SHOTLIST:

Beirut

1. Various of city

2. Lebanese army military vehicle in Beirut street

3. Lebanese army soldier

4. Newspaper stand

5. Man reading newspaper

6. Close-up newspaper headline: "Government approve international tribunal''

7. Various of newspaper stand

8. People walking in street

9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Voxpop (no name given):

"No, I am not for an international tribunal because it is coming from an unconstitutional government that is not representing all sects. If it was representing all Lebanese than maybe I will agree to tribunal.''

10. Women sitting on seaside

11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Voxpop (no name given):

"I am for an international tribunal to find out who assassinated former prime minister Rafik Hariri and all who have been assassinated and for justice to arrive.''

12. Lebanese Health Minister Mohamed Gawad Khalifa (just resigned) coming down stairs

13. SOUNDBITE (English): Mohamed Gawad Khalifa, recently resigned Lebanese Health Minister:

"It went like a provocative issue, provocative thing and specially at a time when the President and the speaker - two main pillars in the country - again in addition to the Prime Minister, definitely without doubt saying that what is coming from this government is unconstitutional.''

14. Exterior of church in Beirut

15. Various of service in Beirut church

Bekfaya

16. Various of people paying condolences to the Gemayal family

STORYLINE:

Lebanon's US-backed government Saturday approved an international tribunal for suspects in the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, despite warnings of mass protests by its opponent Hezbollah.

Last-ditch attempts to reach a compromise between the government and the pro-Syrian camp, led by Hezbollah, failed as the Cabinet moved forward with its meeting on the UN-created court.

US-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora had offered to put off the contentious Cabinet vote for several days if six pro-Hezbollah ministers who quit the government earlier this month returned.

Hezbollah demands that the government be changed to give it and its allies more power, or else it will launch mass protests to topple Saniora.

People on the streets of Beirut were divided in their opinion following the announcement.

One person said "No, I am not for an international tribunal because it is coming from an unconstitutional government that is not representing all sects. If it was representing all Lebanese than maybe I will agree to tribunal.''

Another's view was that "I am for an international tribunal to find out who assassinated former prime minister Rafik Hariri and all who have been assassinated and for justice to arrive.''

Hezbollah and Lebanon's pro-Syrian president, Emile Lahoud, denounced the Cabinet's approval of the tribunal.

Lahoud called the approval "null and void," according to a statement from his office.

But former Lebanese Health Minister Mohamed Gawad Khalifa - who has only recently resigned from his post - said he thought the issue was a controversial one.

People continued to pay their condolences to the family of slain Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel in the town of Bekfaya.

Gemayel's assassination on Tuesday was the most recent in a string of attacks that have killed five other prominent anti-Syrian figures.

SHOTLIST:

01 March 2009

1. Wide of Beirut city skyline

2. Mid of Lebanese army Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) on road

3. Close of APC

4. Mid of traffic on Beirut city street

5. Various of newspapers

6. Wide of Al-Amin mosque

7. Close of mosque

8. Wide of people standing around murdered former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's grave

9. Mid of people reciting versus of the Quran at Hariri's grave

10. Mid of Hariri's grave with pictures of Hariri in background

11. Close of Hariri's picture

12. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Mohammad El-Sheikh, resident, vox pop:

"This tribunal will put an end to the killing, the criminal must be punished."

13. Mid of people standing around the grave

14. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Leila Fleifel, resident, vox pop:

"Lebanon will not be a place for living or for development if this tribunal is not effective."

15. Wide of traffic on city street

16. Mid of Lebanese army APC under bridge

FILE: 04 September 2000

17. Various of Hariri greeting people

FILE: 26 October 2000

18. Convoy of Hariri arriving at presidential palace after being elected Prime Minister

19. Hariri getting out of car and walking into presidential palace

20. Various of meeting between Hariri and then Lebanese President Emile Lahoud

21. Close of photographs of Hariri and his family

22. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rafik Hariri, former Lebanese Prime Minister:

"I believe we have to open the economy as much as we can, we have to overcome all the obstacles and try to make Lebanon as the commercial centre and financial centre for the middle east."

23. Close of Lebanese flag

24. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rafik Hariri, former Lebanese Prime Minister:

"You know, there's a consensus in Lebanon that Israel has to withdraw from all Lebanese territory. Anyway for me, I believe in peace and I believe that we have to do everything to achieve peace in the region."

25. Hariri talking mobile phone

STORYLINE:

An international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was starting work on Sunday at its headquarters in a village outside The Hague.

Despite the start of proceedings, it is still not known who will be accused in the suicide truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 other people on a seaside street in Beirut on 14 February 2005.

Lebanese army forces in armoured personnel carriers were deployed on the streets of Beirut on Sunday to maintain calm.

Hundreds of Hariri supporters gathered peacefully around his grave in downtown Beirut, many expressing their support for the tribunal.

Mohammad El-Sheikh a resident in Beirut said whoever was responsible for the killing must be punished and he hoped the tribunal would achieve that.

While Leila Fleifel said Lebanon would not be a suitable place for living if the tribunal was not effective.

Four pro-Syrian generals are being held in Lebanese custody although none of them have been formally charged with Hariri's murder.

The generals led Lebanon's police, intelligence service and an elite army unit at the time of the assassination.

Court prosecutor Daniel Bellemare of Canada said he expects to request within weeks for Lebanon to transfer to the court the four generals.

As prime minister, Hariri, a billionaire businessman, was credited with rebuilding downtown Beirut after the 1975-90 civil war, and with trying to limit Syria's influence.

Many in Lebanon believe Syria was behind the assassination.

Syria has denied any involvement.

After the assassination, mass street protests in Lebanon and international pressure forced Syria to withdraw its troops from its neighbour after a 29-year presence.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon to investigate Hariri's killing was set up by the UN Security Council in 2007 and comprises both foreign and Lebanese judges.

It is based in the Netherlands to ensure the safety of staff and an impartial trial.

The judges have not yet been sworn in and the names of Lebanese judges have been withheld out of fears for their safety.

Some in Lebanon doubt the tribunal will ever bring out the full truth, believing it might avoid digging deep to ensure Syria does not react by stirring up trouble in Lebanon and other parts of the region.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on a trip through Africa, issued a statement praising Sunday's tribunal opening.

He said the commencement marked a "decisive milestone" in the efforts by all Lebanese and the international community to uncover the truth, and bring those responsible to justice.

The Hariri court is the latest international tribunal to be based in the Netherlands.

The Hague is home to the International Court of Justice, the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal and the International Criminal Court.

SHOTLIST:

01 March 2009

1. Wide of Beirut city skyline

2. Mid of Lebanese army Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) on road

3. Close of APC

4. Wide of traffic on city street

5. Mid of Lebanese army APC under bridge

6. Wide of Al-Amin mosque

7. Close of mosque

8. Wide of people standing around murdered former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's grave inside the Al-Amin mosque

9. Mid of people reciting versus of the Quran at Hariri's grave

10. Mid of Hariri's grave with pictures of Hariri in background

11. Close of Hariri's picture

01 March 2009

12. Wide of people gathering around Hariri's grave

13. Pull out to wide of Lebanese politicians laying a wreath on Hariri's grave

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Marwan Hamadeh, Lebanese legislator from the Democratic Gathering bloc:

"It is the beginning of truth, the beginning of justice and I think that it is a page that is being opened in the history of Lebanon, the page of Justice, the end of impunity and it is a lesson for many regimes around us in the Middle East."

15. Mid of May Chidiac, a Lebanese journalist and survivor of a targeted car bomb attack, laying flowers at grave

16. Photo of Hariri

17. SOUNDBITE (English) May Chidiac, Lebanese journalist and survivor of a targeted car bomb attack:

"We have suffered too much from killing and killing attempts and the explosions that were put here and there for many decades so now we hope this chapter will be over and will be closed."

18. People leaving the Hariri memorial ceremony

FILE: 26 October 2000

19. Convoy of Hariri arriving at presidential palace after being elected Prime Minister

20. Hariri getting out of car and walking into presidential palace

21. Various of meeting between Hariri and then Lebanese President Emile Lahoud

22. Hariri talking mobile phone

STORYLINE:

An international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was starting work on Sunday at its headquarters in a village outside The Hague.

Despite the start of proceedings, it is still not known who will be accused in the suicide truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 other people on a seaside street in Beirut on 14 February 2005.

Lebanese army forces in armoured personnel carriers were deployed on the streets of Beirut on Sunday to maintain calm.

Hundreds of Hariri supporters gathered peacefully around his grave in downtown Beirut, to mark the beginning of the International Tribunal with many expressing their support.

Marwan Hamadeh, a Lebanese legislator who was targeted by a car bomb in Beirut in 2004, said the tribunal turned a page in Lebanon's history.

Hamadeh said the tribunal "is the beginning of truth, the beginning of justice" and he hoped it would be a "lesson for many regimes around us in the Middle East".

Also paying her respects at the graveside on Sunday was May Chidiac, a Lebanese journalist who also survived a car bomb attack.

Chidiac said she hoped the tribunal would spell the end of the suffering of the Lebanese people.

Four pro-Syrian generals are being held in Lebanese custody although none of them have been formally charged with Hariri's murder.

The generals led Lebanon's police, intelligence service and an elite army unit at the time of the assassination.

Court prosecutor Daniel Bellemare of Canada said he expects to request within weeks for Lebanon to transfer to the court the four generals.

As prime minister, Hariri, a billionaire businessman, was credited with rebuilding downtown Beirut after the 1975-90 civil war, and with trying to limit Syria's influence.

Many in Lebanon believe Syria was behind the assassination.

Syria has denied any involvement.

After the assassination, mass street protests in Lebanon and international pressure forced Syria to withdraw its troops from its neighbour after a 29-year presence.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon to investigate Hariri's killing was set up by the UN Security Council in 2007 and comprises both foreign and Lebanese judges.

It is based in the Netherlands to ensure the safety of staff and an impartial trial.

The judges have not yet been sworn in and the names of Lebanese judges have been withheld out of fears for their safety.

Some in Lebanon doubt the tribunal will ever bring out the full truth, believing it might avoid digging deep to ensure Syria does not react by stirring up trouble in Lebanon and other parts of the region.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on a trip through Africa, issued a statement praising Sunday's tribunal opening.

He said the commencement marked a "decisive milestone" in the efforts by all Lebanese and the international community to uncover the truth, and bring those responsible to justice.

The Hariri court is the latest international tribunal to be based in the Netherlands.

The Hague is home to the International Court of Justice, the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal and the International Criminal Court.