Syrian forces opened fire across two tense borders, killing a TV journalist in Lebanon and at least two people in a refugee camp in Turkey on the eve of a deadline for a ceasefire plan that seems all but certain to fail.

Syrian artillery pounded the rebel city of Rastan yesterday, killing seven civilians, monitors said.

A RADICAL Muslim cleric was arrested yesterday at his home in northern Lebanon, two days after a military court sentenced him in absentia to life in prison in a terrorism trial, authorities said.

A radical Muslim cleric was arrested today at his home in northern Lebanon two days after a military court sentenced him in absentia to life in prison in a terrorism trial, authorities said.

At least five people were killed and another 21 injured when a car bomb exploded near a military bus carrying troops to work in northern Lebanon today, security officials said.

Hezbollah today said it was withdrawing its gunmen from Beirut neighbourhoods seized in sectarian clashes after the army ordered its troops to establish security and called on fighters to clear the streets.

Four people, including a top military general, were killed and several others injured when a large explosion rocked a Christian suburb east of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, early today, the state-run news agency said.

Lebanese troops exchanged fire with militants on the run today, as the military swept a Palestinian refugee camp and surrounding areas in northern Lebanon to try to capture the last holdouts after a climactic battle.

Lebanese soldiers fanned out along the Mediterranean coastline in northern Lebanon today, hunting for fugitives a day after the army crushed the remnants of a militant group and ended a three-month siege at a Palestinian refugee camp.

Lebanese troops fought al Qaida-inspired militants who attempted to flee a besieged Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon today, killing 15 and wounding or capturing 15 others, officials said.

Relatives of Islamic fighters holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon began leaving the besieged area today, a Muslim clergyman mediating between the militants and the army said.

Lebanese army troops unleashed barrages of artillery and tank shells today at Islamic militants in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon, witnesses and security officials said.

Lebanese troops resumed bombardment of al-Qaida-inspired militants entrenched in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon today.

Lebanese troops opened fire at angry Palestinian demonstrators trying to march back home to their besieged camp in northern Lebanon today, killing two, the state-run National News Agency said.

A car bomb explosion killed six UN peacekeepers patrolling a southern Lebanon road today in an attack that could have serious repercussions beyond Lebanon’s borders.

Heavy fighting shattered a brief lull as the Lebanese army continued bombarding suspected hideouts of militants holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

Sporadic gunfire and artillery shelling rang out from a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon today as the army fought to uproot Fatah Islam militants holed up in the settlement.

Lebanese troops pounded Islamic militants hiding in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon today, on the fifth straight day of the military's sustained assault to crush the Fatah Islam fighters.

Clashes between Lebanese troops and Islamic militants spread today to Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp in the south, underlining the complexities the country faces in trying to defeat al Qaida-inspired fighters who are battling a continuing army onslaught in a northern camp.

Dozens of Lebanese army tanks and armoured carriers today pushed forward under the cover of artillery barrages against Islamic militants barricaded in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

Under the cover of artillery barrages, dozens of Lebanese army tanks and armoured carriers today moved against Islamic militants barricaded in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah warned Lebanon not to storm a besieged Palestinian refugee camp, calling instead for a negotiated solution.

Israeli warplanes hit TV transmission towers today in Lebanon, knocking the nation’s leading private network off the air and cutting phone links to some regions.

Anti-Syrian candidates appeared to be heading to victory in the last round of elections in northern Lebanon, early election results showed.

Hundreds of thousands of opposition demonstrators waved gathered in Beirut’s Martyrs Square today, throwing the biggest protest yet in the duel of street rallies with supporters of Syria and the Lebanese government.

SYRIA has withdrawn nearly a third of its troops from Lebanon, a senior officer said yesterday.

LEBANON President Emile Lahoud looks set to ask outgoing pro-Syrian prime minister Omar Karami to form a government, a step sure to anger the anti-Syrian opposition who pressured him to resign in the first place.

Lebanese officials said Syrian troops will begin pulling back toward the Syrian border today, as the leader of the Hezbollah militant group called for a demonstration in Beirut to counter weeks of anti-Syrian protests.

SYRIA is due to start pulling back its forces in Lebanon to the Bekaa Valley today, in the first stage of what it says will be a swift two-phased withdrawal of its troops.

Syrian troops will begin withdrawing from Lebanon following a meeting of the two countries’ leadership tomorrow, the Lebanese defence minister said today.

A military prosecutor has charged 35 Arab nationals and alleged members of an al-Qaida-linked terror group with plotting to bomb foreign targets in Lebanon, including the Italian and Ukrainian diplomatic missions, officials said today.

A US Marine reported missing in Iraq more than two weeks ago is alive and at the US Embassy in Beirut, where American officials are meeting with him.

The disappearance of a US marine who was feared to have been kidnapped by extremists in Iraq could be a hoax.

Syria is to make a substantial withdrawal of troops from northern Lebanon in the next few days.

Syrian vice president Abdel Halim Khaddam has collapsed while delivering a speech at a rally in northern Lebanon.