U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman affirmed that he did not visit Damascus during his recent trip that took him to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and France.

He said the reason he did not visit Damascus was because he was on a specific mission in which he, along with the new U.S. Ambassador Maura Connell, was scheduled to convey a message to President Michel Suleiman from Obama.

It is not true that the German trial team commander in the Office of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare has said that the Hariri murder indictment is going to be confidential.

It seems that some journalists taking part in the International Media Forum in The Hague were caught in a cloud of confusion.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri arrived in Cyprus Thursday for talks with President Dimitris Christofias.

An official welcoming ceremony was held at the presidential palace for Hariri and the accompanying delegation -- Foreign Minister Ali al-Shami, Information Minister Tareq Mitri and advisor Hani Hammoud.

Well-informed sources have told the Central News Agency that the anticipated meeting between Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Premier Saad Hariri has become a matter of a few hours away after all the requirements for such a meeting have been provided.

The sources noted that "the delay resulted from Hariri's current presence in Cyprus on an official visit."

Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem stressed on Thursday that a solution to the crisis in the country starts in Lebanon through the cooperation of all concerned sides.

He said after holding talks with Tawheed Movement leader Wiam Wahhab: "Opening the false witnesses file is a priority that would fortify the internal Lebanese scene against foreign meddling and wrongful accusations."

An army major and a sergeant were killed Thursday when their vehicle came under gunfire during an operation against an army deserter in eastern Lebanon, an army spokesman said.

"A major was martyred during a raid in the town of Majdal Anjar (in the Bekaa Valley) in an attempt to find a deserter who had sought refuge there," the spokesman told AFP, declining to disclose his name.

The Syrian al-Watan newspaper reported on Thursday that revealing the truth in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will serve to end the negative repercussions accusing it of the crime has had on Lebanese-Syrian relations.

It said that claims that the truth will result in unrest in Lebanon "is misleading as the truth will instill trust among the Lebanese political powers."

Commander of the Galilee unit in the Israeli army Yossi Bachar revealed on Thursday that that the Israeli army has prepared a plan to invade southern Lebanon and "destroy Hizbullah."

He told the Israeli Yediot Ahronoth newspaper that the Jewish state is now convinced that defeating the party lies in destroying it, adding that such a party should be removed from existence.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri arrived in Cyprus Thursday for talks with President Dimitris Christofias.

An official welcoming ceremony will be held at the presidential palace for Hariri and the accompanying delegation -- Foreign Minister Ali al-Shami, Information Minister Tareq Mitri and advisor Hani Hammoud.

House Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Thursday the ongoing cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Syria, voicing his concern however with claims that contacts between the two sides had subsided.

He told the daily An Nahar Thursday that he is comforted with the efforts of Saudi King Abdullah and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying that they wish Lebanon well.