Beirut  - Relatives of alleged Islamic extremists staged a protest Tuesday in downtown Beirut to demand the release of their family members from Lebanese jails.

About 200 protesters gathered in a square near the Lebanese parliament which was in session and shouted Islamic slogans and waved banners calling for the release of their relatives.

The protesters included the wives of some of the prisoners suspected of plotting or carrying out militant attacks against the Lebanese army. The women have been rallying for their husbands' release for weeks.

Beirut - Lebanese President Michel Suleiman is to make a two- day official visit to Qatar on September 1 ahead of his tour to various Arab capitals after the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, official sources said.

The president is also to visit the United States for talks with officials in Washington and to head Lebanon's delegation to the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.

The General Assembly session is scheduled for mid-September, the sources said.

Beirut- French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Monday that the mounting war of words between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah should not be taken seriously, but he warned that the region was still tense.

"One must always take threats seriously, both those made by Israel and by Mr. (Hassan) Nasrallah ... because this is a very inflammatory region," Kouchner said after talks in Beirut with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman.

Beirut - The United Nations Interim Force in South Lebanon (UNIFIL) Monday denied reports of an Israeli incursion into southern Lebanon.

"Israeli troops did not violate the Blue Line near Marjeyoun, as was widely reported in Lebanese media one day earlier," deputy UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said.

"There was no crossing of the (Israeli Army) through the Blue Line," Tenenti said, adding that UNIFIL troops had been in the area.

Lebanese media, quoting security sources, said that eight soldiers belonging to the Israeli military had crossed about 100 metres into Mais al-Jabal in the Marjeyoun area for some 15 minutes before retreating to Israel.

Beirut - Lack of funds is threatening the work of teams working with the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre (UNMACC) in southern Lebanon to clear Israeli cluster bombs which were dropped over the area in the July 2006 war.

UNMACC spokeswoman Dayla Farran said some of the teams "will have to stop because the donors have failed to come up with a promised 4.7 million dollars needed to fund the program in 2008."

"A large number of the clearance teams will be stopping by the end of this month if funds are not ready before that," she said.