Israel on Wednesday handed over to U.N. peacekeepers two Lebanese shepherds who were kidnapped near the border in southern Lebanon a day earlier.

Lebanese citizens Leon Alam, 35, and 55-year-old Mohammad Zahra were handed over to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon via the Naqoura border crossing.

A leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar Wednesday revealed that Health Minister Mohammed Jawad Khalifeh had informed then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman that House Speaker Nabih Berri was disputed with Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

The WikiLeaks cable dated August 19, 2006, reported Khalifeh as saying that Nasrallah believes himself to be “greater than Salaheddine and all of us.”

Speaker Nabih Berri believed that liberating the Shabaa Farms would eliminate the reasons for maintaining the Resistance, revealed a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar Wednesday.

A WikiLeaks cable dated July 25, 2006, reported on a meeting between the speaker and then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman during which Berri voiced his opposition to Hizbullah’s disarmament if the Shabaa Farms remained occupied.

The United States sought to use the indictment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to back Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri after his government was toppled by the Hizbullah-led alliance, As Safir daily reported Wednesday.

The newspaper said that the U.S. administration contacted tribunal officials immediately after the toppling of the cabinet to use the indictment as a political pressure aimed at bringing back Hariri to power and sidelining Hizbullah.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati reportedly presented his first draft cabinet lineup to President Michel Suleiman on Tuesday, a sign that the new government could be formed soon.

An Nahar daily and a source close to Miqati said in remarks published Wednesday that both officials discussed the draft lineup which is a mix of politicians and technocrats.

Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri telephoned Bahrain’s King Hamad reiterating to him his condemnation of all acts that harm the interests of the Lebanese either in Bahrain or in the rest of Arab and Gulf countries.

An Nahar newspaper said Wednesday that Hariri held the telephone conversation with King Hamad on Tuesday.

Hizbullah and Amal have condemned the burning of a copy of the Qoran by controversial U.S. Pastor Terry Jones at a small Florida church earlier in the week.

The burning was carried out by pastor Wayne Sapp under the supervision of Jones, who last September drew sweeping condemnation over his plan to ignite a pile of Qorans on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Bahrain authorities detained on Tuesday five Lebanese residents from the Fneish family for allegedly contacting unidentified foreign “parties,” a clear reference to Hizbullah.

Al-Akhbar newspaper on Wednesday quoted informed sources as saying that “Bahraini security forces raided the ‘Beiruti’ restaurant in central Manama at 10:00 am, detained five Lebanese employees, and confiscated documents and computers.”

The Israeli army is reportedly preparing for the possibility that Syria might use Hizbullah to launch attacks on the Jewish state to divert attention from the growing protests against President Bashar Assad’s regime.

The Israeli daily Haaretz on Wednesday quoted intelligence officials as saying that despite their earlier assessments that the Syrian regime was stable, and the unrest sweeping the Arab world would not affect it, they now believe it will be very hard for Assad to restore the status quo ante.

Bahrain on Tuesday warned its citizens against travel to Lebanon following comments by Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on the Shiite-led protests in the Gulf kingdom.

"Due to threats and interference by terrorists," the foreign ministry said, "it warns and advises its citizens not to travel to the Republic of Lebanon as they might face dangers threatening their safety."