saying no plan of action had been developed since he took over the White House.

"France must act," Assad told French daily Le Figaro and criticized what he called the US "weak link" in efforts for renewed peace talks in the Middle East .

Relations between France and Syria have been warming since Assad paid a landmark visit to Paris last year for Bastille Day celebrations and Sarkozy visited Damascus two months later in September 2008.

Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in Paris few days ago also told Sarkozy he was ready for talks with Syria.

Senior Israeli officials say Netanyahu told President Sarkozy he would be willing to meet President Assad "any time anywhere to move on the peace negotiations on the basis of no pre-conditions".

The main issue for the Syrians is getting back the Golan Heights , but the Israelis say Netanyahu may not be willing to withdraw from the territory that Israel captured during the 1967 War.

“ Syria wants the Golan Heights back and is not interested in negotiations unless they produce this outcome, ” a diplomat was quoted as saying

Turkish mediation between Israel and Syria broke off last year during Israel's offensive in Gaza, closing a promising diplomatic channel, but Ankara says it is willing to resume its role.
Sarkozy wants results from his relationships in the region and views Syria as the a key player. It holds the Hamas card, and splits the Hezbollah card with Iran. Syria is also useful in its alliance with Iran, as it showed when it helped gain the release of the French hostage, Clotilde Reiss, from an Iranian prison to the French Embassy in Tehran, where she remains.
Sarkozy believes that his friendship with Syria is going to separate Damascus from Tehran.
During Assad’s visit to Paris on Friday, Sarkozy is expected to thank Syria for its help in forming the Lebanese government.

Friday

11;59 pm Suicide car bombs ripped through an office of Pakistan's main spy agency and hit a police post in the country's violent northwest Friday, killing at least 12 people in what appeared to be the Taliban's latest attempts

11:00pm The Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood is paralyzed from the waist down as a result of his bullet wounds and may remain that way, his lawyer said Friday.

10:20 pm Hamas has suspended its rocket launches against Israel since the Gaza Strip war and is similarly curbing other armed Palestinian factions in the territory, Israel's military chief said on Friday.

10:10 Reuters: At least two people were killed on Friday when a chain of explosions ripped apart a Russian arms depot on Friday, shattering windows for miles around and forcing the evacuation of 3000 people

10:00 pm NASA discover about 26 gallons of water on the moon, the space agency announced Friday. Water on the moon, once a wild conjecture, appears to have become an established fact.

9:40pm PSP leader MP Walid Jumblat in an interview with Al-Manar: There is no doubt that I was shocked by May 7, the sectarian tensions, and hatred among the "one people"in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. My concern was to halt the sliding toward civil war. There is no fear of a war erupting among the Christians, but fear exists regarding the "Muslims , Shiites and Sunnis ". Extending the term of president Emile Lahoud was a big strategic mistake.

9:00 pm Syria's Butheina Shaaban told AKI: There are no points of understanding between Syria and Israel that would allow the resumption of negotiations "because Israel does not want peace and it is Government of killing, siege, and destruction and not not a government of peace "

8:50 pm Houri: Bilateral relations between Lebanon and all Arab states, especially Syria, should be excellent

7:45pm MTV: Well-informed sources say the drafting of ministerial Policy Statement is expected before Independence Day.

5:35 pm After talks with France's President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris on Friday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Friday that he had no "Israeli partner" ready to push forward the Middle East peace process, rebuffing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's offer of talks.

4:15pm Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir will visit the Vatican on November 24 to participate in and examine the Middle East Synod draft.

4:01 : There are unconfirmed reports that a school in Baakleen Shouf was closed because of swine flue

3:12pm A handover ceremony between new and outgoing Environment Ministers Mohammed Rahal and Tony Karam was held at the ministry.

3:10pm LBC quoting Baabda Palace visitors: Ministerial Policy Statement will be ready before Independence Day and will be discussed in the second session of the cabinet.

2:50pm UNIFIL Commander Maj. Gen. Claudio Graziano: The recent months of UNIFIL's mission were full of challenges; however, we still firmly believe that permanent peace in South Lebanon is possible.

1:30pm President Michel Suleiman received a telegram from Jordan's King Abdullah II congratulating him on the new government.

12:19pm Energy Minister Jebran Bassil during the handover ceremony: It is not right for Lebanon to be without electricity and we must find a solution to this sector.

12:17pm Cabinet Minister Raya Hassan called for completing the reform process and improve citizens’ services.

12:15pm Interior Minister Ziad Baroud: The interior ministry is working within modest means; and we are doing our best to arrest thieves and reach a settlement over the issue of drugs.

11:45 State Minister Adnan Assayed Hussein to Manar TV: Cabinet policy statement will be based on the statement of ex-PM Fouad Saniora’s government.

11:15 Labor Minister Boutros Harb discussed current developments with Social Affairs Minister Salim al-Sayegh.

7:35 Youth and Sports Minister Ali Abdullah to VDL: The ministerial policy statement will not be different from the previous one. The government is likely to get confidence ahead of Independence Day.

Thursday

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11:45 pm BBC : Swine flu has killed nearly 4000 people in the US, including 540 children, officials said after devising a new counting method. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the new system is based on more precise figures

11:30pm PM Hariri left for saudi Arabia on a private visit

11:30 pm AP: President Barack Obama's drawn-out decision-making on Afghanistan is sending messages. To the Afghan government: Clean up your act.

10:30 pm Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem said "Hezbollah will work through this government to make it efficient and interactive by cooperating with all the parties,"

10:20 pm AFP: After discussing peace efforts with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Paris on Wednesday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy phoned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in order to discuss conditions for the renewal of negotiations.

10:12pm Gemayel told Al Arabiyeh : the talk about us leaving March 14 is not logical . what united us with its leaders is bloodand nothing can separate us and we will be cooperating within the government and the parliament

10:10 pm VOA : Russian President Dmitri Medvedev is calling for sweeping economic, social, political, and military modernization of his country. In his second annual State of the Nation address, the Kremlin leader said Russia must become a society of smart, free and responsible people - instead of an archaic society in which a few think and decide for all.

10;00 pm Military prosecutors have charged Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan with 13 counts of premeditated murder in last week's shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Tex