Beirut  - A Hezbollah delegation is due to hold a meeting with anti-Syrian ruling majority Saad Hariri at the latter's home in Beirut in the coming 24 hours to try to mend fences between the two sides, a source close to Hezbollah said.

"The aim of the meeting is to invite Hariri to meet with the movement's Secretary General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah," said the source who requested anonymity.

Beirut  - A Syrian troop build-up on the northern border with Lebanon has worried Lebanese security officials, despite Damascus insisting that the move is solely to stop smuggling in the region.

"Our reports from near the Abboudieh, northern Syrian-Lebanese border indicated that around 8,000 Syrian special forces have been deployed in the region," a high-level Lebanese security official told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa.

Beirut  - Songs by Iraqi and Palestinian refugee rappers are becoming one of the hottest selling items in Beirut's music stores, as war-weary Lebanese fans buy up their albums in solidarity with artists expressing their hardship in exile.

A Palestinian rap group calling themselves I-Voice (Invincible Voice), and an Iraqi band known as UTN1, (Unknown To No One) are among a number of bands trying to inspire young people to keep hope despite the seemingly endless crises in the Middle East.

Beirut - Reports that Syrian troops crossed into northern Lebanon and took up positions in seven villages were denied by Lebanese security sources Tuesday.

"The reports are not true," one of the sources said, dismissing the report from the Israel-based DEBKAfile website known for its headline-grabbing claims.

The website spoke of a Syrian "invasion" of Lebanon by two Syrian commando battalions backed by reconnaissance and engineering units.

Beirut  - Lebanon's political leaders have closed the first session of a national political dialogue on Tuesday aimed at resolving the country's long-standing difficulties, vowing to hold a second session in November.

"The participants have set November 5 as the date for their second session," a statement released by the dialogue, which was led by Lebanese president Michel Suleiman, said.

The statement called on leaders to stop their "fiery political statements against each other to prepare grounds for the second session and pave the way for more reconciliations."