France and the US have introduced a draft UN resolution that would authorise an independent investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri. Rejecting Lebanon's call for major involvement in the inquiry, the draft given to the 15 Security Council members calls for the international investigating commission to complete its work within six months. But China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya, the current council president, said there was still a debate over the probe's duration, and diplomats said it could be reduced to three months. The US-French draft did not include many amendments sought by the Lebanese government, which wanted the investigators to cooperate closely with the government, to be based in Lebanon, and to limit the probe to 12 weeks. Instead, it would allow Secretary-General Kofi Annan to recruit "impartial and experienced staff" without getting agreement from the Lebanese government, and give the commission authority to determine its own procedures.