Beirut- It was projected to be a golden year for Lebanon and one to beat all records; instead 2006 with its string of crises including a 34-day war proved a disaster for the tourism sector.

LONDON (Reuters) – A British soldier was killed and three were wounded by a roadside bomb in Basra in southern Iraq on Friday, the Ministry of Defence said.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – U.S. military helicopters killed eight Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers and wounded six others in northern Iraq on Friday in what appeared to be a “friendly fire” incident, Kurdish officials said.