LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 12/2007Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 6,17.20-26. And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.
Latest News Reports From The Daily Star For 12/02/07
Siniora denies Hizbullah claim that Blue Line is being moved
Moussa warns Lebanese that power struggle 'needs time' to be resolved
Kenaan says man attacked him with liquor bottle
Sfeir urges Lebanese to 'work together'
UN taps Pederson as special coordinator for Lebanon
Gemayel says tribunal 'essential' to democracy
Berri coy on report of new bid to compromise on Hariri court
Young Lebanese form human chain, urge leaders to 'resolve it, solve it'
Outlaw trash haulers dump loads into sea
Fears of clashes build as Hariri commemoration nears
Israel puts off reaction to Mecca deal as Abbas steers toward talksLatest News Reports From miscellaneous sources For 12/02/07
U.S.-led forces show evidence of Iranian arms in Iraq- AP
Lebanon asks UNIFIL to help mark 'Blue Line'-Jerusalem Post
Lebanon Calls For Demonstrations Wednesday To Mark Second ...All Headline News
Arab League chief stresses validity of his initiative on Lebanon-Kuwait News Agency
Moussa's Talks in Syria Crucial to Boost Arab League Mediation in ...NaharnetSaniora-UNIFIL Deny Hizbullah Allegations About Blue Line Demarcation
Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's office and U.N. peacekeepers have denied allegations by Hizbullah that the Blue Line separating south Lebanon from northern Israel was being re-demarcated. The issue was raised Saturday by Hizbullah MP Hassan Fadlallah and the Party's al-Manar television mouthpiece, claiming that Saniora had officially asked the U.N. Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) to re-demarcate the Blue Line, which was set in the year 2000 after Israel withdrew from Lebanon. The Hizbullah campaign claimed that the alleged new demarcation was nibbling Lebanese territory. However, Saniora's Press office said in a statement the charge was "totally baseless."Government sources said the Hizbullah campaign aims at covering up for the confiscation earlier in the week of a truck carrying weapons for Hizbullah which embarrassed the party.
The sources, quoted by the daily An Nahar, explained that Israeli vehicles which invaded Lebanon during the 34-day confrontation with Hizbullah last summer "distorted" the Blue Line and removed some of its marks. "After the war was over (on Aug. 14) UNIFIL asked the Lebanese government through the army command to re-plant the Blue Line Marks," one source said. Saniora's office replied by assigning the army command to cooperate with UNIFIL to "re-plant the blue line marks exactly where they were originally planted in the year 2000," the source added.
A government source also told Naharnet that "the whole effort is limited to re-planting the Blue Line marks. There is no border demarcation of any sort. Hizbullah is just making a fuss out of nothing, simply to cover up for the weapons truck scandal." UNIFIL also explained that its troops were simply re-planting the Blue Line marks, denying the Hizbullah campaign.(AP photo shows Italian and Chinese U.N peacekeeper soldiers use differential GPS device to locate a position in relation to the U.N-demarcated Blue Line border between Lebanon and Israel) Beirut, 11 Feb 07, 09:20
Moussa's Talks in Syria Crucial to Boost Arab League Mediation in Lebanon
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa was quoted Sunday as saying that the Arab League mediation to settle Lebanon's ongoing political crisis has not reached a dead end, but awaits outcome of his talks later in the day with Syrian officials in Damascus. The leading daily an-Nahar quoted Moussa as saying in a telephone interview: "the mediation has not reached a dead end and it will not reach a dead end." However, he added, "the road is still long. Neither the Arabs nor any external side would help any Lebanese faction at the expense of the other." He stressed that any settlement to the crisis should be based on a "no conqueror, no vanquished" concept. The Arab League chief stressed that his return to Lebanon to resume the mediation "would be decided when I get convinced that my presence would benefit all the parties."Moussa said he would visit Syria Sunday, stressing that "circumstances should be made available for a no conqueror, no vanquished settlement" to allow his return to Lebanon. Asked whether the outcome of his talks in Damascus would determine his next steps and the date of his return to Lebanon, Moussa said: "Absolutely."
On whether the Saudi-mediated Mecca accord between the rival Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, would indicate that a similar settlement to the Lebanese crisis is ready, Moussa said: "The Palestinian situation has its own nature and it had reached civil war. But the situation in Lebanon is still under control. In Palestine there is no state (authority)." Beirut, 11 Feb 07, 08:48
Berri to Create 'Working Group' to Discuss Hariri Tribunal
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was reported Sunday to be setting up a "working group" of law experts where rival political parties could discuss the U.N.-Lebanon agreement on an international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri and related crimes.
The daily Al Hayat, citing prominent Lebanese political sources, said Sunday that Berri had intensified contacts aimed at creating the working group, where the Hizbullah-led Opposition could "suggest amendments" to the tribunal bylaw. The paper said the pro-government March 14 coalition has approved Berri's initiative.
The U.N. on Tuesday signed a treaty creating the international tribunal. Beirut, 11 Feb 07, 08:45