LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
January 23/08
Bible Reading of the day.
Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 2,23-28.
As he was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath, his disciples began
to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on
the sabbath?" He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was
in need and he and his companions were hungry? How he went into the house of God
when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of offering that only the
priests could lawfully eat, and shared it with his companions?" Then he said to
them, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. That is why the
Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for January 22/08
Reports of Deployment Maneuver by Aoun's FPM, Abu Jamra Denies-Naharnet
Kouchner: Syria Banning
Presidential Election-Naharnet
Ahmadinejad, Mubarak
Discuss Lebanon-Naharnet
Syria Imposes Food Blockade on Lebanon-Naharnet
Kouchner: Syria Does Not Want Lebanon Presidential Elections-Naharnet
The first thing leaders need to do-Jerusalem
Post
Majority, Opposition
Clash over 'Remains' of Israeli Soldiers-Naharnet
10 Students Injured in
UNIFIL, School Van Crash-Naharnet
The Opposition Campaign
to Finish Off Suleiman's Nomination-Naharnet
Blazing Tires Protests Strike Again-Naharnet
Gemayel Accuses
Opposition of Seeking to Change Lebanon Regime-Naharnet
Jumblat Accuses
Hizbullah of Creating 'Parallel State-Naharnet
Blazing Tires Protests Strike Again-Naharnet
Jumblat accuses Hizbullah of Creating 'Parallel State'-Naharnet
Gemayel accuses opposition of planning for 'regime change-Daily
Star
Army open fire as Jewish state's warplanes violate airspace over South-Daily
Star
Berlin 'warned Jews' of possible terror threat from Lebanon-Daily
Star
'Obvious' plan to divide Lebanon - patriarch-Daily
Star
Al-Akhbar says it has photos of Israeli soldiers' remains held by Hizbullah-Daily
Star
March 14 condemns attack aimed at Al-Anbaa-Daily Star
Lebanon elected to UN Statistics Commission-Daily
Star
Siniora denounces Israel's blockade of Gaza-Daily
Star
Rallies at refugee camps condemn siege of Gaza-AFP
Vacuum allows Lebanon to be theater for violence-Daily
Star
Beirut puts mobile auction on hold-Daily
Star
ESCWA has no plans to relocate - sources-Daily
Star
Envoy backs calls for stronger links between Lebanese, Italian
civil society-Daily
Star
State favors sects at expense of citizenship - report-Daily
Star
New center offers therapy to Iraqi victims of torture-Daily
Star
Blazing Tires Protests Strike Again
Naharnet/Angry demonstrators protesting against repeated power failures blocked
traffic with burning rubber tires in three districts of Beirut that are
traditional strongholds for Hizbullah and Amal, but army patrols dispersed them
and no casualties were reported. Three separate groups of about 50 people each
blocked traffic for about 20 minutes in the seaside southern suburb of Ouzai and
the Beirut districts of Zokak Blatt and Msaitbeh, but army patrols rushed and
reopened both roads, a police source said. The source, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said no casualties were reported among the security forces that
dispersed the protests.
He refused to answer questions as to whether any arrests have been made. The
developments did not last more than 20 minutes each, according to the source,
but raised tension among the weary population. Such a development has been
frequent in pro-Hizbullah districts in the past 10 days. It started in the
southern suburb of Ghobeiry and along the old airport road. Lebanon has been
suffering from power failures due to a chain of technical problems inflicted on
its network during the ongoing wave of chilly weather and near zero
temperatures. Protestors usually chant slogans attacking Premier Fouad Saniora's
majority government, which reflects the political target of the protests. The
power failures cover almost all Lebanese areas, but protests are reported only
in reputed strongholds of Hizbullah and the AMAL movement, headed by Parliament
Speaker Nabih Berri. Beirut, 21 Jan 08, 19:48
Reports of Deployment Maneuver by Aoun's FPM, Abu Jamra
Denies
Naharnet/Gen. Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement was said to have readied its
supporters in the northern Batroun region to carry out a "deployment maneuver"
to pave the way for a full-scale riot along with its Hizbullah-led opposition
allies later this month. FPM official, Maj. Gen. Issam Abu Jamra, however,
denied the report published on Tuesday, saying the FPM has no "street action
plans."The report, carried by several Beirut dailies, said FPM partisans were
instructed to carry out a "deployment maneuver starting 7 p.m. Tuesday in a bid
to test the pulse of the Batroun residents" ahead of a full-size street action
to be launched after Jan. 27. A senior source with the March 8 coalition said
Opposition factions were almost finished with their "draft agenda" regarding its
broad action in the event that failure of an Arab plan was confirmed and pending
outcome of a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Damascus scheduled for Jan.
27.
The report followed late Monday demonstrations in protest against repeated power
cuts. Angry demonstrators blocked traffic with burning rubber tires in three
districts of Beirut that are traditional strongholds of Hizbullah and Amal.
Three separate groups of about 50 people each blocked traffic for about 20
minutes in the seaside southern suburb of Ouzai and the Beirut districts of
Zokak Blatt and Msaitbeh, but army patrols rushed and reopened both roads, a
police source said.
No casualties were reported among the security forces that dispersed the
protests. A police source refused to answer questions as to whether any arrests
have been made. The developments did not last more than 20 minutes each,
according to the source, but raised tension among the weary population.
Such a development has been frequent in pro-Hizbullah districts in the past 10
days. It started in the southern suburb of Ghobeiry and along the old airport
road.
Lebanon has been suffering from power failures due to a chain of technical
problems inflicted on its network.(Outside AP photo shows Lebanese firefighters
extinguishing garbage containers and inside AP photo shows army soldiers
reopening a street) Beirut, 22 Jan 08, 10:10
The Opposition Campaign to Finish Off Suleiman's Nomination
Naharnet/Columnist Ali Hamade on Tuesday urged Army Commander Gen. Michel
Suleiman to be "extremely careful" because his nomination for president makes
him a target for alleged Syrian-Iranian terror attacks. Under the headline
"getting ready for the worst," Hamade wrote in the daily an-Nahar: The "March 8
forces are carrying out serious efforts to finish off Gen. Suleiman's nomination
as a unanimous candidate." "The attempt to finish off Suleiman's nomination goes
through dragging him to the street (confrontation) to get involved in blood in
order to swoop down on him and on his consensus status," Hamade wrote.
"The decision has become crystal clear: Michel Suleiman would not be president,"
he noted. "That is why Michel Suleiman should be extremely careful in the
forthcoming era … the targets of Syria and Iran are at stake," Hamade wrote. He
concluded that "this means that Suleiman has been labeled a target for terror
attacks by the two forces," Syria and Iran. Beirut, 22 Jan 08, 14:31
Syria Imposes Food Blockade on Lebanon
Naharnet/Syria has imposed a blockade of food supplies on Lebanon, the daily An
Nahar reported Tuesday. The report, citing information received by Lebanese
authorities, said Syrian customs authorities circulated to all border
checkpoints their decision to prevent trucks and vehicles carrying food supplies
from crossing Lebanon as of 6 p.m. Monday. An Nahar said Lebanese authorities
had no "explanation to Damascus' surprise decision," but hinted that the siege
coincided with Monday nights' protests in Beirut. Long convoys of cargo trucks
queued at the Abboudieh-Dabbousieh northern border crossing between Lebanon and
Syria on Jan. 11 after Syrian authorities launched strict inspection procedures.
The crisis worsened the following day with the number of stranded trucks
reaching 200 as Syrian security and customs authorities kicked off a campaign of
heavy inspection of cargo headed to Syria. A source at the public works and
transportation ministry said at the time that there was "no border crisis with
Syria." Beirut, 22 Jan 08, 11:14
10 Students Injured in UNIFIL, School Van Crash
Ten Lebanese students were injured Tuesday in a crash between a UNIFIL personnel
carrier and a minivan transporting the pupils to a school in southern Lebanon,
the National News Agency reported. It said the minivan was carrying 28 students
to Issa bin Mariam School when the crash occurred between Debbin and Marjayoun.
The Lebanese army and U.N. peacekeepers launched an investigation into the
incident, NNA said. Beirut, 22 Jan 08, 12:52
Kouchner: Syria Banning Presidential Election
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner accused Syria bluntly of
banning Lebanon presidential elections and declared that a settlement to the
crisis has reached a dead-end. "Things have reached a dead-end because one party
does not want presidential elections," Kouchner told Arab journalists late
Monday.
"They do not want elections," Kouchner said. When asked who he meant by "they",
Kouchner said: "Syria through its Lebanese allies." "Syria wants to appoint the
prime minister and the ministers and determine their portfolios and set the
government's platform through its allies in Beirut," Kouchner added.
He expressed willingness to return to Beirut if need be, "but my return now is
useless." The foreign minister said that unless Syria "implements its promises"
he will not visit Damascus. Beirut, 22 Jan 08, 07:43
Ahmadinejad, Mubarak Discuss Lebanon
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak
have discussed Lebanon's political crisis during a telephone conversation, the
official MENA news agency reported. It said the two leaders also discussed the
latest Palestinian developments. Ahmadinejad's phone call late Monday was the
latest sign of improvement in relations frozen since 1980, according to MENA. It
is believed to be the first contact between Mubarak, in power since 1981, and
Ahmadinejad, president since June 2005.Iranian former nuclear negotiator Ali
Larijani said during a visit to Egypt earlier this month that ties between the
two countries were improving. Diplomatic relations were cut a year after the
1979 Islamic revolution in protest at Egypt's recognition of Israel and its
hosting of the deposed Shah. Ahmadinejad has said he favors resuming ties which
would be "in the interest of the two peoples."Speaker of the Iranian parliament
Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel will visit Cairo next week to attend a meeting of
parliament speakers of Islamic countries and to meet senior Egyptian officials,
MENA said.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 22 Jan 08, 10:46
Majority, Opposition Clash over 'Remains' of Israeli
Soldiers
Naharnet/War of words between the majority and the opposition picked up anew
over the language used by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in which he
said his group has the "heads" and "body parts" of soldiers that the Israeli
army had abandoned. One of the prominent responses came from former
President Amin Gemayel, who is a leading member of the pro-government
anti-Syrian March 14 coalition. "We regret some of the terminology and some
images that many Lebanese found disgusting in Sayyed Nasrallah's speech,"
Gemayel said. Nasrallah declared over the weekend that Hizbullah has in its
possession a "large number of soldiers" that the Israeli army left behind during
the 2006 war. "We have the heads, the hands, the feet and even a nearly intact
corpse from the head down to the pelvis," Nasrallah said in a live video
broadcast that followed his surprise appearance in his stronghold in the
southern suburbs of Beirut to commemorate Ashoura, Shiite Islam's holiest day.
Hizbullah MP Hassan Fadlallah quickly retorted, saying "we believed that the
emotions and inclinations of his Excellency (Gemayel) have died with time and
that he no longer had feelings for enemy leaders." Hizbullah official Nawaf
Moussawi, in turn, attacked Gemayel. "(Israeli) rockets did not stop our march
and so will not the bombs of (Gemayel) insults," Moussawi said. Meanwhile,
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat accused the opposition of
seeking to create a "parallel state" in Lebanon. He blamed the opposition for
"programmed destruction of all political and economic structures in Lebanon."
Beirut, 22 Jan 08, 14:35
Gemayel Accuses Opposition of
Seeking to Change Lebanon Regime
Former President Amin Gemayel on Monday said the Hizbullah-led opposition does
not want to negotiate compromises put forwarded by an Arab League plan to end
the presidential crisis, but is rather seeking to "change the regime in
Lebanon.""We are certain, and we have information that if we grant the
opposition veto power or the three 10s, it will find other exits to block any
settlement," Gemayel said at a news conference. "We are certain they want to
change the regime … and we believe this is a coup against Taef and the
constitution," Gemayel told reporters from his residence in Sin el-Fil. "Does
the aim behind an institutional void serve Hizbullah's mini-state?" Gemayel
asked. e aim behind obstructing a national decision for the good of
Hizbullah?" Gemayel wondered. He reiterated that the majority March 14 alliance
backs the Arab plan and said clarifications of the initiative by Arab League
chief Amr Moussa were "fair." Gemayel said that March 14 has accepted to give up
its right of an absolute majority in return for the opposition's approval to
abandon its veto power demand. The Phalange Party leader also stressed that the
majority adheres to the nomination of army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman as
President. Beirut, 21 Jan 08, 13:24
Berri to Sarkozy: Lebanon Enjoys Independence
Naharnet/Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has dismissed accusations by French
President Nicolas Sarkozy that he was responsible for the presidential vacuum.
"I hope you are aware that Lebanon is an independent and sovereign country,"
Berri said in remarks published Tuesday. "He who has called for dialogue
sessions and an election session 14 times cannot be accused of shutting
parliament," Berri added. Sarkozy has slammed Berri for shutting parliament's
doors and stressed that the Lebanese should elect a head of state through
"understanding." "We want the election of a president in Lebanon through
understanding. We don't accept that the parliament speaker keeps the key of the
legislature to shut it," Sarkozy told Al Jazeera TV network Sunday. "Which
country in the world accepts" this? Sarkozy asked in comments that came shortly
after Berri postponed till Feb. 11 a parliament session to elect a president.
The latest delay brought to 13 the number of sessions that have been postponed
since September, amid failure by the rival parties to pick a successor to
President Emile Lahoud whose term ended in November. Beirut, 22 Jan 08, 11:17
Jumblat Accuses Hizbullah of
Creating 'Parallel State'
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat accused Monday the
Hizbullah-led opposition of seeking to create a "parallel state" in Lebanon.
Jumblat, in an editorial to be published Tuesday by the PSP weekly mouthpiece
al-Anbaa, wrote: "We reiterate our respect to all international resolutions,
including UNSCRs 1559 and 1701 because all such resolutions fall in line with
the Taef accord."Such international resolutions, according to Jumblat, also
support "the state of Lebanon that they (opposition) want to smash to create
their own parallel state, through which they can change Lebanon into an arena
for their targets and aspirations and the expansionist agendas of their
allies."He also blamed the opposition for "programmed destruction of all
political and economic structures in Lebanon.""The ongoing policy of economic
destruction is premeditated," Jumblat noted. He criticized the verbal attacks
launched by "dwarfs of Lebanon's politics" against Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah
Sfeir. Beirut, 21 Jan 08, 19:07