Rival Lebanese politicians met at a state-owned chateau near Paris on Saturday in a French-sponsored attempt to discuss ways of ending the eight-month-old political crisis gripping their country.

Lebanon’s army resumed its bombardment of Al Qaeda-inspired gunmen entrenched in a Palestinian refugee camp on Saturday, pounding them with artillery and tank fire, a senior military official said.

King Abdullah has said regional peace can only be sustained if people in the Middle East have the opportunity to “lead a productive and satisfying life”.