TYRE, Lebanon, Sept 26, 2007 (AFP) - A Hezbollah militant escaped an attempt on his life after he jumped from his car before a hand grenade exploded under the vehicle in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, police said.

Ahmed Mhanna tried to start his car when he heard an object falling from the vehicle which was parked near his home in Jbal al-Botm, east of the southern port city of Tyre, police said.

He leapt from the vehicle just in time to escape the explosion of the hand grenade which had been placed on the left front tyre. The car was damaged but he was unhurt.

BEIRUT, Sept 23, 2007 (AFP) - Top Hezbollah official Mohammed Fneish said on Sunday MPs in the Shiite party would not attend Tuesday's parliamentary session to elect a new president if no agreement was reached beforehand on a candidate.

'Without advance agreement on the name of the new president a quorum will not be assured -- and so far there is no accord' with the parliamentary majority, he told AFP.

Fneish was energy minister in the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora before he and five other pro-Syrian ministers resigned last November.

BEIRUT, Sept 20, 2007 (AFP) - Hezbollah, the leading party in Lebanon's pro-Syrian parliamentary opposition, condemned on Thursday the slaying of an anti-Damascus lawmaker.

The assassination of Antoine Ghanem in a car bombing on Wednesday was 'a blow to the country's security and stability as well as any attempt at reconciliation and hope toward reaching a political consensus,' it said.

Hezbollah called on the country's feuding political parties to respond to the killing by showing 'unity,' according to a statement issued by the group.

BEIRUT, Sept 14, 2007 (AFP) - The US ambassador to Lebanon said on Friday that there was clear evidence the Shiite militant group Hezbollah was still smuggling weapons across the Syrian border, in violation of UN resolutions.

'We find the evidence to be strong that arms smuggling is continuing across the Syrian-Lebanese border,' Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman told AFP, without giving any specific details.

'We are concerned by the reports and by the public statements by Hezbollah that Hezbollah has actively rearmed.'

BEIRUT, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - Cabling for private communications networks installed illegally by the anti-Israeli militant group Hezbollah in Beirut has been removed, a cabinet minister said on Wednesday.

'Minister of Telecommunications Marwan Ha madeh informed the government that... the cables which had been installed in Beirut have recently been removed,' Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said after a cabinet meeting.

'It is necessary to continue the action in the other regions' where the cables have also been installed by the Shiite organisation, he told reporters.

WASHINGTON, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - The Hezbollah militant group could stage an attack on the United States if it believed the US posed a direct threat to the group or to its alleged backer Iran, the chief US spy Michael McConnell warned on Monday.

'We assess Lebanese Hezbollah, which has conducted anti-US attacks outside the United States in the past, may be more likely to consider attacking the homeland over the next three years if it perceives the United States as posing a direct threat to the group or Iran,' he said in written testimony to Congress.

BEIRUT, Aug 28, 2007 (AFP) - The Lebanese government is planning to take action against private communication networks installed by the anti-Israeli militant group Hezbollah, a cabinet minister said on Monday.

'We agreed to draw a plan of action for a peaceful resolution of this issue, but we are serious about resolving it because it is a dangerous matter,' Information Minister Ghazi Aridi told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

JERUSALEM, Aug 15, 2007 (AFP) - Israel must take seriously Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group which fought a war with the Jewish state last year, a senior minister said on Wednesday.

'We have to take Nasrallah seriously, he has never lied,' Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, a member of Israel's powerful security cabinet, told army radio.

'He is arrogant, but he does what he says,' he said. 'If he says he has 2,000 rockets, I believe him, but I do not know what surprise he is alluding to.'

BEIRUT, Aug 14, 2007 (AFP) - Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday warned Israel against launching new attacks against his militant group in a speech marking the anniversary of the end of the war with the Jewish state.

'If you, the Zionists, are considering attacking Lebanon, I am reserving a surprise for you that will change the fate of the war and the region,' Nasrallah said in a televised speech at a mass rally in his stronghold in the Beirut southern suburb of Sfeir.

BEIRUT, Aug 14, 2007 (AFP) - Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday warned Israel against launching new attacks against his militant group in a speech marking the anniversary of the end of the war with the Jewish state.

'If you, the Zionists, are considering attacking Lebanon, I am reserving a surprise for you that will change the fate of the war and the region,' Nasrallah said in a televised speech at a mass rally in his stronghold in the Beirut southern suburb of Sfeir.

BEIRUT, Aug 14, 2007 (AFP) - Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah marked the first anniversary of the war with Israel by reiterating to a mass rally broadcast live on television that his Shiite group had won a divine victory.

'Today is the anniversary of the divine victory,' Nasrallah told the thousands of men, women and children who had gathered in an empty lot of Beirut's southern suburb of Dahiyeh controlled by Hezbollah.

He added that he was grateful 'to those who stood by us against Israel and the United states ... and helped rebuild the country'.

BEIRUT, Aug 14, 2007 (AFP) - Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah marked the first anniversary of the war with Israel by reiterating to a mass rally broadcast live on television that his Shiite group had won a divine victory.

'Today is the anniversary of the divine victory,' Nasrallah told the thousands of men, women and children who had gathered in an empty lot of Beirut's southern suburb of Dahiyeh controlled by Hezbollah.

He added that he was grateful 'to those who stood by us against Israel and the United states ... and helped rebuild the country'.

BEIRUT, Aug 14, 2007 (AFP) - Thousands of people gathered Tuesday in a Beirut suburb to listen to a 'victory' speech by Hezbollah's leader marking the one-year anniversary of the ceasefire that ended the war between the militant group and Israel.

'Come on Nasrallah. We are waiting for you Nasrallah,' chanted a huge crowd of men, women and children as they waited for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to speak.

Giant screens were set up in the Dahiyeh area controlled by the Shiite group but it was unclear whether Nasrallah would appear in person to address the crowd.

BEIRUT, Aug 14, 2007 (AFP) - Thousands of people gathered Tuesday in a Beirut suburb to listen to a 'victory' speech by Hezbollah's leader marking the one-year anniversary of the ceasefire that ended the war between the militant group and Israel.

'Come on Nasrallah. We are waiting for you Nasrallah,' chanted a huge crowd of men, women and children as they waited for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to speak.

Giant screens were set up in the Dahiyeh area controlled by the Shiite group but it was unclear whether Nasrallah would appear in person to address the crowd.

BEIRUT, Aug 12, 2007 (AFP) - Lebanon's Shiite group Hezbollah celebrates this week the anniversary of its 'divine victory' in its war with Israel, as the country remains paralysed by deep political and economic crises.

'This is a great Lebanese national anniversary,' Hussein Rahhal, spokesman for the militant group, which held out against the Israeli army for 34 days in July and August 2006, told AFP.

BEIRUT, Aug 10, 2007 (AFP) - One year after its devastating war with Israel, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is celebrating its 'divine victory' over the Jewish state with an elaborate exhibition complete with sound and light show.

Set in the southern suburbs of Beirut controlled by Hezbollah, the exhibition showcases seized Israeli weapons, military apparel, pictures and video footage highlighting the 'crushing defeat' inflicted on Israel in its 34-day war with the militant Shiite group.

JERUSALEM, Aug 6, 2007 (AFP) - Israel on Monday warned that Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah militia is seeking to kidnap Israelis who visit Muslim countries.

Israel's anti-terror headquarters issued a travel warning ahead of the Jewish holidays in mid-September, repeating its call not to travel to any Arab country.

The warning included Jordan and Egypt with its Sinai peninsula -- one of the most popular destinations for Israeli tourists. Jordan and Egypt are the only Arab countries to have signed peace accords with Israel.

BEIRUT, Aug 3, 2007 (AFP) - Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday his party was ready for a settlement of the political crisis in Lebanon, vowing that his militant group would not use its arms to resolve the issue.

'We are ready for a settlement internally,' said Nasrallah, the charismatic Shiite leader who has been spearheading the Syrian and Iranian-backed opposition against the pro-Western government.

BINT JBEIL, Lebanon, July 28, 2007 (AFP) - Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday said last summer's war with Israel had foiled US plans for a new Middle East, in a speech broadcast on a huge screen near the Israeli border in south Lebanon.

'This war aimed to impose a new Middle East, broken up into confessional and ethnic mini-states, serving the interests of the United States and Israel,' said the leader of the Shiite militant group which held out against the Israeli army for 34 days in July and August 2006.

DUBAI, July 24, 2007 (AFP) - The head of Lebanon`s Shiite movement Hezbollah said on Tuesday that UN-mediated talks with Israel over an exchange of prisoners were continuing, but he would not provide details.

'I can confirm that the negotiations continue and are underway now,' Hassan Nasrallah told Al-Jazeera television when asked about the fate of two Israeli soliers, whose capture by Hezbollah guerrillas last summer touched off a devastating 34-day war with Israel.

DUBAI, July 23, 2007 (AFP) - Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said in an interview on Monday that any information about two Israeli soldiers the Shiite movement captured last year will not be released without negotiations.

'The only authorised person (in Hezbollah) to give any information about the life of these two soldiers during negotiations is myself,' Nasrallah told the Al-Jazeera news channel.

'This is left to negotiations' over an exchange with Arab prisoners held by Israel, he said when asked about the fate of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.

DUBAI, July 22, 2007 (AFP) - Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah boasted Sunday that the Shiite movement has the military capacity to strike any area of Israel, in an interview aired by Al-Jazeera television channel.

'Tel Aviv or other than Tel Aviv. Every corner and every spot in occupied Palestine was certainly within the reach' of Hezbollah rockets during last summer`s war with Israel, he said.

'And even now, it can certainly be reached,' he added, in a short excerpt of the interview to be broadcast in its entirety on Monday by the Doha-based new channel.