Talks between Lebanon's rival political parties focused on Hezbollah's weapons have little chance of succeeding given the vested interest of key regional players like Iran and Syria, analysts say. "This dialogue is going nowhere," said Rafic Khoury, chief editor of the independent daily Al-Anwar, referring to national defence ...

Lebanon, a tiny, vibrant Mediterranean country, prides itself on its polyglot society but for the country's youths native Arabic is not very "cool." "Hi, kifak? Ca Va?" -- or "Hi, how are you doing? Okay?" -- is a typical multi-linguistic Lebanese greeting so popular it now appears on bumper stickers and ...