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BEIRUT: Lebanon’s March 14 opposition coalition said Thursday its leader would boycott a National Dialogue session scheduled for next week over Hezbollah’s weapons. The coalition announced its decision in a statement after representatives of its various parties held a meeting in Beirut. It cited Hezbollah’s refusal to discuss the fate of its arms at the talks as a main reason …

BEIRUT: A suicide bomber who detonated explosives at meeting of ministers and President Bashar al-Assad’s top security and military officials on Wednesday was a bodyguard for the president’s inner circle, a Syrian security source said. Syrian state television said that Defence Minister Daoud Rajha was killed in the blast and a security source in Syria said Assad’s brother-in-law, Assef Shawkat, …

LONDON: Britain’s stretched border service is letting terror suspects slip into the country, a newspaper reported Sunday, quoting two unnamed Border Agency officials as saying several suspects had been waved through controls at London’s Heathrow Airport since the beginning of the month. The Observer newspaper’s report – which Britain’s Home Office declined to comment on – is the latest in …

LOS ANGELES: David Beckham doesn’t believe he’s the right person to light the flame in the opening ceremony of his hometown London Olympics. Beckham says, “Lighting the torch in the stadium is something that should be done by an Olympian, an Olympian that has done incredible things for our country and has won gold medals.” He helped London’s successful bid …

CAIRO: Across the world, word that Saudi Arabia would send female athletes to the Olympics for the first time immediately rocketed to the top of websites and broadcasts. In Saudi Arabia’s official media? Not even a hint. The state-sponsored silent treatment was indicative of the deep sensitivities inside the kingdom about the measured steps the country makes from its ultraconservative …

LONDON: Every country competing at the London Games will include female athletes for the first time in Olympic history after Saudi Arabia agreed Thursday to send two women to compete in judo and track and field. The move by the ultraconservative Muslim kingdom to break with its practice of fielding male-only teams followed earlier decisions by Qatar and Brunei to …

LONDON: It has been a tough few months at the pockmarked concrete high-rise known as Fred Wigg Tower. First there was the fire, which left dozens of residents temporarily homeless. Then came the rash of burglaries of fire-damaged apartments. And now the British army will be putting a battery of high-velocity missiles on the roof. The defense ministry says the …

DAMASCUS: A Syrian official says the country’s Olympic chief will not attend the London Games because the organizing committee did not invite him. Syrian Olympic Committee president Gen. Mowaffak Joumaa had previously insisted he would travel to London despite indications he would be denied entry by Britain because of his links to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime. But on Tuesday, …