Jumblatt to visit Syria soon

The Lebanese Druze leader, Walid Jumblatt, says he intends to visit Syria in the near future and meet President Bashar al-Assad now that he's no longer unwelcome there.

However in a BBC interview Mr Jumblatt said he wasn't withdrawing comments he made in parliament in November about the Syrian presence in Lebanon which angered Damascus.

Mr Jumblatt was earlier told about the reversal of the travel ban by the Syrian intelligence chief in Lebanon Ghazi Kenaan. Calls by Lebanese Christian leaders for Syrian troops to leave increased after the death last June of the late president; Mr Jumblatt was the first non-Christian leader to add his voice to the demands for a reduced Syrian influence on the country.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service