Beirut, Jan. 25 : An Ethiopian airliner carrying 82 passengers and eight crew members crashed into the Mediterranean sea shortly after taking off from the Beirut International Airport on Monday morning, officials said.

“The flight lost contact with Lebanese air traffic controllers shortly after takeoff,” the News York Times quoted Ethiopian Airlines spokeswoman Wogayehu Terefe, as saying.

She added that a rescue crew was headed to the crash site to see if anyone had survived.

Beirut, Jan 11 : Hundreds of Lebanese and Palestinians held a demonstration here in support of Cuba and demanded the release of five Cubans in US jails, having been convicted of terrorist activities in that country.

According to a Cuban embassy official, the protesters demanded the release of Fernando Gonz? lez, Rene Gonz? lez, Gerardo Hern? ndez, Ramon Labanino and Antonio Guerrero imprisoned for over 11 years in the US, Prensa Latina reported.

The five Cubans have been serving jail terms ranging from 15 years to double life imprisonments for having links with terrorists groups operating in the US.

Beirut, Dec 30 : The Lebanese army fired anti-aircraft salvoes at four Israeli jets that penetrated the country's airspace Tuesday, an army source said.

"The army fired at the jets over the region of Hasbaya" in the south of Lebanon, the source added.

Lebanon considers Israeli overflights a breach of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 which ended a 33-day war between Israel and Shia militant group Hezbollah in 2006.

Israel says such flights are necessary to monitor the movements of Hezbollah near the Lebanese-Israeli border. (DPA)

Beirut, Dec 30 : Two Lebanese radio stations Tuesday reportedly received calls from a person claiming to represent terrorist network Al Qaeda, threatening bomb attacks within that country.

The calls to the stations - identified as Radio Sawa and Radio al Mada by Lebanese media - coincided with a report published in Lebanese daily An Nahar earlier Tuesday that Al Qaeda militants were plotting terrorist attacks against state institutions and foreign missions in coordination with Fatah al-Islam.

Beirut, Dec 27 :A member of the Palestinian movement Hamas was killed and two others were wounded Saturday when a bomb exploded in Beirut's southern suburbs, a hotbed of Lebanon's militant Shia group Hezbollah, media reports and a security source said.

Hamas officials were unreachable for comment.

The explosion occured in a parking lot near Hert Hreik district, near the offices of Hamas in the area, a Lebanese security source said.

Beirut (Lebanon), Dec. 20 : A military court in Iran has charged twelve prison officials with murder and other crimes for the death of at least three protesters in prison after the disputed presidential election in June.

A New York Times report said that the court’s statement followed months of denials by the police and prosecutors, who grudgingly conceded that some torture had taken place but attributed the deaths to meningitis or other illnesses.

Beirut, Dec 18 : A ship carrying 87 passengers sank in bad weather off the northern Lebanon port of Tripoli on Thursday, Lebanese security sources said.

The Lebanese army and members of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) launched an operation to rescue those on board, the sources added.(DPA)

Beirut, Nov 30 : Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said Monday that the role of the US in the region is diminishing and thus weakening the Jewish state.

"We are amid historical transformations that signal the retreat of the US role and the demise of the Hebrew State," opposition leader Nasrallah told journalists via a video feed in Beirut's southern suburbs.

Beirut - A Lebanese mother found dead with her three daughters left a videotaped confession that she poisoned the family, Lebanese media reported Saturday.

Grace Jalakh, 40, said she had poisoned herself and her three young daughters because her husband has been working in Bahrain for years and she "cannot take it anymore."

The taped confession was aired on Lebanese television.

Beirut - A Russian military delegation is expected soon in Lebanon to inspect three military airports before Moscow sends ten MIG-29s jet fighters in military assistance, a Lebanese army source said Tuesday.

According to the source the three airports to be inspected are located in Beirut and in eastern Lebanon.

The source declined to provide further details on the Russian visit, but said the delegation would inspect "Lebanese army logistic brigades and units as well as a number of institutions and military academies."

According to media reports the delegation was to arrive Tuesday night and would stay until November 26.

Earlier this year, Moscow announced it would supply Lebanon with 10 MIG-29 fighter jets.

Beirut - Lebanon's newly-named cabinet held its first meeting Tuesday, aimed at ending the political impasse that has engulfed the country for more than four months.

The cabinet convened at the Baabda presidential Palace under President Michel Suleiman, with Prime Minister Saad Hariri and 29 ministers in attendance.

Social Affairs Minister Selim Saygeh, who represents the Christian Phalangist party loyal to the western- backed majority, was not present.

Beirut  - Lebanon's ruling majority and the opposition led by Hezbollah have agreed to form a national-unity cabinet, thus ending a six-month political impasse in the country, sources said Saturday.

A high-ranking source in the Western-backed ruling majority told the German Press agency dpa, "an agreement was reached, but we are still waiting for the proposed names from the opposition on who would fill each portfolio in the new cabinet."

Beirut - The Lebanese army and the United Nations interim Force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) defused Wednesday four rockets which were set to be launched towards northern Israel.

The incident came a day after one Katyusha rocket was fired from the village of Houla into northern Israel, prompting the Jewish state to retaliate by shelling the area. There were no injuries or damage on either side of the border.

Tuesday's attack was not yet claimed. In the past, Israel has held the Lebanese government responsible for such attacks from southern Lebanon.

Beirut  - The middle school at a privately-run international school in Lebanon was closed on Tuesday, a week after 19 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, known also as swine flu.

"To date we have had 32 cases of this influenza in the Beirut Middle School, 13 of whom have already recovered and returned to school," the US International College (IC) said in a statement.

The middle school would remain closed until November 1, the IC said.

On Monday, Lebanon confirmed its first swine-flu death - a 30- year-old pregnant woman who died on Saturday.

Beirut - Working together to concoct the largest bowl of hummus ever recorded, a group of Lebanese chefs earned a Guinness World Record Saturday.

The chefs mixed over two tons of the chickpea-based dip in a three-hour event in downtown Lebanon under the watchful eye of a Guinness representative.

Some 250 Lebanese Chefs participated in the event. They poured 1,350 kilograms of mashed chickpeas and 400 litres of lemon juice and garlic into a mega-sized pottery dish on their way to the prize.

Hummus is a dip of ground chickpeas mixed with sesame paste, garlic and olive oil. It is very popular in Lebanon.

Beirut  - Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero arrived in Beirut Friday for talks with Lebanese officials and also to inspect his country's troops in southern Lebanon.

Zapatero was to hold talks with President Michel Suleiman, House Speaker Nabih Berri and premier-designate Saad Hariri.

He was also scheduled to visit his country's troops who are affiliated with the United Nations Interim Forces in Southern Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Beirut - The Lebanese army and the United Nations Forces in southern Lebanon on Tuesday began investigating the reasons behind a rocket blast overnight that rocked a village east of the southern port city of Tyre and wounded one person, army and UN sources said.

A Lebanese security source said Tuesday that Abdel Nasser Issa, a Hezbollah member, had apparently stored the rocket, which dates back to the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, in the garage of his home in Tayr Felsay.

Beirut  - Around 30 women cyclists from Europe, Asia and Arab countries were Monday inside Syria after crossing from Lebanon on a tour aimed at promoting peace in the region, local radios reported.

One, 65-year-old German Marta Sara, said: "We are doing this to help end the bloodshed and the miseries of people living here in the troubled regions, especially in Palestine."

Beirut  - Clashes erupted Wednesday evening in the northern port city of Tripoli between followers of Lebanon's parliamentary majority and others loyal to the Hezbollah-led opposition, leaving eight people wounded, Lebanese police said.

The violence started when a rocket-propelled grenade hit Al Ashkar cafe in the Jabal Mohsen neighborhood, followed by a hand grenade that was tossed near Al Nassri mosque in Tripoli's Bab al- Tabaneh, the police said.

Eight people were injured and were taken to a nearby hospital in the Jabal Mohsen area, the police added.

Beirut  - The Beirut International Film Festival opened Wednesday in the presence of legendary US film director Francis Ford Coppola, who was coy about the possibility of making a film Lebanon.

"I don't know if you can expect a film (on Lebanon) by Francis Ford Coppola, but my eyes are open," he told reporters.

The Beirut International Film Festival opened with the screening of Coppola's latest production Tetro, which follows two brothers who are reunited after a ten-year separation.