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.

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 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 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. 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 police checkpoint outside Roumyeh prison

2. Mid of policemen

3. Zoom into car carrying the released suspects leaving prison grounds

4. Close of released suspect inside the car

5. Cars leaving

6. Tilt up of fireworks

7. People cheering, pan to man firing AK-47 in celebration

8. Women trilling

9. Men dancing

10. Man beating drum

11. Man distributing sweets

12. Exterior of AlMashari Islamic charity association

13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic), Sheikh Abdulkader al-Fakahani, al-Ahbash spokesman:

"We have known from the first moment that they were innocent and their arrest was not legal. The Lebanese justice released them today and that's what we were after."

14. Men cheering

STORYLINE

Three men jailed for more than three years in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri were set free on bail on Wednesday, days before an international tribunal was to begin trying the case.

The judge did not explain his decision to release two Lebanese brothers on a bail of 500,000 Lebanese pounds (330 US dollars) each and a Syrian man on a bail of just 100,000 Lebanese pounds (67 US dollars).

The three could still be prosecuted in the case, although no one has been charged in the suicide bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others on a seaside street in Beirut on February 14, 2005.

Investigating judge Saqr Saqr's decision, carried by the official news agency, said four other suspects in the bombing - all pro-Syrian Lebanese generals - would remain jailed, which could allow them to be turned over to the international court.

As the news of the release of the Abdel-Al brothers filtered down, several hundred supporters gathered outside offices of Ahmed's faction in a Muslim neighbourhood of Beirut to await their arrival.

Some beat drums, others handed out candy, set off firecrackers or fired off pistols into the air in celebration.

A spokesman for the pro-Syrian Islamic group, known as al-Ahbash, welcomed the release of the brothers, saying it knew they were innocent from the start.

At the time of the assassination, the generals headed the police, military intelligence, a General Security agency, and the Presidential Guard Brigade.

The late Hariri had close ties with Western leaders and was credited with helping rebuild Beirut after the 1975-1990 civil war and trying to limit

neighbouring Syria's influence over Lebanon.

Following his assassination, Syria's army withdrew after mass protests, which also sparked political upheaval and violence.

The UN Security Council ordered an independent investigation into the assassination after its fact-finding mission found that the Lebanese

investigation was flawed.

The Security Council set up the mixed Lebanese-international tribunal in the Netherlands at the Lebanese government's request after parliament split between the majority and the opposition and failed to ratify an agreement with the UN.

The case has been handed over to the tribunal.

The first UN investigator, German Detlev Mehlis, said the plot's complexity suggested Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services played a role.

Hariri's supporters accuse Damascus of the bombing, but Syria denies involvement.

Two of the men freed on Wednesday - brothers Mahmoud and Ahmed Abdel-Al, a member of a pro-Syrian Sunni Muslim fundamentalist group - were detained in 2005.

A UN probe into the slaying said Mahmoud made "interesting" phone calls February 14, including one to former President Emile Lahoud, just before a truck bomb killed Hariri, raising questions about the president.

But the office of Lahoud, a Hariri rival and Syria's staunchest ally, denied the president received the call.

Lahoud's extension of his term in September 2004 for three more years, under pressure from Syria, triggered a sharp disagreement between Damascus, then a dominant power in Lebanon, and Hariri, who opposed the measure then relented before resigning two months later.

Ahmed Abdel-Al was named by the U.N. probe in 2005 as a "key figure" who had extensive contacts with top Lebanese security officials before and after the blast, and tried to hide information from investigators.

The third man freed, Syrian Ibrahim Jarjoura, was arrested in 2006 on suspicion he gave false evidence and misled the investigation.

SHOTLIST:

1. Exterior of Baabda presidential palace

2. Honour guard

3. Interior minister Hassan Sabeh arriving

4. Minister Nayla Mouawad arriving

5. Arrival of ministers Mohammad Fneish and Minister Trad Hmadeh

6. Various of cabinet meeting

7. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Ghazi Aridi, Lebanon Information minister:

''We (the Lebanese government) are asking the Security Council to for an international tribunal which will meet in or outside Lebanon and to investigate in the terrorist crime that killed the prime minister Rafik Hariri and the Member of parliament Basel Fleihan and their companions.''

8. Cameraman

9. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Ghazi Aridi, Lebanon Information minister:

''The Lebanese government is asking the (UN) Security Council to extend the mandate of the International Investigation Committee according to the resolution 1595 or to form an independent investigation committee to help the Lebanese authorities in the latest crimes.''

10. Aridi with Journalists

11. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Mohammad Fneish, Water and Electric Power Minister and Minister for Hezbollah:

"We left the session to declare the suspension of our membership in the government. We are waiting for our political leadership that we represent, to take the decision if we will stay or not in the government.''

12. Exterior of the An-Nahar newspaper offices

13. Lebanese internal security forces

14. Tilt up from machine gun to internal security forces soldier

15. Wide of protesters holding Lebanese flag

16. Various of Ghassan Tueni (father of Gibran) arriving at the An-Nahar building

17. Candles with Lebanese flag on ground

18. Young woman sitting on the ground near candles

19. Gibran Tueni poster

20. Man lighting candle

21. Pan from sign reading ''the truth'' to Hariri's grave

22. People visiting Hariri's grave

23. Hariri poster

24. Grave

25. Ghattas Khouri walking with MP Walid Eido

26. SOUNDBITE: (English) Ghattas Khouri, MP from Hariri's bloc:

''I think Mr. Mehlis has enough evidence to do what he thinks is right and we support the Mehlis report and the investigations.''

27.Various of Hariri's MP bloc meeting

STORYLINE:

Five pro-Syrian Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim ministers have suspended their participation in the Lebanese cabinet, after the assassination of Lebanese lawmaker and journalist Gibran Tueni on Monday.

Syrian allies Hezbollah and Amal are opposed to the cabinet's call for an international tribunal on the Hariri killing and its plan to ask the U.N. to investigate the death of Tueni and other recent killings.

The ministers said it amounted to international intervention.

The cabinet session was held to discuss the latest developments following the assassination of Gibran Tueni.

Also on the agenda was Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's request for international intervention amid calls from anti-Syrian groups for the resignation of President Emile Lahoud, a staunch pro-Syrian and the last major holdover of the Syrian era.

There have been demands from the anti-Syrian faction in Lebanon that the U.N. probe of Hariri's assassination be broadened to include the death of Tueni and others.

As news of Tueni's death spread, supporters shouted insults at Syria and men and women wept in the street and outside the offices of the An-Nahar newspaper.

Tueni had played a major role in the wave of protests after Hariri's killing that lead Syria to finally withdraw in April under international pressure.

Ghassan Tueni, Gibran's father, saluted the crowds outside the An-Nahar newspaper offices as he was accompanied with his brother-in-law the telecommunication minister Marwan Hamadeh.

The report by chief U.N. investigator Detlev Mehlis, who had already implicated Syria in the killing, said new evidence had only reinforced investigators' belief that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence likely knew about the Hariri killing before it happened.

The report was welcomed by the former member of parliament Ghattas Khouri.

''I think Mr. Mehlis has enough evidence to do what he thinks is right and we support Mehlis report and the investigations,' Khouri said.

The new report accused Syria of trying to obstruct the probe by demanding that it revise earlier findings after a crucial witness recanted his testimony.

After Mehlis delivered his earlier report, the U.N. Security Council warned Syria that it would face further action, possibly including sanctions, if it didn't cooperate fully.

While Syria has denied involvement in both killings, the United States, France and Tueni's Lebanese allies said the murder would not distract them from pressuring Syria to cooperate with the United Nations investigation.

Hariri's parliamentary bloc also met in Beirut to discuss both the assassination of Gibran Tueni and Mehlis report.

SHOTLIST:

++NIGHT SHOT++

1. Pan of offices of the Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora

++INTERIOR SHOTS++

2. Saniora and Lebanese ministers standing for a minute's silence after the death of anti-Syrian legislator Walid Eido.

3. Saniora and ministers sit

4. Various of cabinet meeting

5. Saniora speaking at news conference

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

"The series of assassinations against the deputies, ministers and those who work in the political, educational and information domains are continuing in an attempt to affect the strength of the majority."

7. Cutaway of cameraman

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

"We are calling the council of foreign ministers of the Arab league for an extraordinary meeting, and to show responsibility towards Lebanon, towards its people and for the future of freedom. Also we are requesting the technical and security assistance of the United Nations to prevent these ugly crimes and to enlarge the international investigations to include this new terrorist crime which was committed after the ratification of the international tribunal (a few) days ago."

9. Close up of camera lens

10. Saniora leaving media conference

++NIGHT SHOTS++

11. Fire truck inside the cordoned off area near the explosion site with people walking around

12. Damaged vehicle in front of cordoned off area

13. Various of damaged building

14. Mid of fire officers directing fire truck backwards

STORYLINE:

The Lebanese government held an emergency meeting on Wednesday evening after anti-Syrian legislator Walid Eido and at least nine other people were killed when a bomb-rigged car, rocked Beirut's seafront earlier in the day.

The 65-year-old lawmaker, Walid Eido, was the seventh opponent of Damascus to be killed in two years in the conflict-ridden country.

Lebanese prime minister Fuad Saniora and government ministers stood at the Lebanese parliament for a minute's silence during their cabinet meeting.

After the meeting Fuad Saniora declared Thursday a national day of mourning and called for an emergency meeting of Arab leaders and for the international community to help in the investigation into Eido's killing.

"The series of assassination against the deputies, ministers and those who work in the political, educational and information domain are continuing in an attempt to affect the strength of the majority," said Saniora.

Saniora also called on the United Nations to assist Lebanon with their security so they could prevent what he called, "ugly crimes," from happening in the future.

"We are requesting the technical and security assistance of the United Nations to prevent these ugly crimes and to enlarge the international investigations to include this new terrorist crime which was committed after the ratification of the international tribunal (a few) days ago.''

Eido's son, two bodyguards and six others were also killed in the explosion, security officials said. Eleven others were wounded, they said.

Investigations were still taking place at the site of the explosion on Wednesday night with many security officials and fire trucks at the scene

The explosion occurred less than two kilometres (less than a mile) from the site of a suicide truck bombing that killed former anti-Syrian Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others in February 2005.

The UN Security Council earlier this month ordered the creation of a tribunal to prosecute those responsible for Hariri's assassination, despite the opposition from Syrian-backed groups in Lebanon.

The slain lawmaker, Walid Eido, was a prominent supporter of the tribunal.

Many Lebanese have accused Syria of being behind the slayings, a claim Damascus denies.

Eido's supporters quickly blamed Syria for Wednesday's assassination.

SHOTLIST

Beirut

1. Various of car wreckage of Tueini

2. Various of aftermath of explosion

3. Wide exterior of the Grand Serail

4. Close-up of Lebanese flag

5. Wide interior of the High Security council meeting

4. Mid shot of Lebanese Prime-Minister Fuad Saniora

5. Various of council's meeting

Beirut

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

"We will not surrender, we will not surrender. The criminals continue to kill us one after the other. We will not surrender whatever is the price."

7. Cutaway cameramen

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

"This hideous crime occurs while Judge Detlev Mehlis presents his report, with whatever indications and significance it has especially after what has been recently said as declarations and threats that are very clear."

9. Wide of news conference

10. Various of Saniora meeting ambassadors

Beirut

10. Sit-in in Christian Ashrafieh neighbourhood (central Beirut)

11. Various of sit-in

12. Man holding poster of journalist and lawmaker Gibran Tueini

13. More of sit-in

14. Security forces

Damascus

15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mehdi Dakhlallah, Syrian Information Minister:

"Actually I think Lebanon's enemies are responsible for all these explosions that are happening nowadays. No matter how the relationship between Syria and Lebanon is, or what in JebranTueni's attitude towards Syria was and what he announced. Syria condemns the killing of Gobrin Tueni, Syria totally refuses these charges because it is against Syrian policy and manners."

16. Street scene

STORYLINE:

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said Monday he will ask the United Nations to set up a new inquiry into anti-Syrian journalist and MP Gibran Tueni's slaying and previous bombings and to create an international tribunal to try suspects in the Hariri assassination.

"The criminals continue to kill us one after the other. We will not surrender whatever is the price," Saniora said.

A previously unknown group, "Strugglers for the unity and freedom in the Levant," claimed responsibility for the blast, but many quickly implicated Damascus in the slaying.

The statement's authenticity could not be independently confirmed.

The bombing came the day that the U.N. Security Council received a U.N. inquiry's report into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

New evidence has only reinforced investigators' belief that the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services were likely involved in the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister, a U.N. probe said in the new report Monday.

The 25-page report from German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis' team again accused Syria of trying to obstruct his probe when it demanded that he revise his findings after a crucial witness recanted his testimony.

Mehlis will brief the council on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, in the Christian quarter of Ashrafieh, Tueni's constituency, orthodox churches tolled their bells. Dozens of Tueni supporters held a sit-in to mark the death of the lawmaker.

Police said Tueni was one of three people killed when a car bomb exploded as his motorcade drove through the hilly industrial suburb of Mkalles.

The others were his driver and an unidentified passerby. Another 30 people were wounded in the bombing, which started a fire that destroyed at least 10 vehicles.

Tueni, 48, who had championed the U.N. investigation into Hariri's killing, had returned only Sunday from France, where he had been staying periodically for fear of assassination.

The U.N. inquiry reported in October that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence officials were implicated in Hariri's death.

Syrian Information Minister Mehdi Dakhlallah denied his government was involved in the killing.

After Hariri's death, Tueni played a prominent role in the leadership of the mass demonstrations that, combined with international pressure, succeeded in forcing Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon in April, ending a 29-year presence in the country.

SHOTLIST:

1. Exterior of Ain El Maris mosque

2. Coffin being brought out of mosque, covered in Lebanese flag

3. Coffin being carried to car for burial

4. Various of women outside mosque crying

5. Coffin placed in car

6. Various of hundreds of people marching during funeral possession

7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Katas Khoury, Opposition Parliament Member:

"This is a major catastrophe. The government has dealt with this with the utmost negligence and the chiefs of security should all resign completely and there should be an independent investigation by an international tribunal."

8. Sign reading "Down with the security and intelligence state''''

9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Katas Khoury, Parliament member:

"Well I think anything that helps us to realise our independence is quite good for us and we would welcome that (any moves towards withdrawal by Syria).''''

10. Various of funeral

STORYLINE:

In Lebanon a new anti-government protest began on Thursday at the funeral of a man whose body was found 17 days after the massive explosion in downtown Beirut that killed former prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri.

The body of Abdel-Hamid Ghalayini was discovered at the site of the blast on Wednesday.

The discovery of his body of brings the death toll in the February 14 bombing to 18.

Ghalayini''s anguished family raged at the government on Wednesday for its negligence, suggesting he could have lived if they had found him earlier.

Ghalayini''s body was recovered under a thin layer of debris across the street from the Saint Georges Hotel, near where the powerful explosion tore through the motorcade of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

His family was at the site when his body was recovered. They had urged authorities to look for him since the day of the explosion, and began a sit-in at the site Tuesday to pressure authorities.

Ghalayini''s daughter said her father was buried under just 10 centimetres (about 4 inches) of rubble, adding that the corpse was complete, unburned and there was no blood.

She said the family was waiting for the coroner''s report on the cause and time of death.

A police statement denied any negligence. It said the site had been searched with police dogs but that the work had to be done carefully so as to preserve the scene of the crime pending the arrival of U.N. investigators.

The U.N. team arrived last week. Security officials said they were searching the site on Wednesday when they spotted Ghalayini''s protruding shirt and called civil defence workers.

There has been no final, official word on what caused the blast.

The Hariri family and the opposition have repeatedly called for a thorough investigation.

An opposition member of parliament, Katas Khoury, repeated those calls at the funeral and said Lebanon''s security chiefs should resign.