After her visit to Bint Jbeil, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict stated that she was shocked to see the destruction caused by the recent conflict in Lebanon and its considerable impact on children.

Beirut, Apr. 12, 2007 - The UN Official expressed her solidarity with the people of Lebanon at a press conference wrapping-up her three-day visit. She said that she felt very encouraged by the response of the Lebanese authorities, civil Society, the NGOs and the international community to the crisis with regard to children.

Hundreds of women from around the world took to their bicycles in Lebanon on Tuesday to pedal for regional peace. The third annual "Follow the Women - Women for Peace" bike tour completed its first leg around Lebanon with nearly 250 women riding from Sidon to Beirut - a journey of 50 kilometers that took them about six hours to complete.

Apr. 10, 2007- The female participants, who come from about 30 different countries, found more than just their bicycles waiting for them in Sidon - many of the coastal city's residents flocked to the streets to witness the event.

With the approach on Friday of the traditional day of observance of the start of the Lebanese Civil War, civil society groups are planning to mount discussion panels and an exhibition of photographs and historic documents in an attempt to stimulate public debate and personal reflection on the legacy of the conflict and its meaning for the country's current political predicament.

Apr. 10, 2007- The Civil War Remembrance Day, to be held at the Beirut Hippodrome from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., would ideally recapture the spirit of a similar event two years ago, organizers say. In April 2005, two months after the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, the commemoration was re-branded "Independence 05" when a large number of Lebanese poured into the streets in a display of unity.