President Michel Suleiman on Friday slammed the “terrorist attack” on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, saying its objective is to drive the peacekeepers out of the country.

At a joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian in Yerevan, Suleiman said: “France, which has made huge sacrifices for Lebanon, will not succumb to these terrorist activities.”

President Michel Suleiman travelled to Armenia on Thursday on a three-day official visit that will include the signature of several cooperation agreements.

Suleiman left Rafik Hariri international airport along with First Lady Wafaa and a delegation of ministers and MPs on Thursday morning.

An Armenian soldier was shot dead by an Azerbaijani sniper on the frontline in the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh on Saturday, the separatist Karabakh defense ministry said.

"Nineteen-year-old conscript Aren Simonian died because of enemy sniper fire," the ministry said in a brief statement.

As the global population hits seven billion, experts are warning that skewed gender ratios could fuel the emergence of volatile "bachelor nations" driven by an aggressive competition for brides.

The precise consequences of what French population expert Christophe Guilmoto calls the "alarming demographic masculinization" of countries such as India and China as the result of sex-selective abortion remain unclear.

Turkey's prime minister on Tuesday rebuffed French President Nicolas Sarkozy's call for Ankara to recognize the World War I-era killing of Armenians as genocide, urging "honesty" in politics.

Speaking in Turkish parliament, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized Sarkozy for using different languages when he spoke in Turkey, France and Armenia.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged Turkey on Friday to recognize the World War I-era massacres of Armenians as genocide within a "very brief" period before his term ends in May 2012.

"From 1915 to 2011, it seems to be enough (time) for reflection," Sarkozy told reporters in Yerevan on the second day of his visit to Armenia.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday urged Turkey to take responsibility for the 1915 massacre of Armenians, calling its refusal to recognize the deaths as genocide as "unacceptable".

Sarkozy's comments, issued at the start of his first state visit to Armenia, whose diaspora represents a large voting minority in France, come months before a presidential election which he heads into with approval ratings at a low.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Wednesday that the will to hold dialogue in Lebanon will always defeat security instability.

He said: “Despite the tensions, Lebanon is witnessing a period of monetary and security stability.”

Speaker Nabih Berri criticized on Tuesday the international community’s “double standards” in dealing with Israel, accusing it of having hidden agendas in the Middle East.

He said before the Armenian parliament: “International decision-makers are placing all Arab regimes in the position of the accused in order to subject them to their will.”

Archaeologists in Armenia said on Wednesday that they had found parts of a woman's multicolored straw dress that they believe was made around 5,900 years ago.

The find was made during excavations at a cave complex in southern Armenia where previous discoveries have included what are believed to be the world's oldest known leather shoe and most ancient winery, dating back 5,500 and 6,100 years respectively.