German ex-mediator in Beirut for possible talks

A German official who helped mediate a 2004 prisoner swap between Israel and Hizbullah arrived in Beirut Friday evening, but there was no immediate word on the nature of his mission, Lebanese officials said. Ernst Uhrlau was heading a six-member security delegation that arrived on a private plane, and no details were immediately available about the nature of their mission, the officials said. Uhrlau has headed Germany's Federal Intelligence Service since 2005.