SHOTLIST

April 4, 2007

1. Street traffic in Beirut

2. Wide of Newspaper stand

3. Tilt down of newspapers

4. Newspaper headline reading: (in Arabic) "70 lawmakers place procedure to form tribunal in the hands of the United Nations: avoiding Chapter 7 is still possible"

April 3, 2007

5. Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority and son of the slain leader, Rafik Hariri, delivering the memorandum to Geir Pederson, the UN representative in Lebanon ++MUTE++

6. Lebanese members of parliament at meeting ++MUTE++

7. Wide of meeting ++MUTE++

April 4, 2007

8. Exterior of Prime Minister's office building

9. Close-up of Lebanese flag

10. Youth and Sport Minister Ahmad Fatfat

11. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Ahmad Fatfat, Minister of Youth and Sports:

"We proceeded to the United Nations after the failure of all internal constitutional attempts due to obstacles placed along the way by certain elements (in government). That is why we look to the United Nations to implement the resolutions."

April 3, 2007

12. Exterior of Parliament building

13. Members of parliament gathered in parliament hall

14. Camera operators

15. Wide of members of parliament

April 4, 2007

16. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Nawar Al-Sahili, Hezbollah Member of Parliament:

" This is dangerous move for all of Lebanon and it belittles the importance of the International tribunal. Instead of the tribunal being one that serves all the Lebanese people, one they all want and support, it is now a tribunal negotiated and imposed by a few Members of Parliament. Which makes it a political tribunal."

17. Image of Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah leader, on calendar cover

STORYLINE:

Parliament's anti-Syrian majority has called on the UN to impose an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri after the government failed to win opposition support for its creation drawing condemnation from the Hezbollah-led opposition.

The anti-Syrian coalition's call late on Tuesday on the world body to take "alternative measures" to approve the tribunal amounted to an invitation to the UN Security Council to independently establish it.

Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority and son of the slain leader, presented a memorandum to Geir Pederson, the UN representative in Lebanon, during a meeting late on Tuesday, demanding UN action to establish the tribunal in accordance with a draft agreement signed between the Lebanese government and the United Nations last year.

The memorandum, addressed to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, calls on the UN chief "to take all alternative measures under the UN Charter which ensure the establishment of the international tribunal which has been approved by the Security Council in order to achieve justice, strengthen national peace and protect world justice and peace," according to a statement issued by Hariri's office.

The memorandum accused pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a key opposition figure, of obstructing efforts to set up the tribunal, claiming Lahoud repeatedly refused to sign the tribunal draft agreement because he considered the government unconstitutional after the resignation of six ministers.

Ahmad Fatfat, the Lebanese Minister of Youth and Sports, said the decision to go through the United Nations was borne out of frustration.

" We proceeded to the United Nations after the failure of all internal constitutional attempts due to obstacles placed along the way by certain elements (in government). That is why we look to the United Nations to implement the resolutions," said Fatfat.

The move prompted a warning from Hezbollah that such international intervention threatens Lebanon's security and stability.

On Tuesday, Amal leader and Hezbollah ally, Speaker Nabih Berri locked out pro-government lawmakers from the chamber, refusing to call the legislature into session.

It was the third attempt in as many weeks by lawmakers from the anti-Syrian majority to try and force Berri to call a session.

But Hezbollah and its Pro-Syrian allies in parliament have declined, seeking instead to negotiate limits to the tribunal's mandate.

Nawar Al-Sahili, Hezbollah Member of Parliament, called the decision to go through the UN a

" dangerous move for all of Lebanon."

"Instead of the tribunal being one that serves all the Lebanese people, one they all want and support, it is now a tribunal negotiated and imposed by a few Members of Parliament. Which makes it a political tribunal," said Al-Sahili.

Hezbollah lawmaker Hussein Haj Hassan said in a telephone interview with LBC television, warned that the establishment of a tribunal by the UN with out the consent of the Lebanese parliament is considered international foreign intervention in the internal affairs which threatens the security and stability of Lebanon.

SHOTLIST

1. Arrival of convoy with Alexander Sultanov, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister

2. Sultanov walking with officials

3. Pan from cameramen and photographers to Sultanov and Fawzi Salloukh, former Lebanese Foreign Minister

4. Mid of Sultanov

5. Mid of Salloukh

6. Wide of meeting

7. Cutaway cameramen

8. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic), Alexander Sultanov, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister:

"We discussed the international tribunal and other internal affairs. We agreed on the continuation of national dialogue, a dialogue of all the problems in Lebanon, because dialogue is the only way to save the national consensus and unity."

9. Cameramen

10. SOUNDBITE: (English) Fawzi Salloukh, former Lebanese Foreign Minister:

"Russia will take all necessary action to help and support in finding a solution to the problem."

11. Convoy leaving

12. Presidential palace

13. Sultanov at meeting with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud

14. Mid of Lahoud

15. Mid of Sultanov

16. Exterior, Prime Minister's office building

17. Lebanese flag

18. Various of meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora

19. Exterior of Ein El-Tineh Palace

20. Various of meeting with parliament speaker, Nabih Berri

STORYLINE:

Envoys from Russia and the UN were involved in Beirut on Tuesday in what may be a last-ditch attempt to win approval from Lebanon's opposing camps for an international tribunal into the assassination of Lebanon's prime minister, Rafik Hariri, a subject that's divided Lebanese opinion and which threatens the country's stability.

The parliament has put off approving a draft agreement with the United Nations, paralyzed by a political crisis between the government, which wants a multi-national tribunal to prosecute suspects in the 2005 assassination, and the Hezbollah-led opposition, which wants more discussion first.

The Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and the parliamentary majority have asked the United Nations to impose the Hariri tribunal and bypass the Lebanese legislature but opposition leaders have warned that such intervention could spell more trouble for the country.

Clashes over the issue have already caused nine deaths.

Opposition campaigners have been camping outside Saniora's office since December, 2006, paralyzing large parts of the capital's commercial district to demand his resignation but Saniora has refused to step down.

Russia's deputy foreign minister, Alexander Sultanov arrived for talks in Beirut with various Lebanese officials and the former Lebanese foreign minister Fawzi Salloukh.

Sultanov said that Russia was eager to help find a compromise, not impose a solution, stressing that the Lebanese need to find consensus through dialogue.

"We discussed the international tribunal," he said. "We agreed upon the continuation of the national dialogue, a dialogue of all the problems in Lebanon, because dialogue is the only way to save the national consensus and unity."

Fawzi Salloukh, who resigned as Lebanon's foreign minister, said that Russia would do what is necessary to help and support in finding a solution to the problem.

Russia, with a veto on UN Security Council resolutions, has enjoyed good relations with Lebanon and Syria, which has been widely accused of involvement in the assassination.

Sultanov also met with Lebanon's President Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. He is then expected to travel to Syria, which remains an important player despite the withdrawal of its army from Lebanon in the wake of Hariri's assassination.

Along with Sultanov, the top UN legal chief Nicolas Michel was flying in later Tuesday to Beirut to help overcome the impasse.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, is scheduled to visit Syria next week, after a trip to Lebanon in March.

The anti-Syrian majority in Parliament blames Damascus for killing Hariri, an accusation Syria vehemently denies, and say the Syrians were using their Lebanese allies to undermine the formation of the tribunal.

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. 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 parliament building

2. Lebanese flag

3. Various of legislators arriving at parliament

4. Tilt up armed Lebanese soldier

5. Various of members of parliament (MPs) entering parliament building

6. Various of meeting inside parliament

7. Various of Walid Jumblatt, senior Druse leader at the meeting

8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Musbah Al-Ahdab, Pro-government Lebanese MP:

"The parliament has been totally paralysed and I think that we need to find a constitutional platform, we need to have this parliament to start working again in order to avoid all the tension that we are seeing in the streets and mostly that the situation has become very tense inside of the country and even regionally. So it is about time to bring back discussions where discussions should be, I mean in the parliament, the Lebanese parliament."

9. Wide of camera operators

10. Exterior of Ein El-Tineh palace

11. Nabih Berri heading to the news conference

12. Cutaway of reporters

13. Close of note taking

14. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Nabih Berri, Lebanese Speaker of the House:

"In post Ta'ef Lebanon there is no authority without a council of ministers. The authority is also for the whole council of ministers. The authority is for the whole parliament. Who said that you can deal with the issue in such a way? Therefore the parliament will not meet with this diminished (in number) government, only when it is fully restored (in terms of numbers) in one way or another. But this does not mean that there (inaudible) should be no sessions for the parliament. This is not a threat."

15. Cutaway cameramen

16. Reporters writing

17. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Nabih Berri, Lebanese Speaker of the House:

"As long as their aim is to terminate the dialogue ... my answer is: 'to continue the dialogue and extend hands until we save Lebanon."

18. Wide of Berri leaving conference

STORYLINE:

Pro-government lawmakers and their Hezbollah rivals on Tuesday dampened hopes that recent negotiations between the two camps in Lebanon would lead to an end to the country's four month long political crisis.

Several rounds of talks this month between Saad Hariri, head of the pro-government parliament majority, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri from

opposition ranks aligned with Hezbollah, defused some of the tension permeating Lebanon and revived hopes of a reconciliation.

But tensions escalated anew Tuesday, with 45 pro-government legislators gathering in the parliament to protest Berri's refusal to convene a session

on the crisis.

Musbah Al-Ahdab, a pro-government Member of Parliament (MP) said the Lebanese parliament had "been totally paralysed."

"I think that we need to find a constitutional platform, we need to have this parliament to start working again," he said. "It is about time to bring back discussions where discussions should be, I mean in the parliament, the Lebanese parliament."

Berri has said he would not convene the parliament before opposition demands for a national unity government are met.

He has also said that even though the constitution stipulates the parliament convene for the spring session on the first Tuesday after March 15, this was not mandatory.

Walid Jumblatt, a Druse lawmaker and key government supporter, accused Berri of "hijacking" the parliament upon orders from Iran and Syria - the

main Hezbollah backers.

Dialogue, said Jumblatt, can only be beneficial in parliament.

Berri lashed back at a news conference later on Tuesday, accusing the parliamentary majority of blocking efforts for a settlement to the crisis.

He said that the parliament would only meet with the government when it is fully restored.

" The parliament will not meet with this diminished (in number) government only when it is fully restored (in terms of numbers) in one way or another. But this does not mean that there (inaudible) should be no sessions for the parliament. This is not a threat," Berri said.

Berri also criticised Tuesday's protest in parliament which he said was held mostly by legislators belonging to Hariri's parliamentary bloc who aimed to" terminate the dialogue."

"My answer is: 'to continue the dialogue and extend hands until we save Lebanon," Berri said.

Hariri is Sunni Muslim and his community backs Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's pro-Western government.

Berri is a Shiite Muslim, and his party Amal and its Hezbollah ally draw their support from the country's Shiite community.

The Christian community has lent more support to the anti-government faction than the pro-government.

The Hezbollah-led opposition has been staging protests and an open ended sit in downtown Beirut since December 1 in a bid to topple Saniora's government.

The opposition demands the government give it a veto-wielding share of the Cabinet.

Saniora has refused this, and is supported by the majority in parliament.

The confrontation has stirred political and sectarian tensions that have threatened to tear the country apart.

Nine people were killed in street clashes since December between pro- and anti-government supporters.

The opposition and Lebanon's pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud consider Saniora's government to be illegal after five Shiite ministers and a pro-Hezbollah Christian minister resigned in November.

The pro-government, anti-Syrian camp wants parliament to convene so that it can give the go-ahead for the creation of an international tribunal to try

suspects in the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The Hezbollah-led front has demanded modifications to the proposal for the international court.

SHOTLIST:

1. Exterior of parliament building

2. Lebanese flag

3. Various of legislators arriving at parliament

4. Tilt up armed Lebanese soldier

5. Various of members of parliament (MPs) entering parliament building

6. Various of meeting inside parliament

7. Various of Walid Jumblatt, senior Druse leader at the meeting

8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Musbah Al-Ahdab, Pro-government Lebanese MP:

"The parliament has been totally paralysed and I think that we need to find a constitutional platform, we need to have this parliament to start working again in order to avoid all the tension that we are seeing in the streets and mostly that the situation has become very tense inside of the country and even regionally. So it is about time to bring back discussions where discussions should be, I mean in the parliament, the Lebanese parliament."

9. Wide of camera operators

10. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Ali Bazzi, Anti-government Lebanese MP:

"There is dialogue and meetings going on between the speaker of the house Nabih Berri and Sheikh Saad Hariri (head of the majority legislators). We consider this atmosphere of exaggeration and escalation to be a stab for this dialogue and the meetings which are going on. It seems that they (majority legislators) have deprived the government of its legitimacy, constitutionality and credibility and now they are trying to deprive the parliament of its legitimacy."

11. Lebanese security forces

STORYLINE:

Majority legislators gathered in the Lebanese Parliament building in Beirut on Tuesday, to urge the Lebanese speaker of the house, Nabih Berri, to open the first session of parliament for the year.

The pro-government anti-Syrian camp wants Parliament to convene so that the creation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri could be ratified.

The Hezbollah-led front has demanded modifications to the proposal for the international court.

On Tuesday, key negotiations were ongoing between Berri and Saad Hariri, the head of the majority legislators.

Saad Hariri is a Sunni Muslim and his community backs Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's pro-Western government.

Berri is a Shiite Muslim, and his party Amal and its Hezbollah ally draw their support from the country's Shiite community.

The Christian community has lent more support to the anti-government faction than the pro-government.

Pro-government legislators launched a scathing attack on Berri, dealing a blow to negotiations between the two sides.

Musbah Al-Ahdab, a pro-government Member of Parliament (MP) said the Lebanese parliament had "been totally paralysed."

"I think that we need to find a constitutional platform, we need to have this parliament to start working again," he said. "It is about time to bring back discussions where discussions should be, I mean in the parliament, the Lebanese parliament."

Another MP, senior Druse leader Walid Jumblatt, accused Berri of hijacking parliament upon orders from Iran and Syria.

Anti-government MPs however said Tuesday's gathering in parliament would undermine dialogue between Berri and Hariri.

"We consider this atmosphere of exaggeration and escalation to be a stab for this dialogue and the meetings which are going on," MP Ali Bazzi said.

"It seems that they (majority legislators) have deprived the government of its legitimacy, constitutionality and credibility and now they are trying to deprive the parliament of its legitimacy," he added.

The opposition and Lebanon's pro-Syrian President, Emile Lahoud, considers Saniora's government to be unconstitutional after five Shiite ministers and a pro-Hezbollah Christian minister resigned in November.

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.