LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 11/09

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 7,1-13.Now when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles (and beds).) So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?"He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.' You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition." He went on to say, "How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'Whoever curses father or mother shall die.' Yet you say, 'If a person says to father or mother, "Any support you might have had from me is qorban"' (meaning, dedicated to God),you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things."

Commentary of the day /Saint [Padre] Pio de Pietrelcina (1887-1968), Capuchin friar /T. 74; CE, 39-40
"This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me"
Prayer is a heart to heart with God... Prayer that has been carried out well touches God's heart and prompts him to answer us. When we pray, let it be our whole being that turns towards God: our thoughts, our heart... The Lord will be moved to incline towards us and come to our help...Pray and hope. Do not get upset; worrying doesn't help. God is merciful and will hear your prayer. Prayer is our best weapon; it is the key that opens God's heart. You need to speak to Jesus less with your lips than with your heart.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Strategic analysis of the Mumbai attacks: Few points to project-By Walid Phares .10/02/09
Let us share the responsibility-Future News 10/02/09

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for February 10/09
Aoun: Patriarch Sfeir does not speak for the Christians-Naharnet
MP Nicola Criticizes Public Remembrance of Martyrs-Naharnet
Lebanese Skeptical Israeli Election will Result in Better Relations-Voice of America
Syria says US to waive sanctions for plane parts-AFP
UAE Donates 10 Puma Helicopters to Lebanon-Naharnet
Israeli voters to decide close election-AP
Iranian president says talks with US possible-AP
March 14 Urges Southern Partisans to Pursue with Independence March-Naharnet
Hezbollah leads the project of exporting the Iranian revolution to the region-Future News
Sfeir urged the Lebanese to rectify the dire situation-Future News
Sfeir Warns Against Maronite Split -Naharnet
Erdogan is Arab world's new hero-United Press International
Bellemare: We Haven't Met Siddiq Recently, But We Have Something to Say About Him Later -Naharnet
Egypt: Syria-Israel Peace Halts Damascus Backing of Hizbullah, Hamas -Naharnet
Israel Holds Drills to Protect Elections from Lebanon, Gaza Attacks -Naharnet
Gunmen Snatch Jordanian MP's Car at Gunpoint -Naharnet
Najjar Warns Against Democracy Setback-Naharnet
Bahrain Calls for Reopening Lebanon Embassy-Naharnet
Netanyahu Wants to Form Government Capable of Facing Iran, Hizbullah-Naharnet
LBC Under Armed Occupation!-Naharnet
Obama: Iran's Financial Support for Hizbullah, Hamas Threatens Peace-Naharnet
Nahr al-Bared Refugees Skeptical About Rebuilding Plans-Naharnet
Zahle Shakes-Naharnet
Khatami: I admired martyr PM Rafic Hariri and we miss him-Future News
Najjar: “Win or lose” attitudes disrupt the Cabinet’s work-Future News
Kataeb”: to compose a parliamentary bloc, despite renewed classifications-Future News

Sfeir Warns Against Maronite Split
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir on Monday warned Maronite Christians against carrying their differences too far for splits could backfire on them.
"Each time Maronites differ among themselves … they are defeated by greedy persons," Sfeir said during a sermon on the occasion of St. Maroun Day. "History attests to this," he added. "But if Maronites united ranks and strengthened cooperation among themselves, their well being would flourish and they would gain respect by their fellow citizens regardless of their sects," Sfeir stressed. "It is time to make up our minds and look carefully at what brought us here if we want to get out of this dilemma," he concluded, adding "this situation would lead many of us to migrate with no return." Beirut, 09 Feb 09, 10:23

Sfeir urged the Lebanese to rectify the dire situation
Date: February 9th, 2009 Source: NNA
In a ceremonial mass marking Saint Maroun’s Day in Bkirki on Monday, Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir called the Lebanese to beware the divisions and paradoxical views as to find a quick resolution for the dire circumstances dominating the country. Patriarch Sfeir warned the congregation against divisions and disputes within the Maronite sect because “history proves that when we were divided, we were easily conquered and defeated by the greedy and whenever the Maronites united their ranks and cooperated their conditions improved and prospered, and they earned their fellow citizens’ respect regardless of their varied sects.”Sfeir called the Maronite in particular and the Lebanese in general to “consider carefully the current dreadful situation and the conspicuous division,” and held the Lebanese responsible as well as all parties for “leading the country to the terrible situation it is in.”

Aoun: Patriarch Sfeir Does Not Speak For The Christians
Naharnet/Head of Free Patriotic Movement MP Michel Aoun said Patriarch Sfeir is free to express his opinion. However, he does not speak for the Christians.
In a press conference on Tuesday following a meeting of his political party, Aoun said that patriarch Sfeir is free to express his own opinion adding, "Christian society is democratic, the Patriarch remains silent and his stance is with March 14 Forces and is not a centrist. This means he is against the opposition."
Aoun explained that he did not participate in the St. Maroun mass on Monday saying: "because I do not attend public celebrations unless they are extremely important and under heavy security." He went on to comment on internal affairs by questioning the different behavior of the Lebanese state regarding inheritance issues.
"There is a 'legal game' that returns the inheritance of a Muslim that has no inheritors to Islamic endowments, while for Christians the state takes over. We ask that the state would receive the inheritance of anyone with no inheritors," Aoun said. He went further to add that Mayors have no powers outside their villages, towns and overseas "as mayors loyal to March 14 Forces do." "I call on the ministries of the interior and foreign affairs to take a stance on this," he said.
Regarding the issue of telephone wiretapping, Aoun was adamant in saying: "The campaign against (minister) Bassil aims to draw the curtain on his reforms and for reducing the phone bill. The scandal is in those that preceded him in the same position." He charged that the military intelligence branch is an apparatus of the al-Mustaqbal movement. When asked by reporters to comment on previous remarks in which he said that political tongues would be cut, Aoun replied saying: "Yes, we do politically cut tongues.""Our national debt is at $51 billion, this means that every Lebanese owes $17,000 for a hundred years," he said. But he went on to add that he guarantees all Lebanese that within two years "you would have a state, that security, economy and all related services would be guaranteed at a reasonable price."
Aoun was steadfast in defying his political opponents by saying: "We won't kneel, that is why we are subject to political accusation, regional and international rumors."
He went on to attack Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat for criticizing the appointment of military officers to certain ministries.
"Walid Jumblat deals with the military officers in a very personal manner. If he accuses any officer of being pro-Aoun, then we are proud of that accusation," Aoun said.
He added "Jumblat wants the mountain to remain free of any security monitoring in order to smuggle his representatives to the region and act illegally."
Aoun ejected charges that Hizbullah bars journalists from entering its strongholds saying: "In the past MTV was prevented from entering Qoreitem, has anyone prevented anybody from entering the southern suburb of Beirut?"
He defended Syrian and Iranian stance with Lebanon, adding that both countries have been beneficial in the past.
"Iran and Syria have helped us and they deserve our respect, they took nothing from us," Aoun said. He added "Syria has supported us politically and vitally during the war by opening the borders when we were under siege." Beirut, 10 Feb 09, 18:30

MP Nicola Criticizes Public Remembrance of Martyrs
Naharnet/MP Nabil Nicola, member of the Change and Reform bloc, criticized organizing mass rallies in remembrance of martyrs, in an apparent reference to the fourth anniversary of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's killing. "I am not prepared to take to the street for political purposes and to manipulate blood. Martyrs should be remembered at homes and they should light up candles for them," Nicola said in a television interview. He also accused the Mustaqbal Movement and Solidere of "owning a communications network." "Is (Telecommunications Minister Jebran" Bassil responsible for this one too?" Nicola asked in defending his comrade.
Hizbullah, Nicola said, "has a communications network so that others would not wiretap its calls. But does it wiretap others?"
He also criticized the forming of a centrist bloc, saying "they should declare their political agenda. They only say they support the president and the army. We had voted for the president and we support the army." Beirut, 10 Feb 09, 14:41

UAE Donates 10 Puma Helicopters to Lebanon
Naharnet/The United Arab Emirates has donated to Lebanon ten Puma helicopters. Aircrafts are ready for immediate delivery "due to the expertise of Lebanese pilots in this field. The announcement was made during President Michel Suleiman's official visit to the Emirates on Tuesday.
Suleiman affirmed the need to strengthening and developing bilateral ties with the UAE. His counterpart Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed al-Nuhayan expressed his country's willingness to support Lebanon in all fields. Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh signed an agreement for establishing a joint committee between both countries and a protocol for touristic cooperation agreement (2009-20011). Suleiman arrived to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday following a similar visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain that began on Monday. Beirut, 10 Feb 09, 19:47

Obama Looking Forward to Cooperating with Berri
Naharnet/U.S. President Barack Obama told Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri "we can work together in a spirit of peace and friendship" for a peaceful world.
Obama made the remark in a message to Berri responding to the Lebanese speaker's greeting upon his assumption of power.
"With this spirit and effort I look forward to working with you to bolster relations between our two" nations, Obama said in his message. Beirut, 10 Feb 09, 13:49

Bellemare: We Would Transfer Apprehended Suspects to the Hague
CNaharnet/hief U.N. investigator Daniel Bellemare said the commission investigating former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination has not met the key witness in the murder trial recently, but added that "we have something to say about him later." In an interview with the daily Al Akhbar, excerpts of which were published on Tuesday, Bellemare said the commission has not met Mohammed Zuheir Siddiq "for a while." He said the commission, however, has "something to say concerning him (Siddiq) later." Al Akhbar said the interview will be published in full on Wednesday. Siddiq, who was under an international arrest warrant requested by a Lebanese prosecutor, was detained in October 2005 in a Paris suburb in connection with the assassination. But France refused to extradite him to Lebanon because it had not been given guarantees that he would not face the death penalty if convicted, and the former intelligence agent had since been living in the Paris suburb of Chatou. Siddiq was quoted in newspaper reports in 2006 as saying that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his then Lebanese counterpart, Emile Lahoud, ordered Hariri's 2005 assassination in a massive Beirut car bombing. There have been conflicting reports about Siddiq with some saying he disappeared, while his brother claiming that France had "liquidated" him. France denied the charge. On the issue of the four former Lebanese officers detained in connection with Hariri's assassination, Bellemare said he will ask the Lebanese judiciary "as soon as possible after March 1" to give up its right to handling the case", in an apparent effort to avoid collision of power.
"All files, evidence, and apprehended suspects would be moved to the Hague. That is if if there are people still in custody," he was quoted as saying.
Bellamare reaffirmed commitment to the judicial rule that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty. He said the commission was "satisfied" with the cooperation of the Lebanese government in the investigation of Hariri's murder. Beirut, 10 Feb 09, 08:34

Hamadeh: "8 March" participated in the assassinations through coverage
Date: February 9th, 2009
Future News
Democratic Gathering member MP Marwan Hamadeh, considered that Amal, Hezbollah, and Free Patriotic movement had been involved in the previous assassinations, through covering them and preventing the establishment of the International Tribunal, and obstructing the ministerial statement.
Hamadeh proudly noted: “we are a group that does not have arms, but have the blood of the martyrs which is most expensive”, adding that 8 March’s tool is weaponry, and “we will peacefully terminate this tool”. Hamadeh said that in case "March 8" won the electoral battle, March 14th group will practice opposition in the parliament and arenas, refusing to resort to streets and riots, saying that “parliamentary elections will affect the region for the first time, and particularly the Iranian Syrian movement”. Hamadeh also called the Lebanese citizens to participate in February 14 in honor of the memory of martyr President Rafik Hariri, and to express their loyalty to the martyrs who have fallen, adding “We want to give the Lebanese a sufficient dose of new hopes for tomorrow's generation with the return of Shebaa farms and Joulan.

Let us share the responsibility
Date: February 10th, 2009 Source: Future News
Lebanese should never question the reason why they should participate in February 14, because contrary to this would mean going back to the memories of:
• Assassinations that did not spare all those who said “NO” to the Syrian reign over Lebanon, with all the blood flows that spell on the streets all over our nation.
• Crippling the country and occupying its squares without taking into consideration people’s freedom, possessions or properties.
• Paralyzing the government and hiding behind groundless lies and reasons instigated by agents of the Syrian regime and its followers.
• Shutting down the parliament as if it was their own, instead of turning it into a haven for serious dialogue between various parties in the frame of democracy, the essence of the establishment of our parliament.
• Threatening the work of the Presidency through keeping the post vacant for six months, hence exposing and jeopardizing the nation’s security.
• Blocking roads, burning tires and attacking innocent Lebanese while heading to their work under alleged sectarian rhetoric.
Therefore, participating in “February 14” is a need rather than a necessity, because its success forbids another May 7 or any other event that could be perpetrated by Syrian agents. Our country will never be safe as long as there is a category of Lebanese that consider themselves far from being judged.
No people has endured what we have been stricken with over centuries, for Iran wants us the fuel to bargain with America, and the Syrians use us as bidding tools with the Jewish State. Participating in “February 14” means that Lebanese are responsible for themselves and their leadership is also accountable.
Let each and every one of us bare his share.

Khatami: I admired martyr PM Rafic Hariri and we miss him
Date: February 10th, 2009 Source: Future News
Iranian former president Mohammad Khatami, who heads “the International Center” for the Dialogue of Civilizations and announced his candidacy for the Iranian presidency, expressed his respect for the martyr PM Rafic Hariri whom he considers as a “victim of terrorism”.
Khatami said “I admired him, we miss him … he believed in dialogue, in humanitarian development and in freedom. I wish that Lebanon reaches the security and peace that the martyr aspired to”.In his first interview with the media after announcing his candidacy, Khatami told almustaqbal.org “the historic demands of the Iranian people are freedom, development and justice and we have no other choice but to carry out gradual and peaceful reforms in the society in order to implement the slogans we raised when we rebelled against the Shah, and that are independence, freedom and installing a republic that conforms to the Islamic values”.
He added “the road to freedom is very hard and full of obstacles. We don’t want to impose reforms on the society by force. We want to listen to criticism before they turn into fatal problems” He added “we cannot suppress the public opinion for good; such a suppression might lead to an explosion”.
As for the conservatives and radicals criticizing him for his democratic, nonreligious speech, he said “I think that the essence of democracy is the same all over the world, but it might take different shapes according to differences in convictions and traditions. Thus, my conception of Islam might differ from that of the conservatives”.
He added “peace is what people need the most, so we must end war, violence, terrorism and suppression”.
Khatami concluded “I will present my program soon, and then I will see to what degree it can be executed under the current situation”.

Media Accreditation for President Obama’s Visit to Ottawa
February 10, 2009
No. A/10
Media Accreditation Office
Accreditation Centre, 2nd Floor
U.S. President Barack Obama will visit Ottawa on February 19, 2009. Media representatives who wish to cover the event should apply now for official accreditation for access to the site and media work centres. For accreditation, all media representatives, including members of Ottawa’s Parliamentary Press Gallery, must complete the Media Accreditation Form (www.international.gc.ca/international/assets/pdfs/MEDIA-Accreditation.pdf) and return it to the Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office no later than 5 p.m. (EST) on Monday, February 16, 2009. Earlier submissions will provide the best chance of ensuring that screening will be completed prior to the event. The form can be dropped off in person, sent by mail or courier, and it must have a recent passport-sized photo attached, with the individual’s name clearly printed on the back. Completed forms can also be sent via email along with an electronic picture in JPEG format.
Submitted accreditation forms must be accompanied by a signed letter from a recognized media organization stating that the applicant has been assigned specifically to cover this visit. The letter must include contact information for the media organization. All required elements (completed form, picture and letter of assignment) must be provided at the same time. The accreditation centre will be operational as of noon on Tuesday, February 10, 2009, but email applications can be submitted immediately.
Media organizations or individuals may check on the status of their application for accreditation by contacting the Media Accreditation Office. Its hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST.
As access to the sites is limited, media outlets will be pooled. Receiving media accreditation does not automatically guarantee access to all events. More information on the pooling process will be available later.
For more information, please contact:
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
www.international.gc.ca/index.aspx

Souaid: Hezbollah is blocking the establishment of an independent state
Naharnet/Date: February 9th, 2009 Source: Future-News
March 14’s secretary general Fares Souaid said that Hezbollah is behind blocking the establishment of an independent state, as they showed their affiliation to foreign sides. Souaid considered that Hezbollah’s interest is in leaving the government pending with no ability to rule, until the Lebanese-Iranian relations are settled, and added that March 14 holds to the establishment of the state even if this is a hard task. Souaid saw that the upcoming elections are decisive to all Lebanese including the Maronite church, expressing March 14’s insist on the peace project leading to an independent Palestinian state.

Obama: Iran's Financial Support for Hizbullah, Hamas Threatens Peace
Naharnet/U.S. President Barack Obama said Monday his administration is looking for opportunities to open direct talks with longtime adversary Iran, but criticized Tehran's financial support for Hizbullah. "My national security team is currently reviewing our existing Iran policy, looking at areas where we can have constructive dialogue, where we can directly engage with them," Obama said. "My expectation is that in the coming months we will be looking for openings that can be created where we can start sitting across the table face to face."In his first prime-time news conference as president, Obama repeated the usual list of U.S. complaints against Iran, including financial support for Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and "bellicose language" directed at U.S. ally Israel.
Iran's "financing of terrorist organizations like Hizbullah and Hamas, the bellicose language that they've used towards Israel, their development of a nuclear weapon or their pursuit of a nuclear weapon," are contrary to regional stability and peace, he said. Obama repeated campaign pledges to rethink three decades of enmity with Iran, but offered no examples of possible partnership. "Now it's time for Iran to send some signals that it wants to act differently, as well, and recognize that, even as it has some rights as a member of the international community, with those rights come responsibilities," he said. On Afghanistan, Obama said he was reviewing a war strategy that has failed to root out terrorists and insurgents and hinted at a newly narrowed focus that prizes the fight against terrorism over the strengthening of a fragile U.S.-backed democratic government.
"I'm not going to allow al-Qaida or (Osama) bin Laden to operate with impunity, planning attacks on the U.S. homeland," Obama said.
The most promising areas for cooperation are probably Afghanistan and Iraq, both neighbors of Iran where the United States is fighting.
He credited "the extraordinary work done by our troops" and diplomatic successes for relative peace and stability in Iraq. "You do not see that yet in Afghanistan. They've got elections coming up, but effectively the national government seems very detached from what's going on in the surrounding community," Obama said.
Obama suggested that not enough has been done to go after militants where they hide out and rearm in the forbidding mountainous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, another key U.S. ally. "What we haven't seen is the kind of concerted effort to root out those safe havens that would ultimately make our mission successful," he said.(AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 10 Feb 09, 08:08

Phalange Party Supports President Suleiman
Naharnet/The Phalange Party on Monday declared support for President Michel Suleiman's "national policy …especially that there is no room for neutrality regarding national issues." The party, in a statement, said: "There is no centrist stand in regards to choosing between independence and subordination; between the state and mini-states and between the army and militias." he statement, released after a meeting by members of the Phalange Party's politburo presided over by its chairman Amin Gemayel, declared support to stands adopted by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir. It warned that the wiretapping issue is being used to cover up failure to tackle the more serious issues of Hizbullah's communications network. It called for clarifying charges that Hizbullah's communications network had been used to wiretap calls by citizens. Beirut, 09 Feb 09, 21:13

Bellemare: We Haven't Met Siddiq Recently, But We Have Something to Say About Him Later
Naharnet/Chief U.N. investigator Daniel Bellemare said the commission investigating former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination has not met the key witness in the murder trial recently, but added that "we have something to say about him later."In an interview with the daily Al Akhbar, excerpts of which were published on Tuesday, Bellemare said the commission has not met Mohammed Zuheir Siddiq "for a while." He said the commission, however, has "something to say concerning him (Siddiq) later."Al Akhbar said the interview will be published in full on Wednesday. Siddiq, who was under an international arrest warrant requested by a Lebanese prosecutor, was detained in October 2005 in a Paris suburb in connection with the assassination. But France refused to extradite him to Lebanon because it had not been given guarantees that he would not face the death penalty if convicted, and the former intelligence agent had since been living in the Paris suburb of Chatou.
Siddiq was quoted in newspaper reports in 2006 as saying that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his then Lebanese counterpart, Emile Lahoud, ordered Hariri's 2005 assassination in a massive Beirut car bombing. There have been conflicting reports about Siddiq with some saying he disappeared, while his brother claiming that France had "liquidated" him. France denied the charge. On the issue of the four former Lebanese officers detained in connection with Hariri's assassination, Bellemare said he will ask the Lebanese judiciary "as soon as possible after March 1" to give up its right to handling the case, in an apparent effort to avoid collision of power.
Bellamare reaffirmed commitment to the judicial rule that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty.
He said the commission was "satisfied" with the cooperation of the Lebanese government in the investigation of Hariri's murder. Beirut, 10 Feb 09, 08:34

Egypt: Syria-Israel Peace Halts Damascus Backing of Hizbullah, Hamas
Naharnet/Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said if France helped Syria reach peace with Israel, then Damascus would halt its backing of Hamas and Hizbullah. "Israel would not accept a deal with Syria unless the latter halted its backing of Hamas and Hizbullah," Abul Gheit told the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat.
The wars between Hamas and Israel in Gaza and between Hizbullah and Israel in Lebanon "detonated" Arab conflicts.
"These two issues (Gaza-Lebanon) should be tackled to re-bond the Arabs along the lines of a peace path based on the Arab peace initiative," the chief of Egypt's diplomacy said. He expressed hope that the situation in Gaza would be defused and calmed down "before Feb. 22" when Palestinian factions are to meet in Cairo for reconciliation talks. "Hamas needs to calm down the situation. This could be achieved in a week or three days or more," Abul Gheit added. Beirut, 10 Feb 09, 10:51

Israel Holds Drills to Protect Elections from Lebanon, Gaza Attacks
Naharnet/Israel's security forces have carried out military maneuvers to prevent possible attacks from Lebanon and Gaza aimed at sabotaging the Israeli parliamentary elections, the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat reported Tuesday. An Israeli army spokesman told the paper the exercises did not come in response to "any specific threats" of imminent attacks but are part of precautionary measures to prevent any act of violence. He said that in the southern Israeli towns some 780 voters will be casting their ballots in 595 posts, therefore any missile attacks from Gaza will cause "major disruption" to the election process. In order to ward off such attacks, the army launched a wide-scale deployment of 4,000 security agents, including police, soldiers, security guards and volunteers, he said. As part of security drills, the army trained members of the electoral committees to escape from their voting posts in case of an attack carrying the ballot boxes to prevent fraud. Beirut, 10 Feb 09, 09:30

Gunmen Snatch Jordanian MP's Car at Gunpoint
Naharnet/Unknown assailants have snatched a Jordanian MP's vehicle at gunpoint in the eastern Bekaa Valley, the National News Agency reported Tuesday.
It said three gunmen in a BMW intercepted MP Bassam Hamad Khalifeh as he was driving near the Masnaa border crossing. They forced him out of his Range Rover and drove away in it. A few hours later, three gunmen driving a Range Rover forced Lebanese citizen Sami Dinnawi out of his car, also a Range, in Mazraat Yashouh northeast of Beirut and sped away in the two vehicles. NNA said that the assailants might have used the Jordanian MP's vehicle in the Mazraat Yashouh robbery after removing its license plate. Beirut, 10 Feb 09, 11:16

Najjar Warns Against Democracy Setback
Naharnet/Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar on Tuesday said Premier Fouad Saniora's national unity cabinet is apparently crippled by the minority's veto powers and a ban on the majority's right to resign. Najjar, in a radio interview, was apparently referring to the Doha Accord that gave the Hizbullah-led minority veto powers in the cabinet and banned ministers representing the March 14 majority from resigning their posts to avoid collapse of the executive authority.
The Doha Accord, reached after the series of attacks by Hizbullah and allies against Beirut's western sector and predominantly Druze regions of Mount Lebanon, expires after the June 7 Parliamentary elections. "The margin of maneuverability for both the majority and minority is very narrow. Consensus is the only option they have," Najjar added. He warned that "democracy in Lebanon would face a major setback if the constitutional council was not formed before the elections."
Najjar said President Michel Suleiman and Saniora would exert "major efforts to reach an understanding" with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri over allocations for the Council for South Lebanon. Beirut, 10 Feb 09, 09:20

Bahrain Calls for Reopening Lebanon Embassy
Naharnet/Bahrain has called for the reopening of its embassy in Lebanon.
The request came during a meeting between visiting Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and King of Bahrain Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa.
News reports on Tuesday said the two leaders discussed the importance of coordination and communication between the two countries.
They also stressed the need to move the peace process forward and set up a Palestinian state. Suleiman arrived in Manama on Monday as part of an Arab tour that would also take him to the United Arab Emirates. He is accompanied by Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, Defense Minister Elias Murr, Culture Minister Tamam Salam, Telecommunications Minister Jebran Bassil and State Minister Jean Oghassabian. Beirut, 10 Feb 09, 10:07

Netanyahu Wants to Form Government Capable of Facing Iran, Hizbullah
Naharnet/Right-wing opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu has said his only concern was to form a strong government capable of facing Iran and Hizbullah if he became prime minister. What I am concerned about now is "the way to form a strong government capable of facing Iran and its threat … and able to come up with a new and strong policy against Hamas and Hizbullah," Netanyahu said in his last TV appearance before Tuesday's general elections.
He also vowed to form a national unity government if he came to power. "If I am elected, I will approach all the Zionist parties to join a coalition headed by the Likud," Netanyahu said. "We will take all these parties - Kadima, Labor, Yisrael Beiteinu."Netanyahu added that he is not ready to commit to holding negotiations with the Syrians. "The Olmert government's understandings with the Syrians do not obligate me," he said. "Rather, Israel's security (obligates me)."
"With God's help, we will win," Netanyahu said on a visit to the Western Wall Monday evening. Netanyahu declared Sunday he would not give up the strategic Golan Heights for peace with Syria. While centrist Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has not ruled out returning the Golan Heights in exchange for full peace, and the third candidate for premier, Defense Minister Ehud Barak of Labor, offered the Syrians that deal when he was premier in 2000, Netanyahu insisted he would say no.
"The Golan will never be divided again, the Golan will never fall again, the Golan will remain in our hands," he declared during his campaign stop there. Netanyahu and his backers consider the strategic value of the territory as more important than a peace treaty. Beirut, 10 Feb 09, 10:01

LBC Under Armed Occupation!
Naharnet/LBC Chairman of the Board Pierre Daher on Monday said the network is under "armed occupation."
Daher, in a statement, blamed Interior Minister Ziad Baroud and his predecessor Hassan Sabaa for failure to implement an almost one-year-old court order banning sacked security employee Sharbel Abi Aql from entering the network's premises in suburban Adma, north of Beirut.
The statement said 17 sacked employees, including Abi Aql, do not get their wages from LBC since the court order was issued a year ago. "They are being paid by the Lebanese Forces command." "The problem is with those responsible for law enforcement … specifically ministers Sabaa and Baroud," the statement said.
"If they are not capable of implementing a single decision in one Lebanese area how would they be able to hold elections throughout Lebanon?" Daher asked.
LBC, in a statement released earlier, accused its own security elements that are known to be loyal to the Lebanese Forces (LF) of carrying out an intentional sabotage against some of its studios and writing derogatory slogans. LBC said investigations have revealed that a former dismissed corporation employee who continues to remain in his position by force of arms provoked one of the assailants identified as T.T. to damage the studios. The statement added that LBC is awaiting an official end to the investigation to take legal action. "LBC Chairman of the Board is fabricating stories and issuing statements only to deceive and misguide public opinion to influence the legal conflict with the Lebanese Forces," the LF said in a statement. The Lebanese Forces statement went on to add that Daher is working on defaming them. Baroud told As-Safir newspaper he was closely following up on this issue "with total neutrality." Baroud explained that the security team at LBC is under the jurisdiction of the judiciary alone. Beirut, 09 Feb 09, 21:35

Zahle Shakes
Naharnet/A mild earthquake struck the eastern town of Zahle on Monday, but no casualties or damage were reported. The jolt was felt at 6:10 pm. It was the first earthquake reported in Zahle since Feb. 15, 2008. Beirut, 09 Feb 09, 22:44

Nahr al-Bared Refugees Skeptical About Rebuilding Plans
Naharnet/Ibtisam Ghneim clearly remembers the day she fled, barefoot and empty-handed, from her home in the devastated Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon during fighting in 2007.
Ghneim is one of thousands of Palestinian refugees who fled the Nahr al-Bared camp during heavy clashes between the Lebanese army and the Islamist militant group Fatah al-Islam that killed some 400 people.
Two years after fierce battles reduced Nahr al-Bared to rubble, the refugees are growing bitter over a tight-budgeted rebuilding plan, which aims at placing the camp under the control of the Lebanese government for the first time.
Under a longstanding arrangement, the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in the country are off-limits to Lebanese authorities and are policed by armed Palestinian factions -- despite a U.N. resolution calling for the disarmament of all militias in the country.
"I fled the camp with my children and grandchildren three days after the fighting. I did not even carry identification papers or money," Ghneim, 45, told AFP.
"We once owned warehouses and shops, making tens of thousands of dollars a day. Now, we are left with nothing but the revenues of a small shop."
Like many in the camp, home to 31,000 U.N.-registered Palestinian refugees, Ghneim's father-in-law Mohammed Atiyeh is frustrated.
"If they wanted to rebuild the camp they would not have destroyed it in the first place," said Atiyeh, 75, who described himself as an "unemployed merchant."
"I hardly managed to get a few thousands dollars to renovate my house and buy some appliances for my shop, even though I have lost more than a million dollars."
A major reconstruction operation by the Lebanese authorities and the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) is to kick off later this month to rebuild a "model camp," according to the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee (LPDC), a government focal point in the reconstruction effort.
"The rebuilding plan is the result of a partnership between UNRWA, the Lebanese state and the Palestinian Authority," said LPDC advisor Ziad Sayegh.
"We seek to build a model camp that would provide a minimum standard of decent living for the Palestinians under the state's sovereignty and authority."
UNRWA has appealed for 450 million dollars for the rebuilding, which is scheduled to be completed in around three years. So far it has raised around 120 million dollars.
"We do need more resources to rebuild the camp but that doesn't mean we are not going ahead with it," said Charlie Higgins, UNRWA's project manager. "At a certain point in the middle of this year if we don't receive any more resources or funding we will stop and the process will be delayed."
He said UNRWA was appealing to different countries for additional funds.
"We are confident we'll have this money but we have to show that we are actually moving ahead," Higgins added.
A Lebanese naval base will be set up at the edge of the camp despite strong opposition from the resident refugees who view this as a "form of restriction" and point to the fact that the base would be located near schools.
"The base is necessary for monitoring all the northern coasts and combating trafficking... this is not a restriction," said Sayegh.
He added that an army post and a police station will also be built inside the camp, along with health centers and schools.
"The police station will ensure law enforcement and protect the Palestinians," he said "There will be no compromise on sovereign decisions.
"It will be a model camp in terms of services and quality of buildings and roads."
But the refugees, at least for now, view such plans as "empty promises."
"God's mercy is better than all their empty promises," Ghneim said.
For Hani Mustafa, a construction worker in the camp, the entire rebuilding project is nothing but a "lie."
"There will be no reconstruction. Don't believe this lie," he said bitterly.
Prior to the deadly battles between the Lebanese army and the al-Qaida-inspired extremists, Nahr al-Bared, which was built in 1949, was one of the country's most prosperous camps and was considered a main trading post in northern Lebanon.
Nonetheless it suffered from poverty as well as lack of infrastructure and services, just like the other camps spread across the country.
Higgins argued that although he understood the skepticism of the dispossessed residents about rebuilding efforts, he remained confident the camp would rise from its ashes. "I do sympathize with them (refugees) and I do understand the difficulties they are facing... but they should not be too skeptical," he said. "We are definitely here to reconstruct the camp." According to Othman Badr, who is in charge of a committee for displaced refugees in the camp, the unemployment rate in Nahr al-Bared is estimated at 67 percent.
Since the end of the battles, some 13,000 of the camp's residents have returned to the newer part of the camp which suffered less destruction. They live in renovated buildings, garages, warehouses or housing units provided by UNRWA.
The remainder fled to the nearby Beddawi camp or to other camps.
"The houses we live in are like containers... they are freezing in the winter and boiling in the summer," Badr said.
Local charities, European-funded non-governmental organizations and other humanitarian groups provide aid to the refugees.
They also fund small income-generating projects and provide menial jobs that can earn the refugees up to 10 dollars a day, according to Badr.
"These people are living in extremely bad conditions," he said. "And their fears and skepticism will only end once the reconstruction process becomes reality."(AFP) Beirut, 10 Feb 09, 07:11

Iranian president says talks with US possible
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press Writer
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's president said Tuesday the world was "entering an era of dialogue" and that his country would welcome talks with its longtime adversary, the United States, if they are based on mutual respect.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's announcement comes a day after President Barack Obama said his administration was looking for opportunities to engage Iran and pledged to rethink United States' relationship with Tehran.
"The Iranian nation is ready for talks (with the U.S.) but in a fair atmosphere with mutual respect," Ahmadinejad told hundreds of thousands of Iranians during a celebration marking the 30th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution that toppled the U.S.-backed shah and brought hard-line clerics to power.
The hard-line Iranian leader said terrorism, the elimination of nuclear weapons, restructuring the U.N. Security Council and fighting drug trafficking could be topics for the two sides to talk about.
"If you really want to fight terrorism, come and cooperate with the Iranian nation, which is the biggest victim of terrorism so that terrorism is eliminated. ... If you want to confront nuclear weapons ... you need to stand beside Iran so it can introduce a correct path to you," he said.
Ahmadinejad said the world was at a "crossroads" because it had been proven that military power has not been successful — a reference to the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But now, he said, "the world is entering an era of dialogue and intellect."
"The new U.S. government has announced that it wants to bring changes and follow the path of dialogue. It is very clear that changes have to be fundamental and not tactical. It is clear that the Iranian nation welcomes true changes," Ahmadinejad told the crowds at the rally in Freedom Square.
Tehran and Washington severed relations nearly three decades ago after the 1979 Iranian revolution and the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by hard-line Iranian students.
But relations deteriorated even further after the Sept. 11 attacks when former President George W. Bush declared Iran belonged to an "axis of evil." Ahmadinejad widened that gap after he was elected in 2005 and defied the U.S. and its allies by pursuing Iran's controversial nuclear program.
The U.S. believes Iran is secretly trying to pursue nuclear weapons, but Iran has denied this accusation, saying its program is solely for peaceful purposes such as electricity.
Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that the "world does not want to see the dark age of Bush repeated."
"The fate that befell Bush — and it was a very bad fate — can be viewed as a lesson for most of the people that ... want to impose their will on the world," he said.
Since his campaign for president, Obama has signaled a willingness for a dialogue with Iran. At his inauguration last month, Obama said his administration would reach out to Muslims, saying "we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."
On Monday, Obama said his national security team was reviewing its existing Iran policy and "looking at areas where we can have constructive dialogue." He said he expected that his administration would be looking for "openings" where Washington and Tehran can sit face-to-face.
Iranian leaders have struck a moderate — but cautious — tone about Obama since his election in November. Ahmadinejad sent Obama a message of congratulations after he was elected — the first time an Iranian leader offered such wishes to the winner of a U.S. presidential race since the two countries broke off relations.