SHOTLIST

1. Wide of area were bomb blast happened

2. Mid of men looking at the remains of a car

3. Cordon next to remains of a vehicle

4. People inspecting damage

5. Dented parked cars along the road

6. Mangled vehicles

7. Pan of damage

8.Damaged building

9. People looking at damage

10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Elie Roukoz, Beirut Resident:

" As you see the whole buildings are damaged, we felt that the ground is shaking up and down."

11. Cars along street in Beirut

12. Various of man reading paper

13. Pan of papers on the news stand

14. Mid of front page reading (ENGLISH) " MP Antoine Ghamen assassinated"

15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Samer Mrad, Beirut Resident

" We want to see and to know the hands behind such acts and who has the interest. This is only affecting the poor and miserable people."

16. Lebanese security forces convoy along street

17. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Saad Hariri, Lebanese lawmaker heading the main anti-Syrian alliance in Parliament:

"The presidency does not belong to Saad Hariri, or to Hassan Nasrallah, or to Nabih Berri, or to Michel Aoun, or to any other party. The presidency belongs to the people of Lebanon."

18. Cutaway

19. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Saad Hariri, Lebanese lawmaker heading the main anti-Syrian alliance in Parliament:

"The International Tribunal, which will try those cowardly criminal killers, will also try those who sabotage the presidential elections."

20. Various of locked up shops

STORYLINE

Lebanese leaders pledged on Thursday to press ahead with a divisive election for president, to be held in Parliament in coming days, despite the car bombing assassination of an anti-Syrian lawmaker.

Wednesday's bomb killed Antoine Ghanem, an anti-Syria lawmaker, and six others in a Christian neighbourhood of Beirut and threatened to derail efforts to bring the country's rival parties together to agree on a head of state ahead of time, before voting is set to begin next week.

Investigators were at the sight examining the remains of the blast.

At least 67 were wounded in the explosion, which severely damaged buildings and set cars ablaze during rush hour on a busy street in the Sin el-Fil neighbourhood.

Ghanem, 64, a member of the right-wing Christian Phalange party, had returned from refuge abroad only two days earlier. He was the eighth anti-Syria figure and fourth governing coalition lawmaker to be assassinated in less than three years.

On Thursday Lebanese newspapers were focused entirely on the assassination.

Samer Mrad a Beirut resident said he wants to know who is behind the attack.

" We want to see and to know that hands behind such acts and who has the interest. This is only affecting the poor and miserable people," he said.

Coalition members blamed Syria for the death, but Damascus denied involvement, as it has for the previous seven assassinations, including the 2005 bombing death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora asked the United Nations secretary-general in a letter to add the Ghanem assassination to an international probe into Hariri's slaying and other political crimes in Lebanon.

On Wednesday Hariri's son, who now heads the main anti-Syrian alliance in the Lebanese parliament, called the perpetrators of the attack "cowardly criminal killers".

"The presidency does not belong to Saad Hariri, or to Hassan Nasrallah, or to Nabih Berri, or to Michel Aoun, or to any other party. The presidency belongs to the people of Lebanon," Saad Hariri said.

Many people fear the divisions over the presidency could lead to creation of two rival governments, a grim threat to repeat the last two years of Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war when army units loyal to competing administrations battled it out.

President Emile Lahoud, an ally of Syria, is due to step down from the presidency by November 23 and government supporters see the vote as the opportunity to put one of their own in the post.

But Hezbollah and its allies have vowed to block any candidate they do not approve and they can do so by boycotting the ballots, preventing the needed two-thirds quorum of 85 votes.

If no candidate is agreed on by the time Lahoud steps down, Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and his cabinet would automatically take on executive powers.

If that happens, opposition supporters have said Lahoud might appoint a second government, a step many fear would break up the country.

Schools, universities and many businesses in Christian areas of Beirut, plus in the Mount Lebanon region north of the capital, closed on Thursday in a day of mourning and to observe a strike called by the Phalange Party.

A funeral was to be held Friday.

SHOTLIST

1. Tilt-up of rubble to people setting up security cordon

2. Pan from wreckage of one car to wreckage of another car

3. Soldiers shouting orders

4. Paramedic running to help, pan to vehicle being hosed

5. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Saad Hariri, Lebanese lawmaker heading the main anti-Syrian alliance in Parliament:

"The presidency does not belong to Saad Hariri, or to Hassan Nasrallah, or to Nabih Berri, or to Michel Aoun, or to any other party. The presidency belongs to the people of Lebanon."

6. Cutaway

7. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Saad Hariri, Lebanese lawmaker heading the main anti-Syrian alliance in Parliament:

"The International Tribunal, which will try those cowardly criminal killers, will also try those who sabotage the presidential elections."

8. Wide view from above blast site

STORYLINE

A powerful bomb killed an anti-Syria lawmaker and six others in a Christian neighbourhood of Beirut on Wednesday, threatening to derail an effort by an already deeply divided parliament to elect Lebanon's next president in voting to begin next week.

Antoine Ghanem, a 64-year-old member of the Christian Phalange party who had returned from refuge abroad only two days earlier, was the eighth

anti-Syria figure and fourth lawmaker from the governing coalition to be assassinated in less than three years.

Coalition members blamed Syria, but Damascus denied involvement, as it has for the previous seven assassinations, including the 2005 bombing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a killing that ignited huge protests that forced Syria to withdraw its troops after a three-decade occupation.

Hariri's son, who now heads the main anti-Syrian alliance in the Lebanese parliament, called the perpetrators of Wednesday's attack "cowardly criminal killers".

"The presidency does not belong to Saad Hariri, or to Hassan Nasrallah, or to Nabih Berri, or to Michel Aoun, or to any other party. The presidency belongs to the people of Lebanon," Saad Hariri said.

Many people fear the divisions over the presidency could lead to creation of two rival governments, a grim threat to repeat the last two years of

Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war when army units loyal to competing administrations battled it out.

President Emile Lahoud, an ally of Syria, is due to step down from the presidency by November 23 and government supporters see the vote as the opportunity to put one of their own in the post.

But Hezbollah and its allies have vowed to block any candidate they do not approve and they can do so by boycotting the ballots, preventing the needed two-thirds quorum of 85 votes.

If no candidate is agreed on by the time Lahoud steps down, Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and his cabinet would automatically take on executive powers.

If that happens, opposition supporters have said Lahoud might appoint a second government, a step many fear would break up the country.

SHOTLIST

1. Aircraft taxiing on runway

2. Wide of United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stepping down from aircraft

3. Tracking shot of Ban and resigned foreign minister Fawzi Salloukh walking, then shaking hands for photographers

4. Ban walking to microphones

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary-General:

"The election of a new president should take place on time and in accordance with constitutional procedures. In this endeavour it is imperative that the parliament convenes in order to elect the new president. This president must be committed to TAIF reconciliation accord, the constitution and international legitimacy."

6. Cutaway of cameras

7. Ban leaving new conference

++NIGHT SHOTS++

8. Pan of Lebanese Parliament Speaker's residence, barriers and security at the entrance

9. Wide of meeting between Ban and Lebanese Parliament speaker Nabih Berri

10. Mid of Ban

11. Mid of Berri

12. Pull out from mid of delegates to wid of meeting

13. Cutaway of photographer

14. Ban and leader of parliamentary majority Saad Hariri shaking hands then walking into meeting room

15. Wide of meeting

16. Mid of Hariri

17. Mid of Ban

18. Various shots of meeting

19. Exterior of Lebanese Prime Minister's office building

20. Ban getting out of car, being greeted by officials as he goes up the steps

21. Wide of meeting between Ban and Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora

22. Mid of Ban

23. Mid of Saniora

24. Wide of meeting

STORYLINE

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday urged Lebanon's deeply divided politicians to elect a new president with the "broadest possible acceptance" by the public, and to do it on schedule, as he tried to help break the deadlock over the crucial vote.

Ban launched the latest attempt by international officials to prod the country's feuding factions to agree on a candidate for the top post and avoid a dangerous power vacuum.

His visit comes a week before parliament is to convene for another try to elect a president.

Parliament is supposed to pick a new president before the term of current President Emile Lahoud ends on November 24.

But the Western-backed ruling coalition and the Hezbollah-led opposition have been unable to agree on a candidate, sparking Lebanon's most serious political crisis since the end of the 1975-90 civil war.

He met with Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri who is one of the opposition figures.

The pro-Syrian opposition has been preventing the anti-Syrian majority from pushing through a candidate by refusing to attend parliament sessions until a compromise is reached.

The coalition is eager to put one of its own in place to replace Lahoud, a close ally of Damascus.

Three parliament attempts to hold a vote have failed since September, and the legislature is to try again on November 21.

"The election of the new president should take place on time and in accordance with constitutional procedures," Ban said. "In this endeavor, it

is imperative that the parliament convenes in order to elect a new president."

After arriving in Beirut on Thursday, Ban met first with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who is aligned with the opposition, and with legislator

Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority.

He later met with Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, whose government has been locked for the past year in a fierce power struggle with the opposition led by the Hezbollah group, which is backed by Syria and Iran.

A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations, said Saniora and Ban discussed the presidential

election, Israel's reconnaissance flights over Lebanon and the need to speed up an international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Failure to elect the next president could result in a power vacuum and possibly, in the formation of two rival administrations.

Ban was also to meet Friday with Hezbollah officials and Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, the head of the influential Maronite Catholic Church.

Under Lebanon's political system, the president must be Maronite, the country's largest Christian sect.

The church fears a power vacuum could threaten the Maronites' hold on the post.

SHOTLIST

1. Exterior of Ein El-Tineh Palace

2. Wide of meeting between Nabih Berri, Lebanese Parliament Speaker; David Welch, assistant U.S. secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs; and U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman

3. Mid of Berri

4. Mid of Welch

5. Wide of meeting

6. Exterior of Lebanese prime minister's office

7. Wide of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora meeting Welch and Feltman

8. Mid of meeting with Saniora

9. Mid of Welch

10. Mid of Saniora

11. Wide of meeting

12. SOUNDBITE: (English) David Welch, assistant U.S. secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs:

"The future of Lebanon is not something that is negotiable against other interests the U.S. may have in in the area, this won't happen."

13. Cutaway to close up of hands

14. SOUNDBITE: (English) David Welch, assistant U.S. secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs:

"Perhaps some outside of Lebanon are concerned about the tribunal because they may be worried that one day they may be held accountable and responsible. Of course, that is normal in any process of justice."

15. Cutaway flag

16. SOUNDBITE: (English) David Welch, assistant U.S. secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs:

"We do not understand what is the purpose of the Hezbollah party having weapons. Precisely what is it they intend to use these weapons for? A conclusion that many have is that they want to be able to intimidate their way into politics. That is the wrong basis for political dialogue and result."

17. U.S. seal on wall

18. Welch heading to meet General Michele Aoun

19. Welch shaking hands with Aoun

20. Various of meeting with Aoun

STORYLINE:

A senior U.S. official pledged on Wednesday that the United States will not use Lebanon as a bargaining tool - an attempt to allay fears that Washington's recent talks with Syria and Iran could weaken American resolve here.

David Welch, assistant U.S. secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, also said he expects the U.N. Security Council will establish an international tribunal in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

He dismissed fears that creating the court, which is at the core of the political crisis here, without Lebanon's parliamentary approval could lead to violence despite Hezbollah's rejection of such a course.

Welch stressed that the U.S. will not abandon Lebanon.

Welch met on Wednesday with senior Lebanese figures, including the parliament speaker Nabih Berri, and Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.

There have been concerns that recent American contacts with Syria and Iran over Iraq could result in a softening of U.S. support for the Lebanese government, which is facing an incessant campaign by the opposition led by Hezbollah, a Syria and Iran ally, to topple it.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Welch said the United States would not bargain over Lebanon.

"The future of Lebanon is not something that is negotiable against other interests the U.S. may have in the area, this won't happen," said Welsh, in an interview at the heavily fortified U.S.

Embassy compound in Beirut.

Welch's two-day visit to Lebanon comes amid a political impasse over the Hariri tribunal.

Commenting on the tribunal, Welch said: "Perhaps some outside of Lebanon are concerned about the tribunal because they may be worried that one day they may be held accountable and responsible. Of course, that is normal in any process of justice."

In addition to meeting the prime minister, Welch met with others including some opposition leaders - except Hezbollah.

He did not meet with President Emile Lahoud, a staunch Syria ally.

Welch did meet General Michele Aoun, a Christian leader and the main ally for Hezbollah, and the two discussed presidential elections and the political situation in Lebanon.

Hezbollah's 11 lawmakers slammed the visit, accusing Welch of "flagrant interference ... and provocative, subversive positions" that would complicate the crisis.

Speaking to AP Television, Welch questioned why Hezbollah wanted to possess weapons.

"Precisely what is it they intend to use these weapons for? A conclusion that many have is that they want to be able to intimidate their way into politics. That is the wrong basis for political dialogue and result," he said.

Hezbollah has said the real goal of American policy in Lebanon is to disarm the Shiite Muslim militant group, whose guerrillas fought Israeli forces in last year's summer war and lobbed thousands of rockets into northern Israel.

A U.N. resolution also calls for disarming militias, and Welch said disarming Hezbollah was a matter for the Lebanese to solve.

SHOTLIST:

1. Pan of Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal and Iranian Foreign Minister Manochehr Mottaki in meeting room with other delegates

2. Close-up of Lebanese parliament speaker, Nabih Berri

3. Berri sitting between Prince Saud al-Faisal and Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Abul-Gheit at separate meeting

4. Cutaway of officials

5. Prince Saud al-Faisal leaving parliament building

++NIGHT SHOTS++

6. SOUNDBITE: (Farsi) Manochehr Mottaki, Iranian Foreign Minister: ++NON VERBATIM TRANSLATION++

"I had a very important meeting with the Lebanese President and we had an excellent exchange and our relations are well."

7. Wide of Lebanese Parliament

STORYLINE:

The Saudi and Iranian Foreign Ministers met on the sidelines of a gathering of foreign dignitaries in Beirut on Sunday, there to see Lebanon's parliament elect army commander General Michel Suleiman as the country's president in a long-delayed vote.

Representatives from both sides of the Middle East's Sunni-Shiite divide came: the foreign ministers of Syria and Iran, which support Hezbollah, and Saudi Arabia, a strong backer of the government.

"I had a very important meeting with the Lebanese President and we had an excellent exchange and our relations are well," Iranian Foreign Minister, Manochehr Mottaki, told reporters after the meetings.

Suleiman was greeted by a standing ovation from lawmakers and visiting dignitaries, as he arrived to be sworn in as the country's president.

Celebratory gunfire reverberated across the capital as news of Suleiman's election was announced, and hundreds broke out in cheers and dancing in the main square as they watched the vote on a giant screen.

The Hezbollah-led opposition and Western-backed government agreed last week to elect Suleiman as part of their deal to end an 18-month political crisis.

The presidential vote had been postponed 19 times since November when the last president, Emile Lahoud, left office.

Suleiman, a compromise candidate, ran unopposed.

He won 118 votes of the 127 living members of the legislature, according to parliament speaker Nabih Berri.

There were six blank ballots.

Two legislators voted for one-time presidential hopefuls and one was in the name "Rafik Hariri and the martyred legislators" - a reference to the slain former prime minister and five other lawmakers killed in bombings in the last three years.

After the vote, the new president was sworn in.

In his first speech, Suleiman had words to comfort both the Hezbollah-led opposition and the Western-backed government.

Suleiman called for a close relationship with neighbouring Syria, a major state supporter of Hezbollah which dominated Lebanon for almost three decades.

But he also backed the international tribunal to try killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a position aligned with the government's.

The Arab-mediated agreement reached on Wednesday in Qatar ended a standoff that had paralyzed Lebanon's government before boiling over into some of the worst internal violence since the 1975-1990 civil war.

It left at least 67 dead and 200 wounded.

Though the deal was a major victory for Hezbollah, most Lebanese appeared happy that the shadow of war had been lifted, at least for now.

Suleiman's election is expected to add to political stability - he has pledged to strengthen "reconciliation and understanding" among rival factions.