LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 13/09

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 20,1-9.On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him." So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
The important…and more important/Future News.12/04/09
Piracy on the High Seas: A Metaphor for the World's Retribalization.by Roger Kimball12.04.09 Pyjama Media
Ahmadinejad's Radioactive Election Campaign.by Meir Javedanfar12.04.09 Pyjama Media
Hunt for Bin Laden Heats Up.by Ryan Mauro/12.04.09 Pyjama Media

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 12/09
Egypt press blasts Hezbollah chief as “war criminal”/Future News
Hezbollah… a source of worries/Future News
Sfeir: Elections Causing Further Disunity-Naharnet
Polish troops withdrawal may lead to UNIFIL disintegration-Jerusalem Post
Egypt foils plot and arrests 49 'Hizbollah suspects'-Telegraph.co.uk
Will Amal and Hezbollah break up?/Future News
On jumpy Lebanon-Israel frontier, a quiet drug war-The Associated Press
Aoun visits Patriarch Sfeir “to obtain his blessings”/Future News

Aoun Meets Sfeir on Occasion of Easter-Naharnet
Kabbani: The four Generals fate with the Attorney General/Future News

Berri: I Condemn Any Statement that Says Christians are Guests in Lebanon-Naharnet
Washington Ups Military Aid by $100 Million-Naharnet
Aoun to Decide on Baabda, Kesrouan after Russia Trip
-Naharnet
Nazif: Egypt's Security Is a Red Line
-Naharnet
Raad: We Will Renew Berri's Term after Polls
-Naharnet
Makari among March 14 Contenders in Koura
-Naharnet
Nasrallah Confirms Egypt Detainee is Hizbullah Member
-Naharnet
Hardline Israeli Minister Says Nasrallah 'Deserves Death'
-Naharnet
Aoun Announces Shouf, Aley Candidates, Promises Saniora of 'Investigation'
-Naharnet

Sfeir: Elections Causing Further Disunity
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir said Sunday the upcoming elections have only added to the already existing schism among the Lebanese. "Electoral processes in advanced countries take place in an environment of tranquility and stability. It only requires that citizens cast their ballots without fear of intimidation or threats," he said during Easter mass, which was attended by President Michel Suleiman and the first lady. He expressed the Lebanese can prove in the June 7 elections that they are worthy of their homeland. "May God be with President Suleiman in his quest to deliver Lebanon to dry land," he said. Before the mass, Sfeir held private talks with Suleiman on the preparations for the elections, administrative appointments and the constitutional council. Beirut, 12 Apr 09, 14:01

Nazif: Egypt's Security Is a Red Line
Naharnet/Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed al-Nazif has warned against attempts to destabilize Egypt saying security was a "red line," as the public prosecutor started interrogations with a Hizbullah member accused of planning attacks in the Arab country. Egyptian authorities disclosed last week the arrest of 49 people, including Lebanese citizen Sami Shihab, on charges of plotting attacks on behalf of Hizbullah. The Lebanese group's chief Hassan Nasrallah confirmed on Friday that Shihab was indeed a member of the group but denied seeking to destabilize the country. "Egypt's security is a red line that cannot be breached, touched or harmed. Egytpian security services are quite capable of protecting the domestic front," Nazif told the pan-Arab al-Hayat daily in comments published Sunday.
In a stern warning, Nazif said his country "will not allow any party, inside or outside Egypt, to endanger the lives of Egyptian citizens or jeopardize the national economy." Al-Hayat said that a "broad team of investigators has started questioning the 49 suspects." Montassar el-Zayat, a lawyer for some of the defendants, has been allowed to attend the investigations "for the first time" since they were launched, the pan-Arab daily reported. Zayat told AFP last week that Shihab's brother asked him to represent him but he had not been allowed to see him or attend interrogations. Zayat said he expected Shihab to be sentenced to three years in prison, al-Hayat said, citing sources. In December, after Israel launched a devastating offensive in Gaza, Nasrallah called on Egyptians to take to the streets in their millions to force open the crossing and urged Egyptian army commanders to resign in protest. Egyptian officials accused Nasrallah of fomenting sedition and state media branded him an "Iranian agent." Nasrallah said Shihab was working to help the Palestinian resistance against Israel. "What he was doing on the Egyptian-Palestinian border was logistic work to help the Palestinian brothers to transport equipment for the resistance in Palestine," Nasrallah said.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 12 Apr 09, 12:34

Aoun Meets Sfeir on Occasion of Easter
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun visited Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir in Bkirki on Sunday to extend his Easter greetings. "We wished the patriarch a happy Easter and success as head of the Maronite sect," Aoun said after the meeting that lasted 45 minutes. Asked if the two discussed the issue of elections, Aoun said: "No. The talks were spiritual and cultural. The occasion is not political. It is a congratulatory call."Bishops Samir Mazloum and Shukrallah Harb took part in the talks. Beirut, 12 Apr 09, 18:26

Berri: I Condemn Any Statement that Says Christians are Guests in Lebanon
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri on Sunday lauded coexistence in Lebanon and condemned any insinuation or statement that says Christians are guests in the country.
"The Christians are our brothers in the nation and in citizenship," Berri said during an event to inaugurate Ain al-Zarqa irrigation project carried out by the Council for the South in Mashghara in the Western Bekaa Valley. The speaker condemned "any insinuation or statement that hits at Christians or considers them guests in Lebanon." Berri also considered coexistence in Lebanon an example of the Global Village. "Lebanon has been placed in the care of the Lebanese."
Turning to the elections, the speaker said: "Let's make June 7 a date to make democracy a lifestyle and not just an election process." Berri also called for calm political rhetoric. He said Lebanon should strengthen its army, hold onto Hizbullah and support the budget for the south and the Council for the South and the Western Bekaa which have proved their strength in resistance. Beirut, 12 Apr 09, 17:34

Washington Ups Military Aid by $100 Million

Naharnet/The United States wants to increase military aid to Lebanon to $189.1 million from the $90.7 million initially allocated for the 2009 fiscal year, an-Nahar reported Sunday."The U.S. administration will ask Congress to allocate an extra $98.4 million in military equipments and training expenses for the Lebanese army, bringing military aid for 2009 to a total of $189.1 million," informed sources told the Lebanese daily. The comments come after Defense Minister Elias Murr ended on Wednesday a three-day trip to Washington. Murr held talks with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and one of the White House's special regional advisers, Dennis Ross. The sources said the need for the additional aid came after "both sides expressed a desire to develop military ties and to increase the number of Lebanese troops being trained in American military academies." Lebanon is expecting the delivery of a shipment of U.S.-made arms in the coming weeks. The weapons include 41 howitzers, 12 Zodiac boats, 12 Raven air vehicles, one Cessna and 10 M60s. Beirut, 12 Apr 09, 10:14

Raad: We Will Renew Berri's Term after Polls
Naharnet/Hizbullah's parliamentary bloc will renew Nabih Berri's term as speaker following the June 7 elections, said the head of the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc on Saturday. "We will renew the term of Speaker Nabih Berri's in Parliament following the elections because he carries the agenda of the resistance and (supports) the establishment of a just and capable state," MP Mohammed Raad told a political gathering in the town of Shoukeen.
"The others want to take over Parliament with a majority that will topple the assembly's presidency and (elect) a speaker who supports its agenda," he said.
A speaker chosen by the majority will only serve the interests of foreign powers and benefit "the agenda of aggressors, who are lurking around to harm this country," Raad warned. Raad denied reports the minority was facing a deadlock over the formation of electoral lists in some districts.
"We are in complete agreement and will announce our tickets when the time is right," he said.
"We will enter the electoral battle with a unified goal because we are determined to win the parliamentary majority which will advocate our agenda in full," Raad added.
He pointed to an understanding among minority members under which they "have the right to maneuver and choose (their) tactics and candidates whenever suitable."
On relations between Hizbullah and Amal Movement, Raad said the two groups are "bound by an agreement and an alliance, despite having divergent opinions over some parliamentary positions."Any disagreement "was being resolved in the spirit of ensuring the agreement is carried out in full. At the moment, 95 percent of the accord has been completed, Raad added. Beirut, 11 Apr 09, 17:31