Obama names Feltman top diplomat in Mideast

U.S. President Barack Obama late on Wednesday nominated Jeffrey Feltman, a former ambassador to Lebanon who recently paid a rare visit to Syria, as the top U.S. diplomat on the Middle East.

Obama praised the "skill and dedication" of Feltman and three other nominees presented Wednesday, voicing hope they would "serve the American people well as we work to keep our nation safe at home and abroad."

An Arabic speaker and career diplomat, Feltman needs Senate approval to be confirmed as assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs.

He would replace David Welch, who was seen as a defender of Arab interests in the administration of president George W. Bush.

Feltman has already been the acting assistant secretary. In his capacity, he and a fellow envoy last month paid the first trip to Syria by high-level U.S. officials in four years.

U.S. -Syrian ties were especially tense under former president George W. Bush, who accused Damascus of meddling in neighboring Lebanon and turning a blind eye to the flow of arms and supplies to insurgents in Iraq.

Feltman earlier served as the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, including during the 2006 Israeli offensive against the Shiite militant movement Hezbollah. Prior to that, he served at the U.S. Consulate-General in Occupied Jerusalem.

Testifying last month before Congress, Feltman said the United States "emphatically" rejected opening contacts with Hezbollah -- a step recently taken by British.

He also said Lebanon's next government after its June elections should be decided by "Lebanese themselves, for Lebanon, free from outside interference, political intimidation and violence."

Lebanon hands over Hariri list

Earlier on Wednesday the U.N. tribunal charged with trying the suspects in the murder of former Premier Rafiq Hariri, said Lebanon handed over a list of those detained.

"The list of names has been received by the pre-trial judge. He will deliver them to the prosecutor," tribunal spokeswoman Susan Khan told AFP.

Other boxes with papers and evidence, which were still awaited "will be transmitted directly to the office of the prosecutor," Khan said.

The list of names has been received by the pre-trial judge. He will deliver them to the prosecutor

Tribunal spokeswoman Susan Khan

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which began work on March 1, has called for any detainees to be held until a decision on whether they will be transferred to the U.N. court is made.

But a Lebanese investigating judge lifted Wednesday arrest warrants against four high-ranking generals jailed since 2005 in connection with Hariri's murder, a judicial official told AFP.

One of the four's lawyer, Akram Azuri, welcomed the decision, saying it augured well for his client.

"This means that the generals no longer stand accused or can be considered under arrest," he told AFP. "They are now simply detained and the judge's ruling put an end to the case between us the Lebanese judiciary."

The attack in Beirut that killed Hariri was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since the 1975-1990 civil war and led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops after a 29-year presence.

A U.N. investigative commission has said there was evidence that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services were involved in Hariri's killing. Damascus has consistently denied any involvement in the attack and in the killings of several other anti-Syrian politicians since 2005.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon was created by a United Nations Security Council resolution in 2007.