Hizbollah-led protesters paralyse central Beirut

Thousands of supporters of Lebanon's Hizbollah-led opposition paralysed parts of central Beirut yesterday on the second day of a campaign to topple the US-backed government.

Scores of tents sprung up overnight as protesters occupied parking lots, squares and streets leading to the government's headquarters bringing Beirut's normally bustling commercial district to a standstill.

Restaurants and cafes, usually packed with people on weekends, were shut. Many banks also stayed closed.

Hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters rallied on Friday to demand the resignation of the Western-backed government, but Prime Minister Fouad Siniora insisted his government would not be toppled through demonstrations.

"This is a government elected by the people of Lebanon and a government which has the constitutional authority that election gives it," British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett told reporters after meeting Siniora in Beirut.

Shi'ite Hizbollah, backed by Syria and Shi'ite Iran, wants to topple what it calls a US government in Lebanon. The anti-Syrian politicians who dominate the cabinet say the opposition is attempting a coup.

"Going out on the streets will not yield a result and we won't reach a solution except if we sit behind... the negotiating table," Siniora told reporters.

The demonstrators imposed a blockade on the government offices on Friday, but later eased it after contacts between opposition leaders and Arab diplomats, a senior opposition source said. "The government received our message," he said.