Visit of Ahmadinejad

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made a controversial visit to southern Lebanon, coming within a few kilometres of the Israeli border. Mr Ahmadinejad is on his first official visit to Lebanon. He received a hero's welcome from tens of thousands of Shiite Muslims - members and supporters of the militant group Hezbollah. President Ahmadinejad travelled to border towns in southern Lebanon that were bombed during the 2006 war with Israel. He gave a defiant speech praising Hezbollah's resistance of Israel. On the southern side of the border, Israeli civilians gathered to protest against his visit. They launched dozens of blue and white balloons, in the colours of Israel's flag, to show their opposition.