Topic: Nabih Berri

Israeli Army forces withdrew Tuesday from the last border towns and villages in southern Lebanon they captured during the war with Hezbollah, paving the way for the deployment of the Lebanese Army.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam formed a new cabinet made up of specialized and clean-handed ministers, ending past dominance by Hezbollah and its allies, with the mission of introducing needed reforms.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said Monday that Israel should withdraw from the occupied border areas in southern Lebanon, rejecting the extension of the cease-fire arrangements to Feb. 18.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said Thursday that the oil-rich kingdom stands by Lebanon, but stressed that the war-ravaged, crisis-ridden country needs to adopt necessary reforms.

Geopolitical shifts in the troubled Middle East, highlighted by the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad and Iran's dwindling influence, present a rare opportunity for Lebanon to regain control of its own fate.

Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam on Tuesday called for "unity and cooperation" to save, reform and reconstruct Lebanon, saying he is extending his hands to "all," in spe

Nawaf Salam, the head of the International Court of Justice, was named Monday as Lebanon's new Prime Minister after he won the support of 84 parliamentarians in another blow to the once powerful Hezbollah.

Lebanon's newly elected president, Joseph Aoun, said Thursday that "a new phase" has started for the war-ravaged country and pledged to rebuild the state, adopt a policy of "positive neutrality" and fight corruption.

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein the Israeli Army has started to withdraw from the western sector of south Lebanon and will continue to do so until completely out of Lebanon in what he described as "a successful process."

Hezbollah fired Monday evening at an Israeli Army post in a south Lebanon border area in a first such response to alleged repeated Israeli violations of a cease-fire agreement achieved last week.