SHOTLIST

++NIGHT SHOTS++

1. Exterior shot of Prime Minister's office in Beirut

2. Mid shot of Lebanese soldiers and armoured vehicle in position around Prime Minister's office

3. Mid shot of Lebanese soldiers

4. Wide shot of Lebanese soldiers and armoured vehicle

5. Wide shot of Prime Minister's office

6. Wide shot of Lebanese cabinet meeting

7. Mid shot of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora sitting at head of meeting

8. Mid shot of picture of murdered Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel placed in his position around meeting table

9. Various of cabinet ministers around table

10. Mid shot of picture of murdered Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel

11. Cameras

12. Mid shot of Lebanese Minister of Information, Ghazi Aridi, at press conference

13. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Ghazi Aridi, Lebanese Minister of Information:

"(The cabinet) approved the creation of an international tribunal between Lebanon and the United Nations and authorised the Justice Minister to sign this agreement with the United Nations and also to send this approval to the Lebanese Parliament for authorisation.''

14. Cameras

STORYLINE

The Lebanese government on 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, appeared to fail as the cabinet moved forward with its meeting for a UN created court.

The tribunal is a key bone of contention in the power struggle between allies and opponents of Syria in Lebanon.

Anti-Syrian forces - mainly Christian and Sunni Muslim - dominate the government, but are facing a campaign by the mainly Shiite pro-Syrian camp to bring the government down.

The political crisis became potentially explosive this week with the assassination of an anti-Syrian politician, raising worries of more violence that could tear apart the country's fragile sectarian seams.

The anti-Syrian bloc brought out some 800,000 people for a mass rally at the funeral of the politician, Pierre Gemayel, on Thursday.

Hezbollah has shown it can bring out similar numbers for its protests - and if it goes ahead with its threatened demonstrations, many fear it could start a spiral of street action.

Earlier on Saturday, two key anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah and a Syria supporter, in an apparent attempt to find a compromise.

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora 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 says it will launch mass protests to topple Saniora.

But the reconciliation bid appeared to have failed, and the Cabinet meeting approved a UN draft for the tribunal.

In the eyes of Hezbollah, the approval of the tribunal amounts to a rejection of its demands for a greater representation in the Cabinet.

The Shiite militant group and Lebanon's pro-Syrian president, Emile Lahoud, have denounced the current government as unconstitutional, because the constitution underlines that the government must represent all of Lebanon's main communities.

"(The cabinet) approved the creation of an international tribunal between Lebanon and the United Nations and authorised the Justice Minister to sign this agreement with the United Nations and also to send this approval to the Lebanese Parliament for authorisation,'' Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said after the vote.

Aridi's statement went on to say that Prime Minister Saniora insisted the approval of the tribunal was not meant as a provocation against Hezbollah and its allies.

For opponents of Syria, the court is a major priority, and they hope it will uncover the truth behind the February 2005 assassination of Hariri in a massive bomb blast that killed 22 others, which they accuse Damascus of orchestrating. Syria has denied any role in the killing.

The court, which will sit outside Lebanon and have a majority of non-Lebanese judges, is to try four Lebanese generals - top pro-Syrian security chiefs under Lahoud including his Presidential Guard commander, who have been under arrest for 14 months, accused of involvement in

Hariri's murder.

The UN investigation into Hariri's death has also implicated Brigadier General Assaf Shawkat, Syria's military intelligence chief and the brother-in-law of Syrian President Bashar Assad. But Shawkat is not in custody.

Hariri's death was the first in a string of attacks that killed five other prominent anti-Syrian figures - with Gemayel the most recent, in a bold daytime shooting on Tuesday.

Many Lebanese blame Syria in all the killings, which Damascus denies.

Since Gemayel's assassination, some ministers in Saniora's Cabinet have moved into the heavily guarded prime minister's building in downtown Beirut, fearing more slayings.

SHOTLIST:

1. Mid of Beirut's main airport road with hundreds of protesters chanting pro-Nasrallah (Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah) slogans

2. Wide of protesters trying to block the road

3. Mid of cars trying to pass through road

4. Various of protesters in street

5. Lebanese army in street next to protesters

6. Various, armoured personnel carriers move up street

7. Various, massed troops, walking, running up street

8. Troops with protesters

9. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and cabinet ministers during meeting

10. Various of meeting

11. Wide of Saniora walking into news conference and sitting down

12. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Fuad Saniora, Lebanon Prime Minister:

"The opportunity is here today to be united with the international tribunal, because this tribunal is our only way to find the truth about the crimes which target the Lebanese people.''

13. Close up, photographer

STORYLINE:

Hundreds of Shiite supporters of Hezbollah blocked a road leading to Beirut airport on Thursday, protesting at what they said were insults against their leader during the massive rallies accompanying the funeral of slain Christian politician, Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel.

The protest came after hundreds of thousands of Lebanese flooded downtown Beirut to mourn the slain Christian politician and vent anger at Syria.

Troops were called in control the crowds, with columns of armoured personnel carriers on streets near the protest.

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora went on national television appealing to Hezbollah and its allies to resume a national dialogue broken off earlier in the month.

He renewed an appeal to the six ministers who quit their posts to return to the Cabinet and for rival political factions to resume a national dialogue that broke off earlier in the month precipitating the current deadlock.

The six ministers resigned just before the assassination of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel who was murdered on Tuesday and whose funeral took place on Thursday.

But the divisive issue of approving a UN-created international tribunal to investigate the assassinations of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and Gemayel could again undermine any reconciliation. But the government is pressing ahead with the court proposals, despite opposition from Hezbollah.

"The opportunity is here today to be united with the international tribunal, because this tribunal is our only way to find the truth about the crimes which target the Lebanese people.'' said Saniora in support of a tribunal investigation.

Pierre Gemayel, the scion of his powerful Maronite Christian family, was killed on Tuesday when two cars blocked his vehicle at an intersection as he left a church in a Beirut suburb and assassins shot him numerous times through a side window.

He was the sixth anti-Syrian figure killed in Lebanon in two years, including Rafik Hariri.

Syria has denied any role in the slaying of Gemayel and the other figures.

A government official said Saniora has called a Cabinet meeting for Saturday to approve the draft.

There was no immediate reaction from the opposition.

SHOTLIST

1. Mid of Beirut's main airport road with hundreds of protesters chanting pro-Nasrallah (Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah) slogans

2. Wide of protesters trying to block the road

3. Mid of cars trying to pass through road

4. Various of protesters in street

5. Lebanese army in street next to protesters

6. Various, armoured personnel carriers move up street

7. Various, massed troops, walking, running up street

8. Troops with protesters

9. Various of poster of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah

10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Hassan Ezz Eddin, Hezbollah Spokesman:

"While we are calling for dialogue and reconciliation, we did not give up our planned agenda that was halted due to the assassination of Pierre Gemayel. Our agenda is still on and our principles haven't changed and will achieve it either by the street pressure or any other democratic and peaceful means to achieve our goal which will rescue Lebanon from all this tension.''

11. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and cabinet ministers during meeting

12. Various of meeting

13. Wide of Saniora walking into news conference and sitting down

14. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fuad Saniora, Lebanon Prime Minister:

"The opportunity is here today to be united with the international tribunal, because this tribunal is our only way to find the truth about the crimes which target the Lebanese people.''

15. Close up, photographer

STORYLINE

Hundreds of Shiite supporters of Hezbollah blocked a road leading to Beirut airport on Thursday, protesting at what they said were insults against their leader during the massive rallies accompanying the funeral of slain Christian politician, Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel.

The protest came after hundreds of thousands of Lebanese flooded downtown Beirut to mourn the murdered politician and vent anger at Syria.

Troops were called in control the crowds, with columns of armoured personnel carriers on streets near the protest.

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora went on national television appealing to Hezbollah and its allies to resume a national dialogue broken off earlier in the month.

He renewed an appeal to the six ministers who quit their posts to return to the Cabinet and for rival political factions to resume a national dialogue that broke off earlier in the month precipitating the current deadlock.

The six ministers resigned just before the assassination of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel who was murdered on Tuesday and whose funeral took place on Thursday.

But the divisive issue of approving a UN-created international tribunal to investigate the assassinations of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and Gemayel could again undermine any reconciliation. But the government is pressing ahead with the court proposals, despite opposition from Hezbollah.

"The opportunity is here today to be united with the international tribunal, because this tribunal is our only way to find the truth about the crimes which target the Lebanese people.'' said Saniora in support of a tribunal investigation.

Pierre Gemayel, the scion of his powerful Maronite Christian family, was killed on Tuesday when two cars blocked his vehicle at an intersection as he left a church in a Beirut suburb and assassins shot him numerous times through a side window.

He was the sixth anti-Syrian figure killed in Lebanon in two years.

Syria has denied any role in the slaying of Gemayel and the other figures.

A government official said Saniora has called a Cabinet meeting for Saturday to approve the draft.

There was no immediate reaction from the opposition.