LEBANON UPDATE:

Lebanon’s anti-Syrian alliance has swept the board in the first round of general elections, officials say. Amidst a low turnout, the coalition headed by the son of murdered former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri took all 19 seats in the capital Beirut.

Pro-Syrian Shia groups are tipped to fare better in next Sunday’s second round of voting in the south. But the country-wide result is expected to see a big parliamentary majority for Syria’s opponents.

(Via Newsbeat 1).

UPDATE: Here’s video of Saab Harriri talking about the election results.