The prisoner exchange is greeted with celebrations in Lebanon. But it may signal a dangerous new phase in the Arab-Israeli conflict
Hezbollah militants Thursday began removing street blockades -- one day after the reversal of two Lebanese Cabinet decisions made during the recent factional violence.
Lebanon's Cabinet on Wednesday reversed two decisions that triggered violence among anti-government Hezbollah militants last week: the firing of the chief of security at Beirut's airport and the order that Hezbollah's telecommunications system come under state control, according to a statement released by Cabinet members.
In Lebanon, an explosion filled the Beirut sky with plumes of black smoke as fighting also continued in the north of the country between Lebanese soldiers and militants at a Palestinian refugee camp.
At least 200,000 people packed the streets of Beirut Friday, responding with cheers and applause as Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun called for Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to step down.
Lebanese Cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel -- a key member of the anti-Syrian majority in the Lebanese parliament -- has been shot dead in an assassination that raises tensions between opponents and allies of Syria.
Five Shiite ministers resigned from Lebanon's Cabinet on Saturday after talks about giving the Hezbollah party more power collapsed, according to party spokesmen.
The U.N. Security Council on Friday unanimously approved a six-page proposal aimed at ending the monthlong conflict between Israel and Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.
A stormy Lebanese Cabinet session Monday ended with a call for an international investigation into a string of high-profile attacks on critics of Syrian involvement of Lebanon, spurring five pro-Syrian ministers to suspend participation in the government.
A car bomb has exploded in western Beirut, wounding a former Lebanese Cabinet minister and killing his driver, army sources and Lebanese officials said.
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