Lawmakers in Beirut, Lebanon elected the former head of the Lebanese army general Michel Sleiman as president on Sunday in a first step towards defusing an often deadly 18-month standoff between feuding political factions.

The final report of the Winograd Commissionon on the inconclusive 2006 war against Hezbollah guerrillas blamed the military and the Govt. for failing to protect Israel from 4,000 Hezbollah rockets and faulted decision-making.

Israel is marking the anniversary of last year's Lebanon war. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, Israel is still casting a wary eye over its northern border.

The testimony of Israel's embattled Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to an official inquiry investigating last year's Lebanon War has been released for publication. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, his comments have brought further calls for his resignation.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert remains defiant after a mass rally demanding his resignation. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, the embattled leader has faced an avalanche of criticism since Monday, when an official commission of inquiry issued its interim report on last year's Lebanon War.

Tens of thousands of Israelis hit the streets at a massive rally asking Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defence Minister Amir Peretz of Israel to resign in the wake of a damning report by a committee investigating last year's war with Hezbollah.

The campaign to oust Prime Minister Ehud Olmert shifted to the streets on Thursday, with a mass rally in Tel Aviv expected to draw tens of thousands of opponents calling for the embattled Israeli leader's head.

A high-level investigative panel sharply criticized Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for "severe failure" in his handling of last summer's war in Lebanon a potentially fatal blow to his political survival.

A government-appointed Israeli commission has harshly criticized Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other senior Israeli officials for their handling of last year's Lebanon War. As VOA's Jim Teeple reports from Jerusalem, the commission released its interim report Monday.

BMED, the independent franchise partner of British Airways, operating flights between Yerevan and London Heathrow, was awarded the Outstanding Service Award at the 25th Anniversary of the OAG Airline of the Year Awards, the world's premier airline accolades, in recognition of the efforts of its Beirut staff for efforts above and beyond the call of duty during the Lebanon war last year.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is in Beirut Friday for talks on Lebanon's political deadlock. After meeting with pro-Syrian parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, Mr. Ban urged Lebanon's leaders to engage in dialogue for the purpose of promoting national reconciliation.

John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, says the United States deliberately delayed calling for a cease-fire in last summer's conflict in Lebanon to give Israel a chance to eliminate Hizballah's military capabilities.