as his country's ambassador to Lebanon.

He pointed to the Minister's love of Lebanon, which faithfully reflects the view of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques towards Lebanon and its people.

The Minister of Culture and Information of Saudi Arabia Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khojah met in Beirut with the Leader of Democratic Forum and Member of Lebanese Chamber of Deputies (Parliament) Walid Jumblatt, marking the end of his term of office as Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon.

During the meeting, they reviewed brotherly relations between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.

Dr. Khojah also met with Reference Maronite Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir for the same purpose.

Meanwhile, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman approved the appointment of Ali Abdulkarim as first ever Syrian ambassador to Lebanon, Elnashra website reported.

A Presidential statement said that Syria has names its first ambassador to Lebanon, and the Lebanese president has approved the nomination.

According to diplomatic norms the state does not reveal the name of its ambassador unless approved by the state where the ambassador is appointed to.

Lebanon, however, appointed earlier this year ambassador Michel Khoury who was also approved by Syria, to head its mission there. Embassies were opened in both Beirut and Damascus for the first time since the independence of both countries some sixty years ago.

The decision came five months following an agreement between Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad to establish diplomatic ties.

Lebanon opened its embassy in Damascus last week. The Lebanese flag flew for the first time in the neighboring country after decades of turbulent relations, and after Syria dominated Lebanon for nearly three decades before pulling out its troops in April 2005.

The Syrian military pullout of Lebanon followed the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri on Feb. 14, 2005 in a car bomb which Syria was widely blamed for, but Syria denied any involvement.

Ali, who was born in 1953, has been ambassador to Kuwait since November 2004 and has also served as the head of Syrian state radio and television and the official SANA news agency.

In 1998, the married father of four published a collection of poems.

Acting assistant US secretary of state Jeffrey Feltman, who recently visited Syria along with the National Security Council's director for the Middle East and North Africa, Daniel Shapiro, said during a congressional hearing that he had stressed during his visit to Damascus that US policy had not changed simply because it was engaging Syria in dialogue.

Feltman responded to concerns regarding US dialogue with Syria and Iran. "I don't believe that engagement is soft," he said. "I don't believe that talking has to be a sign of weakness. Talking is one tool."

Feltman and Dan Shapiro of the White House's National Security Council, met Walid al-Moualem, the Syrian foreign minister. "We had constructive, comprehensive talks today," Feltman told reporters. "We found a lot of common ground."

However, the US delegation did not meet Bashar al-Assad, Syria's president, during their visit.

Feltman and Shapiro are the first high-level US officials to visit Syria since January 2005, and the trip is in line with the policy of Barack Obama, the US president, of reaching out to all nations in the region.

"The president has said he wants to sustain ... principle engagement with all states in the region and that includes Syria," Feltman said in Beirut before the trip.

Speaking after the talks, Feltman said that the talks with Syrian officials were an attempt to "achieve results through engagement."

"The president [Obama] believes that talking should not be considered a reward - talking should be the means to achieve objectives," he said.

"I think there are a lot of areas where the US and Syria have overlapping interests or perhaps don't have overlapping interests.

"Let's take the issue of [the Iraq war]. We have heard the Syrians say they want a stable and secure Iraq. You have heard our president announce his plan to what has been called a responsible draw-down [of troops] in accordance with our agreements. Maybe this is an area where we [the US and Syria] can work together.

"I'm not going to try to quantify or describe in detail the ideas we have with the Syrians. We want to talk with the Syrians and listen to the Syrians to see where we might co-operate."

The condemnation to the assassination of the deputy of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)'s representative in Lebanon Kamal Medhat dominated the Lebanese and international political scene.

Lebanese various leaders condemned the assassination and called for punishing the criminals. In this context, President Michel Suleiman, while receiving Arab Interior Ministers who were in Lebanon for a conference in the Baabda Presidential Palace, said that all Arabs should "unite in the face of terrorism," and suggested the establishment of an Arab observatory to combat it through constant monitoring of activities and financial transactions. Israel had "created the right conditions for terrorism to stain Arabs and Muslims, and to justify its non-acknowledgment of the Palestinian state," Suleiman said.

Earlier, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killing of the deputy head of the PLO in Lebanon as an act of terrorism. "President Abbas condemns the terrorist crime that targeted Major General Kamal Medhat," he said in a statement issued by his office. "He dedicated his life to serve his people and his cause," the statement added.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri urged the mainstream Fatah Movement and all the Palestinian factions to coordinate with the Lebanese army and security forces "to prevent the enemies of both the Lebanese and Palestinian people from achieving their goals."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon slammed the crime as terrorist. "The secretary-general condemns the terrorist attack that killed Mr. Kamal Medhat, the deputy head of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Lebanon, and several of his bodyguards," his press office said in a statement. Ban voiced hope that "the perpetrators of this crime will be brought to justice promptly," adding that "such actions must not be allowed to endanger the climate of calm that currently prevails in Lebanon."

According to a statement released by the AMAL movement, Berri called the PLO representative in Lebanon Abbas Zaki, and offered his condolences for Medhat's martyrdom. It was "obvious that Israel was the perpetrator, because it is the only beneficiary of shaking Lebanon's national security, and the sowing of discord and unrest among Palestinians," the statement emphasized.

Lebanon's Internal Security Forces (ISF) defused an explosive device discovered near the home of Phalange Party head Amin Gemayel. In a statement, the Phalange Party said security forces stationed outside Gemayel's house in Bikfaya, Metn, happened upon a car "containing explosives to electrical wires and a detonator" near the entrance to the home. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) were deployed immediately to the scene, cordoning off the area and defusing the bomb, the party statement said.

An-Nahar daily published an interview with Gemayel that claimed ISF officers arrested a Syrian national found near the crime scene after discovering a hand grenade and electrical wires in his car.

According to sources quoted in the report, Gemayel's guards had seen a suspicious-looking car loitering in the area two days earlier.

The guards searched the car, discovering the devices. Military prosecutor Saqr Saqr is supervising the investigation into the incident, with An-Nahar reporting security sources as saying the Syrian arrived in Lebanon 10 days ago.

The discovery of the explosive was described by the Phalange as a message to Gemayel and his party counterparts against "their attempts to play a national role and run in the elections," though the party was adamant it would not be discouraged from running in June's legislative elections. Gemayel also told An-Nahar that he had previously received assassination threats.

News of the security threat drew responses from Gemayel's political allies. Phalange vice president Salim Sayegh told LBC Television that the bomb was intended to explode. "It is dangerous to underestimate this and claim it is an ordinary security incident," he said.

The March 14 coalition, of which the Phalange is a part, issued a statement after their weekly meeting. Deputy Mustafa Alloush read out the statement, saying the explosive proved that "terrorist" activities were continuing in Lebanon and urging the Lebanese authorities to make public their investigations.