e Yugoslavia

Jerusalem  – Israeli prosecutors Thursday indicted a militant Jewish settler who has confessed to a host of attacks against Palestinians, the gay community in Israel and left-wing Israelis opposed to Jewish settlement of the occupied West Bank.

Beirut – Lebanon’s President Michel Suleiman headed Thursday to Damscus for talks with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al Assad, three days after the formation of a Lebanese national unity cabinet.

Washington/Beirut  – The United States Saturday called for the immediate release by Syria of a human rights lawyer, saying it joined Britain, France and other countries in expressing “deep concern” about the arrest.

Istanbul – Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu Tuesday travelled to Syria for the first meeting of a high-level strategic council the two countries recently established.

Damascus  – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has banned smoking in public places, including government offices, restaurants and cafes, reports said Monday.

Tehran  – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is to arrive Wednesday in Tehran for a one-day visit and talks with his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Beirut – Syrian Army Chief of Staff General Ali Habib arrived in Beirut on Tuesday in the first such visit by a senior military official since the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon in 2005.

Amman – The leaders of Jordan and Syria on Monday set Israel’s evacuation from all Arab territories it occupied in the 1967 Six Day War as prerequisite for establishment of peace in the region.

Washington  – US President Barack Obama on Friday ordered the continuation of sanctions first imposed against Syria in 2004, telling Congress that Damascus still supports terrorist groups, is seeking weapons of mass destruction and has impeded progress in Iraq.

Vienna  – Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad said Tuesday in Vienna that US President Barack Obama would face a serious crisis in the Middle East if within a year he did not fix the mistakes made by his predecessor George W Bush.