Free Republic

1. Ahmad Abu Adass In 2005, the last year of his life, Ahmad Abu Adass was 22 and still living with his parents in Beirut, Lebanon. He was kind and liked people, his friends later told investigators, but none of them thought he was very sophisticated. The best way to describe him was simple, one said. He was generous and a little naïve. He was very weak, physically. A Sunni Muslim of Palestinian descent, Adass had become interested in religion and now spent many hours at the Arab University Mosque near his home. It was there, after a prayer session,...

"It was da joos!"Lebanese President Emile Lahoud is using a photograph from Qana to illustrate a point in his address to the UnTIed Nations. I'll do my best to pull a transcript of his speech to find out what the context in which he's using it is, but needless to say, I doubt he's saying, "This illustrates the cynical nature of the activist press." This does appear to be "an historic" moment in the eyes of the press. The wires are flooded with various angles of this exact same pose, sent across by two of the major agencies so far....

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanon's pro-Syria president said Saturday that he will not attend an Arab summit due to political turmoil in his country as investigators searched for clues to a car bomb that rocked a largely Christian neighborhood in Beirut, injuring nine people. President Emile Lahoud did not elaborate on his decision not to participate in Monday's summit in Algeria, but it came as Syria withdraws troops from Lebanon after facing heavy pressure from the United States and fellow Arab countries to end a three decade presence. The attack devastated an eight-story apartment building in the largely Christian New Jdeideh...

Political bickering, poor governance and economic woes - with foreign debt of $53.7b - weigh down the country THERE'S much about Beirut that recalls Singapore: the greenery, the lively, urban lifestyle, good schools and eating places, a colourful port, low crime. But look again. One in four passers-by is not Lebanese, but Syrian - about a million of them in a nation of barely four million native Lebanese. Some 30,000 Syrian troops man roadblocks. Other Syrians work as labourers in the booming construction business. Some beg. And some - installed in Lebanon's intelligence service - help monitor the movements of...

Lebanon, Syria agree on response to 'enemy'; Hezbollah shells IDF posts Smoke rising from the area near Kfar Shouba, in southern Lebanon, after an Israeli air strike on Monday. (AP) Last Update: 27/10/2003 23:20 Hezbollah fires shells at IDF positions on Lebanese border By Uri Ash, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service and Reuters The Lebanese army said on Monday it had agreed with Syria on ways to confront "enemy" threats, hours after Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas traded fire. Earlier in the day, one Israel Defense Forces soldier was lightly wounded Monday when Hezbollah attacked IDF positions in the Har Dov...

Lebanese Television is reporting that Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Al-Hariri, handed in his resignation Tuesday night to President Emile Lahoud. Lahod reportedly accepted his Prime Minister's resignation and is expected to ask Hariri's replacement, as yet unknown, to establish a new government. Lebanese TV did not provide a reason for Hariri's resignation. Hariri submitted his Cabinet's resignation to President Emile Lahoud after a meeting at the presidential palace Tuesday night. Lahoud asked Hariri to continue as caretaker until a new prime minister is appointed and a Cabinet formed. Hariri is widely expected to be asked to form the next government....