SHOTLIST:

Beirut - 30 June 2011

++16:9++

1. Wide exterior of Justice Palace

2. Mid of Justice Palace sign

3. Mid of media outside the Justice Palace

4. Set up of Future Movement bloc Member of Parliament, Atef Majdalani

5. Photograph of Majdalani with Saad Hariri, son of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri

6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Atef Majdalani, Future Movement bloc MP:

"We consider the release of the indictment today is part of our martyr's rights, and this indictment is the first step to achieve the truth then justice in order to stabilise Lebanon."

FILE: Beirut - 14 February 2005

++4:3++

7. Various of explosion site where Rafik Hariri was killed

FILE: Beirut - 2004

++4:3++

8. Various of Rafik Hariri giving a speech

STORYLINE:

A U.N.-backed court investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri delivered an indictment and four arrest warrants Thursday, the latest turn in a case that has transformed this Arab nation and brought down the government earlier this year.

The names of the accused were not released, but the court has been expected to accuse members of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Many fear that could lead to street protests and plunge the violence-wracked

country back into a new crisis.

The long-awaited indictment was confirmed by the office of Hariri's son, Saad.

According to tribunal rules, Lebanese authorities now have 30 days to serve the indictments on suspects or execute arrest warrants. If they fail, the court can then order the indictment published and advertised in local media.

Saad Hariri also served as Lebanon's prime minister. But he was forced from office in January, when Hezbollah and its allies toppled his government in a conflict over the tribunal.

The group, which is also backed by Syria, fiercely denies any role in the killing and says the tribunal is a conspiracy by Israel and the United

States.

The dispute over the investigation encapsulates Lebanon's most explosive conflicts: the role of Hezbollah, the country's most powerful political and military force; the country's dark history of sectarian divisions and violence; and Lebanon's fraught relationship with neighbouring Syria.

Rafik Hariri was killed along with 22 other people in a massive truck bombing along Beirut's waterfront on February 14, 2005.

The indictment raises concerns of a possible resurgence of violence that has blighted this tiny Arab country of four million people for years, including a devastating 1975-1990 civil war and sectarian battles between Sunnis and Shiites in 2008.

SHOTLIST

31 May 2007

1. Various of street traffic in Beirut

2. Various of people offering sweets and flowers to passers by - a traditional celebration custom in Lebanon

3. Newspaper stand

4. Newspapers

5. Newspaper headline reading: (English) "UN approves Hariri court"

6. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) No Name Given, Beirut Resident, Vox pop:

"We hope the international tribunal will be fair and seeking justice without a political agenda. And to put a stop to political assassinations."

7. People reading newspapers

8. Exterior of prime minister's office building

9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ahmad Fatfat, Lebanese Youth and Sports Minister:

"We hope that this tribunal will put a final point for all political assassination in Lebanon but it needs the help and the support and the collaboration of the Syrian regime. We hope that they will do and if they will do it will be a new stage to a good relation, to restore the relation, between Lebanon and Syria. And also for Lebanese, for opposition in Lebanon, we say it will never be a political tool. It is really for all the Lebanese a victory and it will be to help Lebanon to consolidate its democracy and freedom."

10. Various of construction on road where Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated

11. Lebanese army forces providing security at site which has been closed since assassination

30 May 2007

12. Fireworks

13. People dancing in the streets

14. Car loaded with people chanting and waving flags

15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic), Saad Hariri, Son of the assassinated Prime minister Rafik Hariri:

"We are not demanding justice for the sake of revenge. We are demanding justice for the sake of accountability and for the sake of truth, which should be kept as a sacred trust in the conscience of all Lebanese. We should all participate in securing the International Tribunal to protect Lebanon."

16. Saad Hariri arriving at his father's grave

17. Mid shot of Saad Hariri praying at his father's grave

18. Wide of grave

STORYLINE

There was cautious optimism in Beirut on Thursday as supporters of assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri welcomed the United Nations Security Council vote to unilaterally establish an international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the slain leader's assassination.

"We hope the international tribunal will be fair and seeking justice without a political agenda. And to put a stop to political assassinations," said one Beirut resident.

Ahmad Fatfat, Lebanese Youth and Sports Minister welcomed the decision saying that he hoped the that the tribunal will put an end to all political assassination in Lebanon.

"But it needs the help and the support and the collaboration of the Syrian regime." he said, adding that if Syria chooses to cooperate with the tribunal "it will be a new stage to a good relation, to restore the relation, between Lebanon and Syria."

The slain leader's supporters danced in the streets on Wednesday following the announcement of the Un decision and his son, Saad Hariri, said the resolution was a turning point in Lebanon that would protect the country from further assassinations.

"We are not demanding justice for the sake of revenge. We are demanding justice for the sake of accountability and for the sake of truth, which should be kept as a sacred trust in the conscience of all Lebanese. We should all participate in securing the International Tribunal to protect Lebanon," Hariri said.

The vote on the resolution was 10-0 with five abstentions - Russia, China, South Africa, Indonesia and Qatar.

That was one more than the nine votes needed for passage.

The five countries that abstained objected to establishing the tribunal without approval of Lebanon's parliament and to putting the resolution under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter which deals with threats to international peace and allows militarily enforcement.

But none opposed the tribunal itself.

A UN investigation has implicated Syria in Hariri's assassination in 2005 when the Syrian army controlled Lebanon.

Syria has denied involvement.

The issue of an international tribunal has since fuelled a deep political conflict between Saniora's Western-backed government and the Syrian-backed, Hezbollah-led opposition.

The conflict has taken on an increasingly sectarian tone and erupted into street battles, killing 11 people in recent months.

Hariri's assassination sparked huge protests against Syria, which was widely seen as culpable. Syria denied involvement but was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, ending a 29-year presence.

The initial UN investigator said the complexity of Hariri's assassination suggested the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services played a role, but the probe is continuing.

Four Lebanese generals, top pro-Syrian security chiefs, have been under arrest for 20 months, accused of involvement in Hariri's murder.

SHOTLIST:

1. Various of fireworks

2. People dancing in the streets

3. Car passing with Lebanese flag

4. Candles on the streets of Beirut

5. Car loaded with people chanting and waving flags

6. Various of fireworks

7. Various of people watching television and cheering

8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic), Saad Hariri, Son of the assassinated Prime minister Rafik Hariri:

"We are not demanding justice for revenge. We are demanding it for punishment and for the truth, which should be kept as a trust in the conscience of all the Lebanese. We should all participate in securing the International Tribunal to save Lebanon."

9. Various of people chanting slogans pro Hariri

10. Saad Hariri arriving at his father's grave

11. Mid of Saad Hariri praying

12. Mid of grave

13. Exterior of prime minister's office building

14. Lebanese Fuad Saniora heading towards the podium

15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fuad Saniora, Lebanese prime minister:

"The ratification of the International Tribunal does not and should not be considered as a victory for one party over another Lebanese party. It is not a victory for one group over another, it is a victory for Lebanon and for all the Lebanese."

16. Mid of Lebanese flags

STORYLINE

Supporters of murdered former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri were celebrating on Wednesday night, as the United Nations (UN) Security Council voted to establish an international tribunal to prosecute suspects in his killing.

Beirut residents took on the streets of the capital dancing and chanting, while fireworks lit up the skyline.

In a televised speech Saad Hariri, the son of Rafik and leader of the majority group in the Lebanese parliament, said he was not looking for revenge, for his father's death, but for the truth.

"We are not demanding justice for revenge. We are demanding it for punishment and for the truth which should be kept as a trust in the conscience of all the Lebanese. We should all participate in securing the International Tribunal to save Lebanon."

After his speech Saad Hariri went to visit his father's grave.

Hundreds of supporters were also at the graveside chanting pro-Hariri slogans.

The Lebanese prime minister Fuad Saniora said the ratification of the International Tribunal should not be considered as a victory for one party over another.

"It is not a victory for one group over another it is a victory for Lebanon and for all the Lebanese," he said.

Saniora asked the Security Council earlier this month to establish the tribunal, citing the refusal of opposition-aligned Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to convene a session to ratify the statutes to create the tribunal, which have already been approved by his government and the United Nations.

The issue of an international tribunal has since fuelled a deep political conflict between Saniora's Western-backed government and the Syrian-backed, Hezbollah-led opposition.

The conflict has taken on an increasingly sectarian tone and erupted into street battles, killing 11 people in recent months.

The UN resolution gives Lebanon's parliament a last chance to establish the tribunal itself.

If it does not act by June 10, the UN-Lebanon agreement will automatically "enter into force," creating a tribunal outside Lebanon with a majority of international judges and an international prosecutor.

Council diplomats said this could take a year.

Hariri and 22 others were killed by a massive truck bombing in Beirut on February 14, 2005 and the UN Security Council authorised a commission to investigate the assassinations.

A 2005 report by a former chief investigator implicated Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services in Hariri's assassination.

Syria denied any involvement but was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, ending a 29-year presence.

Four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals, accused of involvement in Hariri's murder, have been under arrest for 15 months.

Dozens of supporters of the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri, uncovered a giant billboard in Beirut on Thursday, just metres (yards) away from the site where Hairiri was killed in a huge bomb blast on February 14, 2005.

The sign, which reads "Time for Justice", was unveiled to coincide with the start of the trial into his assassination at the Hague.

A timer is mounted on top of the billboard to record how many days the tribunal will take.

"We hope that they will achieve the truth in this trial but there are no suspects (present), they are being tried in absentia," said Beirut Resident Mahmoud Najem.

The four main Hezbollah suspects behind the bombing are not at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) in The Netherlands, because they are yet to be arrested.

Hezbollah has denied any involvement in Hariri's assassination and has condemned the trial as a conspiracy by the US and Israel.

Hariri, who also held Saudi citizenship, was one of Lebanon's most influential Sunni leaders, with wide connections in the Arab world and international community.

Hezbollah, a Shiite group, is backed by Shiite Iran.

AP TELEVISION

1. Wide of people removing piece of cloth covering a billboard of former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri

2. Mid of billboard with a sign that reads (Arabic) "Time for Justice"

3. Close of clock showing number '1', counting the number of days the trial will take

4. Tilt-down from a billboard to people gathered around sign

5. Wide of people in a cafe watching TV

6. Close of TV showing blast scene

7. Mid pan of people watching TV in cafe

8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahmoud Najem, Beirut Resident:

"We hope that they will achieve the truth in this trial but there are no suspects (present), they are being tried in absentia."

9. Wide of Beirut skyline

10. Mid of cars driving down a street

11. Tilt-down of newspaper stand

12. Close of newspaper reading (Arabic) "The Tribunal" and showing a photo of Hariri

13. Mid of man looking at newspaper stand

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

1. Wide shot of tents and protesters outside Lebanese prime minister's (Fuad Saniora) office building

2. Mid shot of prime minister's office

3. Various of protesters in tents

4. Men playing dice

5. Wide shot of tents with the Mohammed al Amine mosque in background

6. Various of protesters and tents

7. Wide shot of courtyard inside prime minister's office

8. Fountain in courtyard

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

"There is a real crisis in the country that should be resolved. It should be solved through political dialogue about all topics, leaving aside the issue of the international tribunal because there has been a consensus about this tribunal, and consequently we should be all working for the establishment of this tribunal. We should then return to discussing all political issues and reach an agreement. We must reach an agreement, a compromise whereby every party in Lebanon should make the necessary concessions in the interests of the country."

10. Wide shot of courtyard

11. Exterior pan of protesters close to Saniora's offices

12. Mid of soldiers seated on army vehicles

13. Mid of Saniora speaking to journalists

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Fuad Saniora, Lebanese Prime Minister:

"I have a strong belief in the Lebanese. They have tried all attempts to solve problems in the past through violent ways, through non-peaceful means and it proved to be a failure, so we can't resort to violent ways. It doesn't solve the problem. In Lebanon it does not solve the problem. Don't let anybody waste his time, it will not lead to anything. We have to agree among each other on all the issues."

15. Protesters outside Saniora's offices

STORYLINE

The Lebanese Minister of Information said on Saturday there was a real crisis in the country that should be resolved through political dialogue, at the same time the government should be working towards the establishment of an international tribunal to try the alleged killers of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.

"We should then return to discussing all political issues and reach an agreement. We must reach an agreement, a compromise whereby every party in Lebanon should make the necessary concessions in the interests of the country," Ghazi Aridi added.

Lebanon's Cabinet, headed by anti-Syrian Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, sent the president a draft accord on Monday to establish a tribunal to try the alleged killers of Rafik Hariri.

But President Emile Lahoud, who is pro-Syrian, is expected to decline to endorse the agreement, which would set up a UN-backed court that would sit outside Lebanon.

The tribunal has become a weapon in the battle between on the one hand Lebanon's Hezbollah-aligned factions, supported by Syria, and on the other hand anti-Syrian parties, over demands by Hezbollah and its allies for a third of the Cabinet's seats.

That would give them veto powers.

Aridi's comments came as thousands of Hezbollah supporters camped out in tents in the capital, as the Shiite Muslim guerrilla group and its allies kept up the pressure on the US-backed Saniora government to resign.

Hezbollah officials said their campaign, which has disrupted life in the capital's commercial district, will not stop until their demand for a national unity government is fulfilled.

Barbed wire and armoured vehicles separated the demonstrators from government headquarters where Prime Minister Saniora and some of his ministers have hunkered down.

But the government has shown no sign of backing down in a confrontation that has the potential to turn violent and tear apart the country.

"They have tried all attempts to solve problems in the past through violent ways," Saniora said on Saturday. "Don't let anybody waste his time, it will not lead to anything. We have to agree among each other on all the issues."

So far the street action has remained largely peaceful.

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide of skyline

2. Traffic on street

3. Wide of newspaper stand

4. Newspaper headline reading in English: "UN signs deal on Hariri court, raising pressure for ratification"

5. Tilt down on newspapers

6. People reading newspapers

7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Farouk Fehmi, Vox pop:

"I support the international tribunal if it reveals those who killed Prime Minister (Rafik) Hariri, but if it is going to be politically biased I am against it."

8. Policeman directing traffic

9. Set up shot of Lebanese Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Marwan Hamadeh, Minister of Telecommunications:

"I think it is a very important victory for Lebanon, for its legitimate government and especially for international justice and I think it paves the way for the ratification of the convention and the establishment of the international tribunal."

11. Cutaway of hands

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Marwan Hamadeh, Minister of Telecommunications:

"If, by force or by any other means, the opposition prevents it we will go back to the UN (United Nations) Security Council to have it adopted under Chapter Seven."

13. Wide pan of protesters' tents in downtown Beirut

14. Various exteriors of Lebanese prime minister's office, surrounded by barbed wire

STORYLINE:

Some Lebanese residents on Wednesday welcomed the signing of an agreement by the United Nations to set up an international tribunal to prosecute the suspected killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Last week, Saniora sent a signed copy of the agreement for creating the court to the United Nations. U.N. Undersecretary-General for Legal Affairs Nicolas Michel signed the agreement in New York on Tuesday and returned it to Lebanon for ratification.

"UN signs deal on Hariri court, raising pressure for ratification," hailed the headline in the Lebanese newspaper "The Daily Star".

The tribunal aims to try suspects in the February 14, 2005, assassination of Hariri, who was killed along with 22 other people in a massive truck bomb in downtown Beirut.

Many in Lebanon suspect Syria was behind the killings. Syria has denied involvement.

The tribunal has become a major point of contention in Lebanon's power struggle between the anti-Syrian government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, which supports the creation of the UN-backed court, and pro-Syrian factions, including the Shiite Hezbollah movement.

One resident, Farouk Fehmi, was apprehensive about giving the tribunal his full support.

"I support the international tribunal if it reveals those who killed Prime Minister Hariri, but if it is going to be politically biased I am against it," he said.

Lebanese Minister of Telecommunications Marwan Hamadeh said that the agreement was "a very important victory for Lebanon, for its legitimate government and specially for international justice".

"If, by force or by any means, the opposition prevents it (the formation of the international tribunal) we will go back to the UN Security Council to have it adopted under Chapter Seven," Hamadeh added.

Under Chapter Seven the UN Security Council has broader power to decide what measures are to be taken in situations involving "threats to the peace, breaches of the peace, or acts of aggression".

In such situations, the Council is not limited to recommendations but may take action, including the use of armed force "to maintain or restore international peace and security".

In November, Hezbollah and its allies quit the Cabinet as it was moving to approve the tribunal after Saniora rejected their demand for a new national unity government which would give their camp veto power over major government decisions.

The Hezbollah-led opposition has staged a campaign of protests for the past two months aiming to bring down Saniora's government and replace it with one in which they would hold one-third plus one of the seats, allowing them to veto major decisions.

Hezbollah, which is worried the tribunal will be politicised and used against it, says the government should not consider the tribunal until such a government is formed.

The protests turned violent in January when eight people were killed in clashes between opposition and government supporters, raising fears that the political crisis could once again push Lebanon into civil war.

The fate of the tribunal now rests with the Lebanese, with ratification requiring a vote in Parliament.

Ratification requires a vote from Parliament, but Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri - a Hezbollah ally - has refused to convene the legislature, where it would be brought to a vote.

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. Exterior of Lebanese prime minister's office

2. Various of Lebanese army surrounding Prime Minister's office

3. Wide of Lebanese cabinet meeting headed by Saniora

4. Mid shot of Saniora at head of cabinet meeting

5. Mid shot photo of Pierre Gemayel, assassinated industry minister

6. Various of cabinet meeting

7. Close of photo of Pierre Gemayel

8. Cabinet meeting members standing for one minute of silence to pay their respects to Gemayel

STORYLINE:

Lebanon's US-backed government on Saturday approved the creation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of a former prime minister despite objections by Hezbollah and the country's pro-Syrian president.

The move is likely to further deepen the country's political crisis and spark the mass street demonstrations already threatened by Syrian-backed Hezbollah and its allies to topple the government of prime minister Fuad Saniora.

On Friday, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah and parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri had issued a statement demanding a veto wielding share of the cabinet.

Earlier this month six pro-Hezbollah government ministers resigned while, this week, the Christian industry minister Pierre Gemayel was assassinated.

Fuad Saniora, the Lebanese prime minister, said Saturday he was willing to postpone the cabinet meeting to approve the tribunal "for a few days" if the six ministers would return to the government.

The meeting went ahead as scheduled.

An ongoing UN investigation into the February 2005 truck bombing that killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others has said the killing's complexity suggests the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services played a role in the assassination.

Damascus has denied having any role in the killing but, having dominated Lebanon for nearly three decades, was forced to withdraw its troops.

The power struggle since, between rival factions, intensified earlier this year as a result of a 34-day war waged by Hezbollah against Israel.

In October, Nasrallah began threatening mass protests unless Hezbollah's demand for a national unity government was met.

Now, in the wake of Gemayel's assassination earlier this week, some cabinet ministers are taking shelter in government headquarters in downtown Beirut.

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide of Saad Hariri, Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister entering news conference UPSOUND: Applause

2. Cutaway of media

3. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Saad Hariri, Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister:

++CAMERA PULLS OUT AND ZOOMS IN DURING BITE++

"We will go to the consultations and we will give our opinion while committed to my nomination for the prime minister's post, which is supported by the Future movement bloc and other allies."

4. Photographer

5. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Saad Hariri, Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister:

"Sedition will not be the required price for truth and justice."

6. Hariri at end of news conference, audience applauding

7. Various of Lebanese army convoy patrolling streets ++NIGHT SHOT++

8. Wide of office of Prime Minister++NIGHT SHOT++

STORYLINE:

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister said on Thursday that he will seek the post again, one week after the militant group Hezbollah toppled his government and sparked fears that the country's political crisis could descend into street battles.

Saad Hariri's Western-backed government fell last week over a dispute linked to a United Nations tribunal investigating the assassination of his father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri.

Many fear that Hezbollah - widely expected to be indicted by the court - will react violently if accused.

In a televised address, Hariri said he would continue efforts to solve the crisis diplomatically.

"We will go to the consultations and we will give our opinion while committed to my nomination for the prime minister's post, which is supported by the Future movement bloc and other allies", the 40-year-old said, speaking in front of a poster of his father, who was killed in a massive truck bombing along Beirut's waterfront in 2005.

The most recent talks, involving Qatar and Turkey, failed to reach a compromise.

Lebanese special police forces meanwhile tightened security around the government palace and other official buildings on Thursday amid growing fears that the country was headed toward violence.

A senior security official confirmed that the security measures in and around Beirut stem from "concerns of movements on the ground by some parties."

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Special police forces were seen placing cement barriers around the government house in Beirut and putting up reinforcements around government buildings and banks.

Armoured personnel carriers were deployed to many areas of the city.

The new measures follow the departure from Beirut of Qatari and Turkish mediators after two days of talks that apparently failed to resolve the differences between Lebanon's main rival factions and bring them back together in a coalition government.

Hezbollah denies any role in Rafik Hariri's killing and forced the collapse of the government last week when Saad Hariri refused to renounce the tribunal and pull Lebanon's funding for the court.

The militant group says the tribunal is a conspiracy by Israel and the United States.

There are concerns that supporters of the group may take to the streets, setting the stage for sectarian fighting similar to Shiite-Sunni street clashes that killed 81 people in 2008.

Hariri was Lebanon's most prominent Sunni leader.

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide of funeral

2. Wife of Walid Eido, assassinated legislator, waving from balcony

3. Women crying and waving

4. Ambulance covered by Lebanese flag and poster of Eido

5. Youths chanting slogans whilst travelling with ambulance

6. Wide of funeral

7. Mid of Saad Hariri, son of Rafik Hariri, the assassinated former Lebanese prime minister, walking along in procession

8. Wide of funeral procession

9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Walid Jumblatt, Druse politician:

"Syrian regime with their allies are trying to reduce our majority in the parliament. They have killed yesterday a prominent member of parliament. They can kill three more, if they kill three more members we will lose the majority and this is their calculation so that the government of Saniora will fall down."

10. Mid of Hezbollah MP bloc's flag

11. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Hussein Hajj Hassan, Hezbollah MP:

"We condemn the terror act which led to the killing of legislator Walid Eido, his son, two of his bodyguards and several Lebanese citizens. And we think that these crimes are taking place and are synchronised by the political exposure in the country. We think that the politicians are invited to find a political solution to the crisis in order to deal with all the disputed issues, as well as dealing with the security exposure. Some intelligence parties are getting benefits and committing these acts of terror and committing seditious acts against the Lebanese."

12. Tilt down of Al-Khachekji Mosque, mourners, security

13. Wide of funeral procession, coffin being carried

14. Various mid shots of coffins being carried to mosque

15. Top shot of three coffins inside the mosque (containing bodies of Walid Eido, his son, and one of the bodyguards killed)

16. Relatives kissing a coffin

17. Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian majority bloc, in parliament arriving at the mosque

18. Worshippers praying at funeral

19. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian majority bloc in parliament:

"No one should think that this people will kneel and be frightened. I tell the criminals: you will be punished and you will be dragged to prisons and will face justice, God willing."

20. Body being lowered into grave

21. Eido's son crying

22. Another body being lowered into grave

23. Wide pan of cemetery

STORYLINE:

Tens of thousands of mourners bade farewell on Thursday to victims of a powerful car bombing in Beirut that killed a prominent anti-Syrian legislator and nine others as the Lebanese government - reeling from another blow targeting its supporters - sought international help.

A bomb ripped through Walid Eido's car on Wednesday as he drove from a seaside sports club, also killing his 35-year-old son, two bodyguards and six passers-by.

Thursday's funeral procession swelled to tens of thousands of mourners who escorted coffins carrying the bodies of Eido, his son and one of the bodyguards killed.

The mourners followed ambulances covered with Lebanese flags that drove from the American University Hospital in West Beirut to a mosque at the Shohada Cemetery several kilometres (miles) away for a prayer service and internment.

It drove down the main thoroughfare of Corniche Mazraa in the Muslim sector of the capital, where pictures of the assassinated politicians were posted on walls and overpasses and Eido's widow waved to the crowds from a balcony.

Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian majority bloc in parliament to which Eido belonged, Druse politician Walid Jumblatt and other prominent anti-Syrian leaders also marched in the procession.

Jumblatt, an anti-Syrian MP, said that if the Syrian regime killed three more MPs, "we will lose the majority and this is their calculation so that the government of Saniora will fall down."

One Hezbollah MP, whose party is pro-Syrian, also condemned the killings.

"Some intelligence parties are getting benefits and committing these acts of terror and acting seditiously against the Lebanese," Hussein Hajj Hassan said.

At the Al-Khachekji mosque, male relatives sobbed and bent to kiss the coffins laid next to one another.

The spiritual leader of Lebanon's Sunni Muslims, Grand Mufti of the Republic Sheik Mohammed Rashid Kabbani, led the prayers, with Saad Hariri, son of assassinated former prime minister Rafik Hariri, at his side.

Saad Hariri said Lebanon would not kneel before the killers and promised they would be brought to justice.

"No one should think that this people will kneel and be frightened," he said. "I tell the criminals, you will be punished and you will be dragged to prisons and will face justice, God willing."

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora has called for an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers and the international community to assist in the investigation of Eido's assassination.

The blast that killed Eido was a new blow to the stability of an already conflict-torn nation.

It came just three days after the government, together with the United Nations, started putting together an international tribunal ordered by the UN Security Council to try suspects in the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut two years ago - a move strongly opposed by Syria and its allies in Lebanon.

Eido was a prominent supporter of the tribunal, a staunch follower of Hariri and the seventh anti-Syrian figure killed in Lebanon in the past two years.

Many in Lebanon have accused Syria of being behind the killings, a claim Damascus denies.

Lebanon's majority coalition blamed Syria for Wednesday's assassination.

Syria controlled Lebanon for 29 years until it was forced out after Hariri's assassination, and its Lebanese opponents believe it is seeking to regain domination by plunging the country into chaos.

Businesses, schools and government offices were closed on Thursday after the government declared a day of national mourning.

The killings were likely to further enflame Lebanon's bitter power struggle between Saniora's Western-backed government and its Syrian-backed opponents, led by the Hezbollah militant group.

As the fighting in the north, pitting the Lebanese Army against Palestinian militants, with Palestinian refugees under siege, continues, many fear the violence there and in Beirut could push the polarised nation, with a fragile balance of ethnic and religious groups, into a new civil war.

SHOTLIST:

1. Tilt down of Al-Khachekji Mosque, mourners, security

2. Wide of funeral procession, coffin being carried

3. Various mid shots of coffins being carried to mosque

4. Top shot of three coffins inside the mosque (containing bodies of Walid Eido, his son, and one of the bodyguards killed)

5. Relatives kissing a coffin

6. Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian majority bloc, in parliament arriving at the mosque

7. Various of worshippers praying at funeral

8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian majority bloc in parliament:

"No one should think that this people will kneel and be frightened. I tell the criminals: you will be punished and you will be dragged to prisons and will face justice, God willing."

9. Body being lowered into grave

10. Eido's son crying

11. Another body being lowered into grave

12. Wide pan of cemetery

STORYLINE:

Tens of thousands of mourners bade farewell on Thursday to victims of a powerful car bombing in Beirut that killed a prominent anti-Syrian legislator and nine others as the Lebanese government - reeling from another blow targeting its supporters - sought international help.

A bomb ripped through Walid Eido's car on Wednesday as he drove from a seaside sports club, also killing his 35-year-old son, two bodyguards and six passers-by.

Thursday's funeral procession swelled to tens of thousands of mourners who escorted coffins carrying the bodies of Eido, his son and one of the bodyguards killed.

The mourners followed ambulances covered with Lebanese flags that drove from the American University Hospital in West Beirut to a mosque at the Shohada Cemetery several kilometers away for a prayer service and internment.

At the mosque, male relatives sobbed and bent to kiss the coffins laid next to one another.

The spiritual leader of Lebanon's Sunni Muslims, Grand Mufti of the Republic Sheik Mohammed Rashid Kabbani, led the prayers, with Saad Hariri, son of assassinated former prime minister Rafik Hariri, at his side.

Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian majority bloc in parliament to which Eido belonged, said Lebanon would not kneel before the killers and promised they would be brought to justice.

"No one should think that this people will kneel and be frightened," he said. "I tell the criminals, you will be punished and you will be dragged to prisons and will face justice, God willing."

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora has called for an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers and the international community to assist in the investigation of Eido's assassination.

The blast that killed Eido was a new blow to the stability of this conflict-torn nation.

It came just three days after the government, together with the United Nations, started putting together an international tribunal ordered by the U.N. Security Council to try suspects in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut two years ago - a move strongly opposed by Syria and its allies in Lebanon.

Eido was a prominent supporter of the tribunal, a staunch follower of Hariri and the seventh anti-Syrian figure killed in Lebanon in the past two years.

Many in Lebanon have accused Syria of being behind the killings, a claim Damascus denies.

Lebanon's majority coalition blamed Syria for Wednesday's assassination.

Syria controlled Lebanon for 29 years until it was forced out after Hariri's assassination, and its Lebanese opponents believe it is seeking to regain domination by plunging the country into chaos.

SHOTLIST

1. Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani descending steps of plane, welcomed by Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri

2. Hariri and Al Thani walking away

3. Various of Hariri meeting Al Thani

4. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Lebanese counterpart Ali Chami walking

5. Wide of Photo op with Chami, Al Thani, Hariri and Davutoglu

6. Hariri and Davutoglu shaking hands

7. Exterior of the presidential palace

8. Lebanese President Michel Suleiman walking with Davutoglu and Al Thani

9. Cutaway photographer

10. Wide of meeting between president and Qatar and Turkey ministers

11. Pan of meeting

12. Mid of Davutoglu

13. Mid of Al Thani

14. Mid of Suleiman

STORYLINE

Qatar's prime minister and Turkey's foreign minister arrived in Lebanon on Tuesday in a coordinated visit to discuss the deepening political crisis in the country.

Ahmet Davutoglu and Qatar's Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, a member of the gulf emirate's royal family, met Lebanon's caretaker prime minister Saad Hariri and president Michel Suleiman.

Davutoglu's trip to Beirut came a day after he held consultations with Iran's new acting Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi in Ankara.

Lebanon's political crisis came to a head last week when the Shiite militant Hezbollah movement toppled the Western-backed government in a dispute over the UN tribunal investigating the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.

Saad Hariri - the son of the slain leader - refused Hezbollah's demands to renounce the court, prompting 11 Hezbollah ministers and their allies to resign last Wednesday.

The move brought down the unity government and further polarised the country's rival factions: Hezbollah with its patrons in Syria and Iran on one side and Hariri's Western-backed bloc on the other, with support by the US and Saudi Arabia.

Many fear the crisis could lead to street protests and the kind of violence that has bedevilled the tiny Arab country of four (M) million people for years, including a devastating 1975-1990 civil war and sectarian battles between Sunnis and Shiites in 2008.

The UN tribunal late on Monday filed a long-awaited indictment in the Hariri killing.

The indictment was sealed and its contents will likely not become public for weeks.

But the court is widely expected to accuse members of Hezbollah of being involved in the murder, something the Shiite militant group has insisted it will not accept.

Hezbollah fiercely denies any role in the assassination and says the tribunal, jointly funded by UN member states and Lebanon, is a conspiracy by Israel and the United States.

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. Exterior of prime ministers office

2. Lebanese and German flags

3. Various of honour guard

4. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora standing for honour guard

5. Merkel and Saniora inspecting honour guard

6. Mid of honour guard

7. Wide of bilateral meeting

8. Mid of Merkel

9. Mid of meeting

10. Merkel with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri

11. Merkel and Berri inside meeting room

12. Close up of Berri

13. Close up of Merkel to pull of Merkel and German officials

14. Exterior of Qureitem palace

15. Saad Hariri, head of anti-Syrian parliamentary majority in Lebanon and son of slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shaking hands

16. Cutaway cameramen

17. Various of meeting Pelosi and Hariri during the meeting

18. Close of Pelosi

19. Mid of Hariri with a poster for his father

20. Wide of US senators

21. SOUNDBITE (English), Nancy Pelosi, U.S. House Speaker:

"The purpose of the trip is part of our responsibility for the national security of the United States. We are here to see how we can make the world safer and to fight terrorism. Important to that is to establish the facts and be current on them."

22. Cutaway of cameraman

23. SOUNDBITE (English), Nancy Pelosi, U.S. House Speaker:

"We (will) go there (Syria) and will be talking about the overarching issue, the fight against terrorism and the role that Syria can play to help or to hinder that goal. So we will be talking also of course then about the tribunal, which is very important to establish the truth so we can go forward. That is one of the issues that we are going to bring up with them and of course the role of Syria in Iraq, the role of Syria supporting Hamas and Hezbollah, the role of Syria in so many respects that we think it could be a vast improvement."

24. Pelosi handling the Quran and leaving the palace

25. Exterior of Prime ministers' office building

26. Pelosi and Saniora greeted by the honour guards

27. Various of meeting with Pelosi and Saniora

STORYLINE:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Beirut on Monday for talks with Lebanese leaders and to inspect a German naval task force serving with a U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon.

Merkel, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, was met by Prime Minister Fuad Saniora at Beirut airport.

She held talks with the Western-backed Saniora, and the Parliament Speaker and Amal leader Nabih Berri, who is a leading member of the Hezbollah-led opposition which is seeking to remove Saniora from office.

Merkel also planned to visit a German navy ship in Beirut's harbour during her one-day trip to Lebanon.

The Germans lead a naval task force of about 1,700 men and women who are patrolling the Lebanese coastline to prevent weapons from being smuggled to Hezbollah in accordance with a U.N. resolution that ended the summer war Lebanon and Israel.

The naval task force is attached to the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon. (UNIFIL), numbering a total of about 13-thousand, and is deployed along the border with Israel.

Merkel has made the Middle East a top priority of her six-month EU presidency and is currently on a tour of the region. The Chancellor met Israeli and Palestinian leaders at the weekend.

The US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was also in Beirut for talks with Lebanese officials as part of a fact-finding trip to the Middle East that has drawn criticism from the White House because it includes a visit to Syria.

"We are here to see how we can make the world safer and to fight terrorism," she added.

Pelosi's visit to Lebanon comes amid sharp political divisions in the country between the government and the opposition.

The U.S.-backed Saniora faces an opposition campaign to unseat him, with protesters camped out in downtown Beirut demanding his resignation.

Pelosi also met with Saad Hariri, who has been pushing for international support for the creation of an international tribunal to try suspects in his father's February 2005 assassination, which he blames on Syria.

"We will be talking also of course then about the tribunal, which is very important to establish the truth so we can go forward," she said.

The Syrians have denied involvement, but their opponents in Lebanon say they are working hard to undermine the court through their allies in this country.

Pelosi's trip has drawn criticism from the White House because of a planned stop in Syria on Wednesday.

The US House Speaker said the trip to Syria was aimed at seeing what Damascus could do to help the fight against terrorism.

The White House called her Syria visit last week a "bad decision" because the administration considers the country a supporter of terrorism.

Her trip comes as the Democratic majority in Congress is locked in a battle with President George W. Bush over strategy in Iraq.

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide exterior of Prime Ministers' office

2. Close-up of Lebanese flag

3. Wide of Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati before news conference

4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Najib Mikati, Lebanese Prime Minister:

"After years of waiting, the International General Prosecutor issued an indictment and showed information that was gathered by the international investigations and accused members of being involved in the crime."

5. Cutaway Lebanese flag

6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Najib Mikati, Lebanese Prime Minister:

"We are today in front of a new reality that requests a wise approach and putting the supreme interest of the country, civil peace, our national unity and knowing the truth above all concerns. So we will deal with responsibility and reality with this incident, starting from that the accusations whatever its sources are not verdicts and the accusations need real and undoubted proves and any accused person is innocent until its accusation is proved."

7. Wide of news conference

STORYLINE:

Lebanon's prime minister Najib Mikati said national unity, peace and truth should trump all other concerns, after a United Nations-backed court investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri delivered an indictment and four arrest warrants on Thursday.

The UN tribunal's decision marks the latest turn in a case that has transformed this Arab nation and brought down the government earlier this year.

At a news conference in Beirut, Mikati said it demanded "a wise approach and putting the supreme interest of the country, civil peace, our national unity and knowing the truth above all concerns."

The names of the accused were not released, but a Lebanese official said at least one member of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah is among those indicted.

The official saw the arrest warrants that were issued on Thursday and gave the names to The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

One of the people named is Mustafa Badr-Eddine, believed to have been Hezbollah's deputy military commander.

He is the brother-in-law of the late Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh.

Many fear the indictment of Hezbollah members could lead to street protests and plunge the violence-wracked country back into a new crisis.

The long-awaited indictment was confirmed by the office of Hariri's son, Saad.

According to tribunal rules, Lebanese authorities now have 30 days to serve the indictments on suspects or execute arrest warrants.

If they fail, the court can then order the indictment published and advertised in local media.

Saad Hariri also served as Lebanon's prime minister, but he was forced from office in January, when Hezbollah and its allies toppled his government in a conflict over the tribunal.

The group, which is also backed by Syria, fiercely denies any role in the killing and says the tribunal is a conspiracy by Israel and the United States.

The dispute over the investigation encapsulates Lebanon's most explosive conflicts: the role of Hezbollah, the country's most powerful political and military force; the country's dark history of sectarian divisions and violence; and Lebanon's fraught relationship with neighbouring Syria.

Rafik Hariri was killed along with 22 other people in a massive truck bombing along Beirut's waterfront on February 14, 2005.

The indictment raises concerns of a possible resurgence of violence that has blighted this tiny Arab country of four million people for years, including a devastating 1975-1990 civil war and sectarian battles between Sunnis and Shiites in 2008.

SHOTLIST

1. Wide of meeting between Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora (right) and parliament majority leader Saad Hariri

2. Hariri sat in blue suit

3. Hariri with Saniora

4. Wide of news conference

5. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Saad Hariri, parliament majority leader:

"Today what happened was an attempt to kill our soldiers and policemen. This is a blow to Lebanese security. The International Tribunal is coming. Nobody will stop it. There is a conspiracy that they are making right and left."

6. Press cutaway

7. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Saad Hariri, parliament majority leader:

"I don't think that there is any support for Fatah Al-Islam from any Lebanese political party and whoever supports them, let him announce it."

8. Hariri leaving news conference

STORYLINE:

Saad Hariri, head of Lebanon's largest Sunni political faction and leader of the country's parliamentary majority, urged supporters on Sunday to cooperate with authorities after renewed violence in northern Lebanon on Sunday.

The fighting between security forces and Fatah Islam militants left more than 30 people dead and threatens to further destabilise the country.

Lebanon is facing its worst political fall out between the Western-backed government and pro-Syrian opposition since the end of the 1975-90 civil war.

Street battles were fought in Tripoli on Sunday, a predominantly Sunni Muslim city, while guns pounded shells on a Fatah Islam stronghold located in a Palestinian refugee camp nearby.

Hariri, who met for talks with Prime Minister Fouad Saniora in Beirut, told reporters afterwards that the violence may have been linked to efforts to set up an international tribunal that would try the killers of his father, former Premier Rafik Hariri.

Hariri was assassinated in February 2005.

"This is a blow to Lebanese security. The International Tribunal is coming. Nobody will stop it," Hariri said.

SHOTLIST

1. Wide shot of street scene

2. Close-up of poster of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri

3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Saad Hariri, Legislator:

"The investigation's report is the first step in the course of uncovering the truth. We will look forward to (the investigation) continuing to reach the justice which alone will be the source of full comfort to the Lebanese people, the Lebanese state and its stability."

4. Cutaway

5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Saad Hariri, Legislator:

"The results reached by the UN international commission will not be subject to any internal or external bargaining - because the blood of the Lebanese people and the blood of Rafik Hariri and the others won't be starting any bargaining nor any political trade. We will not accept that, as it becomes a means of political or non-political punishment."

6. Exterior of the Grand Serail; Lebanese flag

7. Arrival of Justice Minister Charles Rizk and Social Affairs Minister Nayla Moawad

8. Arrival of Education Minister Khaled Kabbani

9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Lebanon's Information Minister Ghazi Aridi

"The UN investigation report, led by judge Detlev Mehlis, was highly appreciated by the Lebanese. The report expressed itself by the strong facts that it included and by the extreme professionalism, as was expected by the Lebanese people, without any compliance, biased or political influences.''

10. Cutaway journalists

11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Lebanon's Information Minister Ghazi Aridi

"The aim of discovering the details of this huge crime is to stop the series of the political assassinations in Lebanon and in all the Arab countries.''

12. Cutaway cameraman

13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Lebanon's Information Minister Ghazi Aridi

"Despite of all that has happened, nothing will change the brotherly relations between the Lebanese and the Syrians. The strong relations between Lebanon and Syria should not be affected under any circumstances. This bond is stronger than the condemned deterioration and mistakes that happened in the past."

14. Ghazi Aridi leaving the presser

STORYLINE

The son and political heir of slain former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Saturday praised a UN probe that implicated top Syrian and Lebanese intelligence officials in the murder of his father.

"The investigation's report is the first step in the course of uncovering the truth," said legislator Saad Hariri in a televised speech from his residence in the Saudi Arabian city of Jiddah.

Many Lebanese politicians are temporarily living abroad because they fear violence at home.

Hariri's statement came two days after the chief UN investigator, German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, released the findings of the UN probe into his father's killing.

Mehlis said in his report there was a clear link between Syrian and Lebanese intelligence officials in the massive bombing that killed Hariri and

20 others in central Beirut on February 14.

Syria angrily rejected as false, unprofessional and politicised the UN report that accused it of approving Hariri's assassination.

Saad Hariri, who heads the largest anti-Syrian bloc in Lebanon's parliament, also said that the findings of the probe "will not be subject to any internal or external bargaining".

His statement was the first official comment on the UN report by the Hariri family.

Hariri spoke shortly before Lebanon's cabinet discussed the report, which it said was based on "strong facts and high level of professionalism".

The cabinet also called on Syria to cooperate honestly with the investigation, but Information Minister Ghazi Aridi insisted the probe would not

affect his country's ties with Damascus, adding the cabinet would discuss calls for an international tribunal after the UN investigation ended.

The elder Hariri's assassination prompted mass anti-Syrian protests and intensified international pressure on Syria to withdraw its army, ending 29

years of control of its neighbour.

Many Lebanese blamed the killing on Syria and pro-Syrian Lebanese security chiefs.

Syria and its Lebanese allies denied any involvement.

Four Lebanese generals who ran the security services at the time Hariri was killed have been jailed for alleged involvement in the murder.

SHOTLIST

1. Wide exterior of Lebanese prime minister's office in Beirut

2. Lebanese prime minister Fuad Saniora taking his place at news conference

3. Cutaway of cameramen

4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fuad Saniora, Lebanese prime minister:

"Do not be afraid and do not despair. We have a right to stand strong in the defence of our independence and our democratic system."

5. Cutaway of camera

6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fuad Saniora, Lebanese Prime Minister:

"Lebanon's independence is threatened and its democratic system is in danger. We will not accept the return of the old regency to our country in order not to make it a space for conflicts."

7. Cutaway hands writing

8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fuad Saniora, Lebanese Prime Minister:

"We will not allow them to topple the democratic system, its organisations and its basis. We will not accept a state inside a state. We are deep-rooted to our legitimate and constitutional government for all Lebanon and for all the Lebanese"

9. Wide of news conference

10. Walking shot of Saad Hariri, the son of the slain former premier Rafik Hariri, who heads the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority in Lebanon

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Saad Hariri, son of the slain former premier Rafik Hariri:

This is a democratic country and they are free to demonstrate any way they want. This is what democracy is all about. In regards of bringing down the government, they wouldn't be able to bring down the government because the government has the support of the majority of the parliament and the majority of the Lebanese people"

12. Cutaway of Lebanese flag

13. SOUNDBITE (English) Saad Hariri, son of the slain former premier Rafik Hariri:

"We don't understand until now why they are demonstrating and for what reason. For us it is obvious because they don't want the international tribunal. They don't want 1701. They don't want Paris 3. What is the vision of this group (Hezbollah) for the future of Lebanon? Nobody has a clue, except to protect the interests of Syria in Lebanon"

14. Cutaway

STORYLINE

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora warned on Thursday that Lebanon's democracy was in danger after Hezbollah's call for protests to bring down his government.

"Lebanon's independence is threatened and its democratic system is in danger," he said in a nationally televised address from his office on the eve of an expected massive protest by Hezbollah and its allies aimed at ousting his cabinet.

"Do not be afraid and do not despair. We have a rightful cause," he said.

Earlier on Thursday in a television broadcast the leader of Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, called on the Lebanese people to rally on Friday afternoon in Beirut's main square for a peaceful protest to force Saniora's government to resign.

Saniora, who is backed by the United States and an anti-Syrian parliamentary majority, has been locked in a political power struggle with Hezbollah, which is supported by Syria and Iran, and its allies.

The call for protests came after weeks of political tension between pro-Syrian groups in the opposition, led by the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah, and anti-Syrian factions supporting the government.

Last week, Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel was assassinated in a suburban Beirut street, renewing fears that the political crisis was carrying Lebanon back to the sectarian violence of the 1975-90 civil war.

Subsequently there have been scattered unrest in Christian areas of Beirut and Shiite Muslims have rioted in their neighbourhoods.

Meanwhile, the leader of Lebanon's anti-Syrian bloc warned on Thursday that Syria was behind planned Hezbollah protests to bring down the

government, trying to restore its power in the country.

Saad Hariri, son of the slain former premier Rafik Hariri, vowed the campaign would fail, but called for restraint among his supporters over the Hezbollah demonstration.

In an interview with The Associated Press, he said Friday would be a day to show "our resolve .... our calm."

"They won't be able to bring down the government, because the government has the support of the majority of the parliament and the majority of the

Lebanese people,'' he said.

The anti-Syrian bloc dominates parliament and the government, elected on broad support among Lebanon's Christians and Sunni Muslims.

Hezbollah and pro-Syrian parties are demanding more power in the government.

Hariri said the pro-government groups would not react to the Hezbollah-led opposition protests, saying Syria hoped to foment a clash between them.

Syria's nearly three-decade domination of Lebanon ended last year, but the government's backers say Damascus is trying to restore influence, along with that of its ally Iran. Syria's allies in Lebanon say the United States is now dominating the government and calling the shots.

Hariri predicted that Hezbollah's demonstrations would run their course until they realised they could not topple the government .

"What is the vision of this group (Hezbollah) for the future of Lebanon? Nobody has a clue, except to protect the interests of Syria in Lebanon," Hariri said.

SHOTLIST:

1. Pan on downtown Beirut with Al Amine mosque in the background

2. Crowd gathering at the Martyrs' square

3. Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri poster with electronic sign reading "365"

4. Arrival of MP Bahia Hariri, sister of Rafik Hariri, at his grave

5. Bahia Hariri praying

6. Close-up of big poster for Rafik Hariri

7. Bahia Hariri leaving the anniversary ceremony marking Hariri's assassination

8. Thousands gathered in crowded square

9. Various of crowd waving Lebanese flags and anti-Syrian banners

10. Mid shot of banner: "Kick out Bashar's agent from Baabda" (referring Syrian President Bashar Assad and to Lebanese president Emile Lahoud)

11. Wide shot of Al Amine mosque

12. Mid shot of crowd

13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ghazi Aridi, Information minister:

"It will be the international tribunal and the truth will be very clear for all the Lebanese people and the international community."

14. Mid shot of soldiers

15. Various of crowd

STORYLINE:

Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese waving flags, some carrying anti-Syrian banners, massed in Martyr's square in Beirut on Tuesday to commemorate the first anniversary of the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri.

The gathering answered a call by groups opposed to Syrian involvement in lebanon aiming to show their popular strength amid deep political divisions.

Syria's troops left Lebanon in April under international pressure after nearly 30 years, and a UN probe into Hariri's murder has already implicated top Syrian and allied Lebanese security officials. Damasmcus refutes any involvement.

Rafik Hariri's sister Bahia Hariri prayed at his graveside next to the square.

Outside some demonstrators carried signs calling for "The Truth" and shouted the name of Hariri's son and political heir, Saad Hariri, whilst others carried placards critical of Syria and its president, Bashar Assad.

Thousands of troops and policemen, backed by armoured vehicles, sealed off Beirut's downtown area to provide security and guarded approaches to the city.

The government gave schools the day off and businesses closed.

The demonstration was expected to climax shortly after midday - the time when a huge truck bomb exploded on a downtown seaside street as his motorcade drove by a year ago, killing him and 20 others.

The main pro-Syrian Shiite Muslim groups, Hezbollah and Amal, were not taking part in the demonstration, which was expected to be largely dominated by Sunni Muslims from Hariri's sect and by Christian and Druse allies.

Amal is holding its own commemoration later Tuesday in southern Lebanon. Amal and Hezbollah, who are represented in the Cabinet, have been locked in a power struggle with the government's majority led by the Saad Hariri bloc.

The groups leading Tuesday's rallies in Beirut are looking for a repetition of a March 14 protest in which about one (m) million flag-waving Lebanese converged on Martyrs' Square to demand the Syrian army leave Lebanon.

The groups have continued to accuse Syria of interfering in Lebanese affairs and carrying out a campaign of bombings and assassinations in the last year that has killed other 11 people, including three prominent anti-Syrians.

Damascus has also denied involvement in these attacks.

Before the troop pullout, Syria had dominated Lebanon with its army and security services for nearly three decades, first entering in 1976 to quell a fratricidal civil war that did not end until 1990.