Mideast editor fired over Hizbollah tweet

The Lebanese militant denounces CNN's decision to fire a Middle East editor for posting a note on Twitter expressing admiration for the country's late top Shiite cleric.

BEIRUT // The Lebanese militant Hizbollah has denounced CNN's decision to fire a Middle East editor for posting a note on Twitter expressing admiration for the country's late top Shiite cleric. Octavia Nasr later apologised for her tweet in which she described Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah as "one of Hizbollah's giants I respect a lot." But CNN officials said her credibility had been compromised.

Hizbollah's spokesman, Ibrahim Moussawi, says CNN's decision amounts to "intellectual terrorism" and reflects the West's "double standards" in dealing with the Mideast. He said in a statement issued today that the decision to fire Ms Nasr - a Lebanese who worked for CNN for two decades - exposes America's false claims regarding freedom of expression. Meanwhile, Britain's foreign ministry has removed a blog post praising the anti-American cleric.

Britain's envoy to Beirut, Frances Guy, said on her blog that his death was sad news, calling the religious leader a "decent man" and saying "the world needs more men like him." Ms Guy's posting drew outrage in Israel. Foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor says that Mr Fadlallah inspired suicide bombings and that Ms Guy had to decide, "whether promoting terror and giving it religious justification can be considered a heritage to be cherished."

Britain's foreign office said today the posting had been removed "after mature consideration." * AP