TRIPOLI, Lebanon – Advancing under a blanket of artillery and tank fire, Lebanese troops overran positions held by al-Qaida-inspired militants at a Palestinian refugee camp on Friday, reportedly killing 18 people.

Syria says it will refuse to cooperate with a new U.N.-backed tribunal for suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

CAIRO, June 1 (Reuters) – Egyptian police detained 48 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday in a crackdown ahead of parliamentary elections, a security source said on Friday.