LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 29/08

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 3,22-30. The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons."Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin."For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Hezbollah's dangerous media arm-WorldNetDaily. January 28/08
Hezbollah’s bags of cash. By W. Thomas Smith, Jr. January 28/08
Go Back to School. By: Elias Harfouch. January 28/08

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for January 28/08
Berri, Suleiman Agree to Investigate Sunday's Deaths-Naharnet
FACTBOX-Key players in Lebanon's political crisis-Reuters
Lebanon Marks Day of Mourning for Riot Victims-Naharnet
Lebanon on High Alert-Naharnet
Families Bury Their Loves Ones-Naharnet
Hizbullah Blames Government for Unrest, Urges Army to Expose 'Criminal Side'-Naharnet
Mehlis: Hariri Murder Probe 'Appears to Have Lost Momentum'-Naharnet
Sfeir: Problmes Cannot be Solved through Street Protests-Naharnet
Lebanon in mourning after fresh violence-Times Online
Lebanese PM declares day of mourning after riots-Africasia
Eight shot dead in Beirut opposition protests-Reuters
March 14 Accuses Syria, Iran of Stirring Unrest-Naharnet
Arab FMs Urge Feuding Sides to Elect Suleiman on Feb. 11-Naharnet
Arab foreign ministers send Moussa back to Lebanon-Daily Star
At least eight dead as Beirut protests get ugly-Daily Star
Olmert prepares for fallout of final report from panel probing 2006 war-AFP
'He was very kind:' slain ISF investigator laid to rest-Daily Star
Army seizes cache of weapons in Sidon-AFP
US Embassy denies warning citizens to leave-Daily Star
Media malfeasance in Lebanon-Daily Star
Sfeir hits unity theme again: 'It seems as if everyone has let go of their country'-Daily Star
Eight people shot dead in Beirut protests-NEWS.com.au
Sfeir hits unity theme again: 'It seems as if everyone has let go ...Daily Star
Lebanese ICT companies weather political, economic challenges - study
Zoqaq al-Blat residents voice anger over power cuts-Daily Star
Americans in Lebanon gear up for presidential poll-Daily Star
Final Lebanon war Report Expected to be Critical of Olmert-Naharnet
Amal group says protester killed in Beirut clash-Reuters
Two shot dead in Beirut violence-BBC News
Riots Renew in Beirut with Protestors Tossing Stones at Troops, One Amal Official Killed-Naharnet
Final Lebanon war Report Expected to be Critical of Olmert-Naharnet
Fadlallah Calls for Bush Trial over Iraq-Naharnet
Jumblat Warns Arabs against standing Crippled before Assad, Ahmadinejad-Naharnet

Sfeir: Problems Cannot be Solved through Street Protests
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir said Monday that riots and street protests do not solve the country's problems. "Problems cannot be solved through street (protests), but rather inside constitutional institutions," he said about Sunday's riots that left seven people killed in Beirut's southern suburbs. Sfeir also stressed the need to speed up presidential elections to be followed by the formation of a national unity government. His remarks came after a meeting with a delegation of lawyers representing the majority March 14 alliance. The delegation quoted Sfeir as condemning the riots and asking the "Lord" not to let disorder spread in Lebanon. Sfeir also was quoted as stressing on the need to restore unity among the Lebanese people. Beirut, 28 Jan 08, 13:21

Lebanon on High Alert
Naharnet/The Lebanese army was on high alert in Beirut on Monday following weekend riots that left at least seven people dead and stoked fears of civil unrest.
Troops were out in force, setting up sandbags and checkpoints along many roads leading from the southern suburbs to other areas of the capital.
Also traffic was thinner than usual throughout Beirut. In the troubled neighborhoods, shops were closed and some residents were clearing broken glass and inspecting their property. The scene was a stark reminder of the beginning of the 1975-1990 civil war as the first line of demarcation at the time was in the same area.  Seven people were killed in Sunday's riots and at least 40 were injured. Newspapers carried ominous headlines warning of civil war if the situation got out of hand. "Black Sunday" said the headline in the daily Al-Mustaqbal. "The demons of discord are attempting to reignite the fires of the civil war," screamed a headline in the French daily L'Orient-Le-Jour. Ad-Diyar newspaper said Sunday's clashes harked back to the dark days of the civil war as the protests began in the Mar Mikhael area of southern Beirut, near the site where the first spark of the 15-year sectarian conflict was ignited. Future TV also said the scenes were "reminiscent of the ugly image of the civil war that has destroyed the hopes of the Lebanese for decades."(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 28 Jan 08, 10:30

Hizbullah Blames Government for Unrest, Urges Army to Expose 'Criminal Side'
Naharnet/Hizbullah blamed the government for Sunday's unrest in which seven people were killed and called on the Lebanese army to expose the "criminal side."
A statement issued by Hizbullah at dawn Monday said the shooting coincided with the arrival of Lebanese troops to disperse the protestors.
It said the gunfire also came as committee members of Hizbullah and Amal movement tried to facilitate the withdrawal of the demonstrators where Amal official Ahmed Hamza was killed. "What happened was a big crime" said the statement which held Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government responsible.
"At a time we hold the status-quo government responsible for every drop of blood, we call on the army command to clearly announce … the criminal side that killed innocent citizens," the statement said. It asked whether the victims "fell by army fire, and in that case we demand to know who gave orders to soldiers to open fire."
"Or is there another side? Who is it?" Hizbullah asked. Beirut, 28 Jan 08, 09:21

Berri, Suleiman Agree to Investigate Sunday's Deaths
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri and Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman agreed Monday on the need to investigate the deaths of seven people during clashes in Beirut's southern suburbs, the National News Agency reported. It said the two sides agreed in Ain el Tineh on a "serious, effective and swift" probe to look into Sunday's incidents which occurred after angry protesters began burning tires and blocking some major roads. The protests against electricity rationing quickly degenerated into street violence and the army deployed to prevent the unrest from spreading into other areas. It was unclear how the deaths occurred and if an unidentified party opened fire. One of the people killed was an official with Berri's Amal movement who was coordinating with the army to reduce tensions.
NNA also said that Suleiman presented his condolences to Berri.(AP photo shows a man checking the wreckage of his car after it was burned out by angry protestors) Beirut, 28 Jan 08, 15:58

Lebanon Marks Day of Mourning for Riot Victims
Naharnet/Lebanon on Monday observes a day of national mourning for the seven victims who fell the previous day in violent riots in Beirut's southern suburbs over power cuts. The violence began around 4 pm when stone-throwing protestors blocked the Mar Mikhael road in the Shiyah neighborhood with burning tires protesting power outages. Electricite du Liban, however, denied reports of extended power cuts in the southern suburbs, besides the sudden outage caused last week when a cable was damaged by drilling, adding that it was promptly repaired. It coincided with sporadic bursts of gunfire in which Ahmad Hamza, an official with the Amal movement, headed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, was killed. "Hamza has passed away after being shot in the back," an Amal official said, adding that he was unable to identify the source of the fire.  The other victims were four Hizbullah activists, a rescue worker and a civilian. At least 40 other people were wounded, according to AFP. Orange TV, mouthpiece of Gen. Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement, showed footage of what it said were snipers on rooftops.  A statement by FPM stressed its rejection of violence and urged authorities to open an investigation into Sunday's riots and punish the protestors.
Press reports on Monday said Lebanese army troops arrested a large number of men in a wide-scale raid carried out overnight.
The bloodshed came amid fears of civil unrest in Lebanon which has been gripped by a prolonged presidential crisis, and two days after a massive car bombing killed a top intelligence officer and four other people.
Violence swept the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of Hizbullah which is spearheading a campaign against the ruling March 14 coalition.
Youths wielding sticks and iron bars went on the rampage, pelting cars with stones and setting some on fire while the army was out in force in a bid to prevent the riots from spreading to nearby Sunni and Christian districts.
Prime Minister Fouad Saniora declared Monday a national day of mourning and ordered schools and universities closed.
"This is an hour of sadness. Our country is passing through the most dangerous times," he said in a late Sunday night statement.
"I call on all the people to put their trust in the army at these most difficult times and await the results of the investigations that the army and the security services are undertaking," Saniora added.
The riots were the worst since January 2007 when seven people were killed in clashes between students loyal to rival camps, prompting the army to impose a brief curfew for the first time since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.
The army command said in a communiqué that the protests coincided with gunfire that left two citizens killed, adding that it had opened an investigation.
The violence escalated after Hamza, who was cooperating with the army, was killed. It was unclear, however, who fired at the victims.
Amal officials said their party "will not be dragged into any provocation" and demanded a probe.
Both Amal and Hizbullah called for self restraint and urged the protesters to go home and allow the security forces to restore order.
"The situation must be contained. We appeal to all the people who are on the streets to go home so that security forces can restore calm to the region," Amal MP Ali Hassan Khalil said.
Khalil insisted that Amal was not behind the protests, saying: "We believe that such actions do not resolve the demands being made by the protesters."
March 14 blamed the opposition for the unrest saying it was being manipulated by its supporters Syria and Iran.
"The forces of the Syrian-Iranian axis are fomenting unrest and these events are very dangerous," it said in a statement. "The opposition, which answers to Syria and Iran, is solely responsible for the blood spilled today."
The army shut down many roads to stop the protests from spreading, and soldiers also took positions on rooftops.
But as night fell, riots spread to reach the airport highway, where demonstrators cut the main road with burning tires. Soon afterwards protestors cut the Mar Elias road in west Beirut while gunfire rang out sporadically across the southern suburbs.
The army fired warning shots to disperse the demonstrators.
Riots also reached south Lebanon, where the coastal highway between Sidon and Tyre was closed by blazing tires.
The road to Baalbek in east Lebanon's Bekaa valley was also briefly closed.
A car that had been set ablaze exploded, triggering panic in Beirut only two days after the massive Chevrolet bombing killed a top anti-terror officer and four other people.
Witnesses said that gunmen in the crowd opened fire at the security forces who retaliated.
Around 9:30 pm, a group of men, said to be carrying Hizbullah and Amal flags, moved towards Ein el-Rummaneh and one of them tossed a hand grenade on a crowd of men, wounding seven. One of the injured said the wounded men were Ein el-Rummaneh residents who rushed out of their homes when they saw the flag-wielding group coming down Bikassini road. By midnight, bulldozers had removed remnants of burning tires from the Mar Mikhael-Shiyah area after rain showers helped put out the flames. Troops also reopened other roads that were blocked by burning tires and garbage bins. Sunday's unrest came as Arab League foreign ministers were meeting in Cairo to try to press feuding Lebanese politicians to elect a new president to fill a seat that has been vacant since November 24.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 28 Jan 08, 07:41

Lebanon's 'Naked Truth' and Syria's Rejection of Suleiman's Presidency
Naharnet/Lebanon's leading columnist MP Ghassan Tueni noted Monday that Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa's report to Arab foreign ministers was merely naked truth that lacked interpretations. The report submitted Sunday to the ministers' meeting in Cairo also was "row" actuality and mere implementation of junior diplomacy teachings along the lines of "what you saw and heard, not what you had hoped to hear from the person you are initiating a dialogue with," according to Tueni's article published in the daily an-Nahar. He recalled an Arabic language translation of an article by British journalist Patrick Seil published by the pan-Arab Daily al-Hayat on Saturday, which stated that Syria no more supports the nomination of Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman for president.
Syria, Seil was quoted as writing, has shifted to the Saudi-American axis. He also referred to a "rumor" in Damascus that the Lebanese Army commander has made a "secret" visit to Saudi Arabia and allegedly made "commitments" regarding his future alliances.
Did Syria frankly inform Arab foreign ministers in Cairo on Sunday that electing Gen. Suleiman president is a "risk that it is not ready to take?" Tueni asked.
And in case Syria did relay its reservations on Suleiman to the Arabs, would Lebanon proceed with his election "knowing that such a reservation could gradually develop into opposition ranging from rejecting cooperation to hampering formation of an entente government?" he also asked.
Tueni concluded by recommending electing Suleiman president and advised him to maintain his "independence, domestic balance and to keep the army a red line and on the alert to guard the homeland and its good 'strategic' relations with sisterly Syria. Would Arab governments be able to "Guard Lebanon's presidency and facilitate its Lebanese independence while Syria accuses Gen. Suleiman of bias in favor of Saudi Arabia and America?" Tueni asked. Beirut, 28 Jan 08, 13:28

Mehlis: Hariri Murder Probe 'Appears to Have Lost Momentum'
Naharnet/Former U.N. Chief investigator Detlev Mehlis has criticized his successor Serge Brammertz and warned that the vitality of the probe into ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's Feb. 2005 murder may be disappearing. "I haven't seen a word in his reports during the past two years confirming that he has moved forward," Mehlis told The Wall Street Journal over the weekend. "A new commissioner has been installed. So it's a good time for a very last summing up on my part," Mehlis said.
He was referring to the appointment of former Canadian prosecutor Daniel Bellemare to head the Hariri probe after the Security Council approved Brammertz' nomination to head the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, starting Jan. 1.
Mehlis, who was the first U.N. chief investigator, has said in his reports that the Hariri plot's complexity suggested that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services had a role, but Brammertz has not echoed his view. Four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals have been under arrest for almost two years for alleged involvement in the murder. In his final appearance before the U.N. Security Council in December, Brammertz said that progress made in the last few months has enabled investigators to identify "a number of persons of interest" who may have been involved in some aspect of the crime -- or knew about the preparations.
The investigation "appears to have lost the momentum it had until January 2006," Mehlis said in the interview. "When I left we were ready to name suspects, but it seems not to have progressed from that stage." "If you have suspects you don't allow them to roam free for years to tamper with evidence," Mehlis told The Wall Street Journal. The German prosecutor also criticized Brammertz for wasting valuable time in reopening analysis of the crime scene because the commission ended up confirming Mehlis' conclusion that Hariri had been killed by an above-ground explosion. "We needed two years of investigative endeavor to discover this?" Mehlis wondered. About the Belgian prosecutors' secrecy in conducting the inquiry, Mehlis said: "The Lebanese public has to be informed, even if there are setbacks in the investigation. In a democracy people have the right to know, particularly when a prime minister was murdered and people don't trust the authorities."
Mehlis also predicted that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will be set up this summer, but "people should not expect a trial within the next two to three years, unless the investigation regains momentum." He feared that "suspects will end up in a judicial no-man's land, with Lebanon claiming they are under the U.N.'s jurisdiction, and the U.N. saying that they must remain under Lebanese jurisdiction." "No one can abolish this tribunal. I may not be happy about the time frame, but am deeply convinced the case can be solved and will be solved," he said. Beirut, 28 Jan 08, 11:47

Arab FMs Urge Feuding Sides to Elect Suleiman on Feb. 11
Arab foreign ministers urged Lebanon's feuding factions on Sunday to resolve their long-running political crisis and elect a new president to fill a post that has been empty for two months. The ministers were gathered for talks in Cairo on the Lebanese crisis and the situation in Gaza where Palestinians were continuing to cross into Egypt after militants bombed out the border barricades last Tuesday night. Arab League chief Amr Moussa has held several rounds of talks with political leaders in Lebanon to spur them to elect a new president and end the crisis which has left the country without a president since November 24.
On January 5 he proposed a three-point Arab initiative calling for army chief General Michel Suleiman to be elected president, the formation of a national unity government in which no one party has veto power, and the adoption of a new electoral law. Lebanon's ruling coalition has accepted the plan but the Hizbullah-led opposition is demanding a third of the seats in a new government so the opposition can have veto power. In a statement issued after the meeting which ended shortly before midnight Sunday, the ministers urged all sides in the dispute to vote for Suleiman in a new parliamentary session set for February 11, the 13th attempt to choose a president. They also called on the majority and the Syrian-backed opposition to hold discussions to reach an accord on the formation of a unity government. The foreign ministers had also been expected to discuss developments in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
Gaza's main border crossing with Egypt -- the only one that bypasses Israel -- has been open since militants blew up several sections of the barrier amid a punishing Israeli blockade. Speaking on the sidelines of the Davos meeting in Switzerland on Thursday, Moussa condemned the Israeli blockade as a "campaign to starve the people there" and said it undermined the already struggling peace process.(AFP) Beirut, 28 Jan 08, 00:45

Jumblat Warns Arabs against Standing Crippled before Assad, Ahmadinejad
Naharnet/Druze leader Walid Jumblat warned Arab foreign ministers due to meet in Cairo on Sunday against standing helpless before Syria and Iran and called on them to salvage Lebanon from falling prey to Damascus and its Lebanese allies. Jumblat also was skeptical about partnership with the Hizbullah-led opposition.
"We always call for partnership. We have reached out (to the opposition and called) time and again for partnership," Jumblat told Ash-Sharq Alawsat newspaper.
"But is partnership possible with a party that doesn't believe in it (partnership)?" Jumblat asked. He said that "when we dared to denounce the tutelage regime … bloody messages began with a first message to (Telecommunications Minister) Marwan Hamadeh followed by various other messages (aimed at) obliterating all symbols of independence and sovereignty."In a separate interview with the Future News television, Jumblat accused the Syrian regime and its allies of standing behind the assassination of Capt. Wissan Eid. He said it "is impossible for vehicles with a huge number of explosives to roam the streets without knowledge of the allies." "Enough lies," Jumblat pleaded. "They neither want the army nor the intelligence bureau of the Internal Security Forces nor the government because they don't acknowledge the state of Lebanon."Jumblat believed that as long as "some" Arab states feared to condemn Syria then Lebanon will not survive being torn apart by the "claws of the Syrian regime."He urged Arab foreign ministers as well as Arab League chief Amr Moussa to denounce Syria. Beirut, 27 Jan 08, 08:50

March 14 Accuses Syria, Iran of Stirring Unrest
The pro-government majority March 14 Forces blamed the Hizbullah-led opposition for Sunday's unrest, saying it was being manipulated by its supporters – Syria and Iran. "The forces of the Syrian-Iranian axis are fomenting unrest and these events are very dangerous," March 14 said in a statement.
"The opposition, which answers to Syria and Iran, is solely responsible for the blood spilled today (Sunday)," it added.
Meanwhile, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea accused "people linked to non-Lebanese intelligence services of standing behind" Sunday's riots.
Geagea said the unrest had "nothing to do with social demands," adding that the protestors' ages and the face that no women were involved "prove that some sort of a political activity" was behind the unrest. He said a number of Lebanese troops were among the wounded "which confirms that what happened was exchange of fire between the protestors and the Lebanese army." Geagea, citing information obtained by the Lebanese Forces, said among those involved in the confrontation "are known for their links with intelligence services." Beirut, 28 Jan 08, 10:09

At least eight dead as Beirut protests get ugly
Opposition parties tell members to leave streets, army begins investigation into shootings
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Monday, January 28, 2008
At least eight people were killed and about 22 others wounded in Beirut on Sunday in some of the worst internal violence since Lebanon's 1975-1990 Civil War, raising tensions in a country gripped by a political crisis. Riots continued until late Sunday night, and as The Daily Star went to press The Lebanese Army had still not contained violence which erupted in Beirut's southern suburbs.
Sunday's protest began in the Mar Mikhael area of southern Beirut, near the site of the massacre of Palestinians that triggered the Civil War.
The violence spiraled after an activist from the opposition Amal Movement, Ali Hassan Hamza, was shot dead, reportedly as was urging members of his group to heed army calls to break up an angry demonstration against power cuts.
Late on Sunday a hand grenade was tossed in the neighborhood of Ain al-Rummaneh, the Christian neighborhood parallel to Mar Mikhael, wounding four people.
The army, which has labored to remain neutral in the crisis, had fired in the air to disperse the initial protest. It said it was investigating who was behind the shooting.
Heavy gunfire was heard and gunmen were seen in both Shiite and Christian neighborhoods. Several cars were set ablaze in Beirut and protests spread beyond the capital to Shiite villages in the South and the Bekaa Valley to the east.
Protesters used blazing tires to block several main roads, including the highway to the airport in violence that outstripped that witnessed a year ago when clashes between supporters of the ruling March 14 Forces coalition and its opposition rivals claimed five lives.
The opposition has been locked in a power struggle for more than a year with the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. The conflict has fueled sectarian tensions between Shiites loyal to the opposition and Sunni followers of the Siniora government, as well as Christian factions on both sides.
At least four of the dead were close to Hizbullah, which together with Amal has the support of the Shiite population.
Security sources said one soldier was hurt when protesters threw stones during the initial protest.
Amal, led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, called on its followers to halt the protests. "We have no link to this action. We call on people not to react. We call on them to pull out of the streets," Amal MP Ayyub Humayyed told LBCI television.
Hizbullah, which leads the opposition alliance, used loudspeakers to urge calm.
In a statement, March 14 accused the opposition of stirring chaos in Lebanon "to serve Syrian and Iranian interests."
As night fell gunfire rang out sporadically across the southern suburbs.
A car that had been set on fire exploded, triggering panic in Beirut, where only two days ago a massive car bombing killed a top intelligence officer and four other people.
A senior security official warned that the riots could spread unless politicians reigned in their supporters.
"The politicians alone can decide whether to contain their followers or to give them the green light to spread mayhem," the official told AFP. "But all indications are that the situation will escalate and that these protests will become our daily fare."
At about 6:30 p.m., scores of opposition supporters briefly blocked a coastal road between the southern cities of Tyre and Sidon to protest the shooting of Hamza, according to residents in the area. In the eastern Bekaa Valley, several roads were blocked by opposition supporters. Both areas are predominantly Shiite and famously lacking in government services such as electricity.
Demonstrators have faced off with security forces on several occasions in recent days over power cuts and rising prices.
On Thursday hundreds of people blocked roads and prevented travelers from reaching the airport amid a nationwide labor strike over rising prices.
Electricity cutoffs in recent months were extended for the first time to Beirut, where more than 1 million Lebanese live. More than 10 years after Lebanon's Civil War, the country's power grid has still not been fully restored, and such protests have been common in the past weeks, mainly in areas where the opposition has strong support.
Sunday's unrest came as Arab League foreign ministers were meeting in Cairo to try to find a solution to Lebanon's political crisis and by getting feuding Lebanese politicians to elect a new president to fill a seat that has been vacant since midnight November 23. The commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Michel Suleiman - who is tipped to be president if the ruling majority and the opposition can agree - warned last week that "any action that could trigger civil conflict is banned." - With agencies

Riots Renew in Beirut with Protestors Tossing Stones at Troops, One Amal Official Killed
The crackle of gunfire was heard over Beirut Sunday after violent demonstrators -- protesting power cuts -- tossed stones at heavily armed Lebanese soldiers and blocked main roads with blazing tires and burning garbage bins. Security sources said one Amal movement official was killed and several people were wounded.
The official was identified as Ahmad Hamza, Amal's representative in the Hay Moawwad quarter of Shiyah, where protests first broke out around 4 pm.
"Hamza has passed away after being shot in the back," an Amal official told AFP, adding that he was unable to identify the source of the fire.
"Amal will not be dragged into any provocation," he said.
A security official and witnesses told AFP that gunmen opened fire on Lebanese troops in the southern suburbs of Beirut where demonstrators had blocked roads with burning tires to protest against power cuts in that area.
But as night fell, riots spread to reach the airport highway, where demonstrators cut the main road with burning tires. Soon afterwards protestors cut the coastal highway between Sidon and Tyre with blazing tires.
The road to Baalbek in east Lebanon's Bekaa valley was also briefly closed.
Witnesses said gunfire rang out sporadically across the southern suburbs, although the source of the firing could not be determined.
The Amal official told AFP that Hamza was not among the protesters.
"Hamza was not a demonstrator. He cooperated with the army on a regular basis whenever there were such similar protests in the region," he said. "The protests were initially spontaneous."
According to the security official, the shooting occurred after demonstrators set ablaze tires, blocking a main road linking the Shiyah and Mar Mikhael neighborhoods in the southern suburbs to protest power shortages.
The army fired warning shots to disperse the demonstrators, the official said.
Demonstrators carried sticks and metal bars and witnesses said some gunmen in the crowd opened fire at the security forces who responded by firing at them.
Troops were seen taking positions on rooftops, one witness told AFP.
Dozens of demonstrators were on the streets between the neighborhoods of Shiyah and Mar Mikhael and some protesters were also emerging on the streets further south, witnesses said.
Demonstrators have faced off with security forces on several occasions in the past few days over the power cuts.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 27 Jan 08, 21:02

Arab foreign ministers send Moussa back to Lebanon
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Monday, January 28, 2008
Arab League foreign ministers met in Cairo on Sunday to try to find a solution to nudge feuding Lebanese politicians to elect a new president and put an end to the almost 14-month-old political standoff which has crippled the country. Arab League chief Amr Moussa held bilateral talks with several Arab diplomats ahead of the meeting, including with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu al-Gheit, who told reporters on Saturday the meeting would help shed light on a proposed Arab initiative to end the stalemate in Lebanon.
The foreign ministers "will issue a statement that will clarify the more obscure parts of the Arab initiative," Gheit had said without elaborating.
Shortly before The Daily Star went to press, the foreign ministers released a statement reiterating their confidence in the Arab League plan and indicating that Moussa would be retuning to Beirut in yet another bid to broker consensus . Moussa has held several rounds of talks with feuding political leaders in Lebanon to spur them to elect a new president and end the crisis which has left the country without a president since November 23. On January 5 Moussa proposed a three-point Arab initiative calling for army chief General Michel Suleiman to be elected president, the formation of a national unity government, and the adoption of a new electoral law.
Lebanon's ruling parliamentary majority has accepted the plan but the Hizbullah-led opposition is demanding a third of the seats in a new government, giving them veto power. In a report presented to the foreign ministers, Moussa called on Arab countries to continue diplomatic efforts to resolve the political crisis and heal deep mistrust in Lebanon.
Moussa also urged the foreign ministers to "continue efforts to provide the appropriate atmosphere on the Arab, regional and international fronts to aid the Arab League in its efforts with the Lebanese parties in a positive manner.
"The efforts should take into account the political and security fears and suspicions of the two sides, and their place in Lebanese politics, with its Arab, regional and international dimensions. The differences between the two sides on the formation of the Cabinet reflect the extent of the lack of trust between them, and have implications that go beyond just numbers," he said.
In a separate development, US President George W. Bush late on Saturday told Syria and Iran to "stop meddling" in Lebanon's internal affairs.
Iran, which supports the opposition in its power struggle with Beirut's Western-allied government, came under criticism along with Syria for allegedly working to undermine Lebanese institutions.
"We demand that Syria, Iran and their allies end their interference in and obstruction of Lebanon's political process," Bush said on Saturday.
"We will not falter in our support" for Sinora, Bush said. "We renew our call for the immediate selection of a new president in accordance with Lebanon's Constitution."
Bush said he appreciated UN efforts on a special tribunal for Lebanon that, the president said, "will hold accountable those who are responsible for the systematic campaign of murder and intimidation."
"I urge Lebanon's friends and allies to commit immediately the remaining funds required for the tribunal to commence its work," Bush said.
Echoing Bush's stance, head of the Democratic Gathering MP Walid Jumblatt warned the Arab foreign ministers against standing helpless before Syria and Iran and called on them to save Lebanon from falling prey to Damascus. He also was skeptical about partnership with the Hizbullah-led opposition.
"We always call for partnership. We have reached out to the opposition and called time and again for partnership," Jumblatt told Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper on Saturday. "But is partnership possible with a party that doesn't believe in it?"
In a separate interview on Future television Jumblatt said that as long as "some" Arab states remained fearful of condemning Syria, Lebanon will not survive being torn apart by the "claws of the Syrian regime."
He urged the Arab foreign ministers, as well as Moussa, to denounce Syria.
Jumblatt arrived in Moscow on Sunday for consultations with Russian leaders on the situation in that Arab country.
He plans to hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov next week, Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported.
According to Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov, Russia advocates "an accord between Lebanese people without outside interference and the earliest election of General Michel Suleiman" to the presidency.
The deputy minister noted in an interview with Itar-Tass that serious differences persist between the political sides on such a problem as formation of a national unity government.
"We hope that the knot of problems will be unravelled thanks to efforts of the Arab League," Saltanov said. "Russia backs the Arab initiative and seeks, using all its possibilities, to promote the mission of Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa." - With agencies

Go Back to School!
Elias Harfouch
Al-Hayat - 27/01/08//
Syrian minister Walid al-Muallim was not joking when he suggested that his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner "study more" before he could comprehend Syria's strategy. Many besides Kouchner are incapable of understanding this strategy, and consequently they must go back to school!
The problem in understanding this strategy begins with the contradiction between the declared objectives and the means employed to realize them. For example, Damascus participated with an official delegation at the Annapolis Conference in proximity of the American capital which is the target of condemnation by Syrian, Syrian-sponsored and pro-Syrian media. On the other hand, Syria has no qualms about the fact that the Annapolis negotiations complement previous Palestinian-Israeli negotiations and other rounds of negotiation that involved both Syria and Israel on the basis of retrieving the territories occupied in 1967.
Any reasonable person would understand from this that Damascus agrees with this strategy which enjoys Arab consensus. Yet, when the time comes for implementation, that is, when the Palestinians and the Israelis agree, as a result of American pressures, to begin negotiations that everybody knows are going to be difficult because of Israel's stubbornness and its attempts to evade international resolutions and its refusal to agree to the minimum of Palestinian rights, which requires Arab consensus and support for the Palestinian negotiator, Damascus sponsors a Palestinian conference that it dubs "national," although the only nationalists participating in it are those upon whom Damascus bestowed this description. These nationalists decide to "reject the results of the Annapolis Conference," and demand "historical Palestine from the river to the sea," and they stir up doubts about the right of the "Oslo team" to represent the Palestinian people.
When a Syrian role is suspected behind declaring such unusual intransigence from the capital of a state participating in the negotiations,
the reply is voiced by Minister Walid al-Muallim who suggests in front of the Dutch Foreign Minister that those unable to understand should go back to school by saying: there are Palestinian political organization sin Syria, and if Holland has freedom of expression, so does Syria!
Once again, Minister Al-Muallim was not joking since this freedom of expression exists in Syria just as it does in the Netherlands as well as among Syria's allies and friends in Lebanon. This is also another arena with regard to which any observer must return to school in order to be able to understand Syria's strategy. The Syrian leadership, for example, participated in the formulation of the clauses of the recent Arab initiative concerning Lebanon which implies Syria's agreement to these clauses. When the time came for implementation, it became clear that what was written in Arabic in Cairo was incomprehensible in Beirut by Syria's allies, and these too suggested opening schools to teach Arabic to the secretary general of the Arab League Amr Moussa and others whose understanding of the clauses ran contrary to Damascus's!
Therefore, when Arab ministers meet in Cairo today, there will be a need to take Arabic dictionaries to the meeting instead of discussing the political positions of the Lebanese players. Perhaps that will make it easier for the ministers to issue a new stance written in comprehensible language, and which clearly explains the obstacles that led to the failure of Moussa's two missions in Beirut.
The bottom line is that this exposed contradiction between the declared strategies and the means employed to implement them by Syria, is undoubtedly leading to the obstruction of possible solutions in Palestine, Lebanon, and Iraq, unless these solutions are delivered at the hands of the Syrian midwife. It is possible that Damascus perceives the obstruction as a victory for its method and approach, but it also leads to civil struggles along political or confessional lines, struggles of the type seen in Palestine, Lebanon, and Iraq. No one can guarantee that these struggles will remain confined within the boundaries of confrontation in the current areas of conflict, especially in a region that is as ablaze with all types of confessional inflammation as ours

Sfeir hits unity theme again: 'It seems as if everyone has let go of their country'
Franjieh calls on patriarch to stop taking sides
By Maroun Khoury
Daily Star staff
Monday, January 28, 2008
BKIRKI: Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir called on the Lebanese to unite Sunday, adding that the Maronite Church has "always played a unifying role among the Lebanese.""Only unity is likely to salvage Lebanon ... We are working on gathering the Lebanese rather than dividing them," Sfeir said during his Sunday sermon at the Notre Dame Church in Bkirki. He also called on Lebanese "to believe in their country.""Having faith in one's country is the duty of every Lebanese ... but nowadays it seems as if everyone has let go of their country," Sfeir said. He added that the Lebanese ought to "preserve and build on the nationalist and democratic principles our ancestors have implemented in our country." Following the sermon, Sfeir received a delegation from the northern village of Zghorta which expressed solidarity with the patriarch following criticism of him by former Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh last week. Franjieh, who heads the opposition Marada Movement, described Sfeir as an employee of the American and French diplomatic missions. He also urged the patriarch to resign. On Sunday Franjieh urged the prelate not to take sides in the power struggle. He also called on Bkirki to stop being a platform used by politicians to deliver statements. "This is undermining the position of Bkriki," he said. "Once this is done, we will be able to distinguish devout Christians from those using it as a political platform," Franjieh added.
Speaking to a delegation from the Marada Movement in the northern town of Chekka, Franjieh said that he respected the stance of Sfeir against the "Syrian presence in Lebanon." "The opposition is seeking Lebanon's national interests," Franjieh he said. "If this requires a firm stance against Syria, we will take such stance, and if it requires friendly relations with Damascus, we are in favor of such relations."
Franjieh reiterated that the opposition insisted on acquiring veto power in the next government, adding that the opposition was working on "preventing the internationalization of the Lebanese crisis."The former minister also lashed out at the head of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, describing him as an "audacious criminal." Franjieh also blamed Geagea for the current inter-Christian tensions in the country. "Some people thought he had changed after his release from jail, but it seems he is still proud of his past," he said. In separate developments, the vice president of the Higher Shiite Council, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan, urged Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo to discuss the impasse in Lebanon "to come up with a solution likely to ensure true partnership in Lebanon."
"The foreign ministers ought to find ways to bring feuding Lebanese together," Qabalan said, "so that political groups can restart dialogue in order to put an end to the crisis." Lebanon has been caught in a power vacuum since November 23, when former President Emile Lahoud's term expired without feuding political parties agreeing on a successor.

Making murder look clean
Hezbollah's dangerous media arm
January 28, 2008
The following report is excerpted from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium online newsletter published by the founder of WND.
© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com
For decades, terrorist groups have used dramatic incidents of murder – blowing up hundreds or beheading a few – as a means of furthering their aims. They still do, because terror-murder always garners lots of media attention. But terror masters have learned it is not only important their organizations garner media attention, but the coverage make them appear viable, politically legitimate, perhaps even clean.
Experts point, as an example, to Hezbollah, a huge, Lebanon-based, international terrorist organization with a military wing (essentially a terrorist army) that surpasses that of al-Qaida, Hamas, and others in terms of its ability to field raw combat power. Aside from its men and arms, Hezbollah not only holds seats in the Lebanese parliament and has a heavy hand in Lebanese commerce, but is into the telecommunications industry and operates one of the most influential networks of terrorist-owned media in the world.
In Lebanon alone, Hezbollah owns or controls newspapers (the largest, Al Akhbar), television companies (the largest, Al Manar, broadcast internationally), radio stations, and untold numbers of websites and blogs, which are operated independently. And Hezbollah has cells "working" the media worldwide.
According to Middle East terrorism expert Dr. Walid Phares, the American public was deceived by a false sense of isolation from the growing threat of Middle Eastern terrorism during the 1980's. The situation worsened in the 1990's "when the diplomatic and academic elite in the U.S. began falsely describing Hezbollah as nothing more than a political party," Phares says, "In recent years, oil-financed Iranian propaganda has been trying to perpetuate this myth throughout the Western media." Phares adds, "America is not nearly as naïve in terms of terrorism awareness as it was prior to 9/11," but Hezbollah's media and propaganda machine has since developed to a level of highly financed sophistication that it is simply unrecognizable as propaganda to many in the West.
Making matters worse, the Iranian petrodollars Phares speaks of – responsible for building Hezbollah's army and perpetuating the Hezbollah myth – have increased over the years from an average of $100 million each year, to a whopping $400 million to $1 billion annually.
But it's not only the specific print and broadcast media Hezbollah owns and operates in Lebanon, nor its cells operating internationally: Hezbollah influences and controls much of Lebanon's previously non-Hezbollah, formerly objective media as Hezbollah's operators and agents have infiltrated newsrooms, and essentially bought editorial desks as well as Western correspondents based in that country.

Hezbollah’s bags of cash
By W. Thomas Smith, Jr
Monday, January 28, 2008
For years it’s been reported that Hezbollah – the Lebanese-based Shiia terrorist organization that by any military standards fields one of the world’s most formidable “terrorist armies” – has been receiving money from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the tune of $100 million, annually. That figure was recently, reportedly upped to a staggering $400 million, and more recently to an incomprehensible one-billion U.S. dollars.
In a Jan. 11 piece for Human Events, Middle Eastern terrorism expert Dr. Walid Phares wrote: “This ballistic leap [in funding] would enable the organization to crush any opponent inside Lebanon and engage in worldwide operations against Western democracies and Arab moderates.”
Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters wave Palestinian flags to protest against the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, in front of the United Nation headquarters in Beirut January 23, 2008. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON) No wonder Hezbollah was able to fight tooth-to-eyeball the way it did against the Israeli Army back in the summer of 2006. No wonder dramatic car-bombing assassinations continue unabated in Lebanon. No wonder the Lebanese parliament is unable to elect a president. No wonder the legitimate army and police have virtually no jurisdiction over Hezbollah-controlled “security zones” in Lebanon. No wonder so much of the Lebanese media – including many Western journalists in that country -- have been corrupted and manipulated by Hezbollah. And no wonder Hezbollah is growing its international presence through the development of terror cells and sympathetic Shiia communities, not only in the Middle East, but throughout much of Europe, Africa, parts of Asia, and the Americas – to include U.S. cities like Charlotte, N.C., Detroit and Dearborn, MI, and Los Angeles.
The money factor is simply too big; and it seems as if the U.S. and our allies in the global war on terror are fighting a losing battle – at least temporarily – as we try to shut down this dangerous cash flow to Hezbollah.
Sources in Lebanon and the U.S. tell me that up until a year or so ago, much of the Iranian money was transferred to terrorist organizations – primarily Hezbollah – through financial institutions like Bank Saderat Iran, a Tehran-based bank with some 3,400 branches in Iran and overseas. The U.S. Treasury Department “blacklisted” Bank Saderat Iran in 2006. And the U.S. government has since been trying to push the United Nations to issue an official “trade ban” on the bank.
According to the Los Angeles Times on Saturday, “The U.S. claims Bank Melli and Bank Saderat have funded procurement of sensitive nuclear technology. U.S. officials wanted to blacklist the banks, but fell short of the goal.”
Bank or no bank, the money is literally pouring into Hezbollah’s coffers, ten-fold since 9/11.
“Weapons and money are flowing across the border from Syria into Lebanon,” says Al Sayed Mohammad Ali El Husseini, a former Hezbollah deputy commander-turned-outspoken critic of the organization. “The money comes in U.S. dollars.” continued...
According to Husseini, there are two “specially designated military aircraft” that operate in-and-out of the Damascus airport. “Those airplanes are for the IRGC, and they are never inspected,” he says. “The sole purpose for those planes is to fly between Iran and Syria. They bring both weapons and money: The money is in very large bags similar to what you might ship potatoes in. The money never comes in suitcases because the suitcases could not carry enough.”
The weapons and money, he adds, are then loaded onto trucks and transported over a military route that has existed since the time of Lebanon’s Syrian occupation.
Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters wave Palestinian flags to protest against the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, in front of the United Nation headquarters in Beirut January 23, 2008. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON) When I ask Husseini if the money is also entering through the airports in Lebanon or banks like Saderat Iran, he says, “No longer.”
It’s not only the Iranian money, but the untraceable revenue generated from the worldwide Shiia Diaspora – not all Shiia, but those friendly to Hezbollah and eager to fund what they deem to be the “resistance” against Hezbollah’s natural enemy, Israel – as well as the drug-growing and processing industry, primarily hashish, in the Bekaa Valley.
Tom Harb, secretary general of Lebanon’s pro-democracy World Council of the Cedars Revolution, says one of the major reasons Hezbollah has not been disbanded (all “militias” in Lebanon are to be disbanded under UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701) is the money. “The influence of the Iranian money is simply too powerful,” Harb says. “And that influence is reflected in an increasingly strong pro-Hezbollah lobby not only Lebanon, but in Europe and other parts of the world. This is enabling Hezbollah to become the Taliban of Lebanon.”
Phares agrees, and as he so succinctly stated earlier this month: “There is no native force in Lebanon that can match this tidal wave nor even one tenth of it.”
**W. Thomas Smith Jr. is a former U.S. Marine infantry leader, parachutist, and shipboard counterterrorism instructor and co-author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pirates.
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