LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
January 21/08
Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 1,29-34. The next day he saw
Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the
sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, 'A man is coming after me who
ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.' I did not know him, but the
reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to
Israel." John testified further, saying, "I saw the Spirit come down like a dove
from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to
baptize with water told me, 'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and
remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.' Now I have seen
and testified that he is the Son of God."
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for January 20/08
A 13th Delay of The Presidential
Election-Naharnet
Aoun's Urinary Track Stone Postpones
Moussa-Sponsored Meeting-Naharnet
Moussa: My Clarification of the Initiative is Official, Final-Naharnet
Franjieh Continues attacks on Sfeir, Urging him to Resign-Naharnet
Attack on US embassy car linked to Lebanese crisis-Monsters
and Critics.com
Qandil Wants Opposition Represented at Arab Foreign Ministers' Conference-Naharnet
Israel Rejects the Nasrallah-Offered
'Remains'-Naharnet
IDF: Nasrallah's words cynical, vicious-Ynetnews
Spain arrests
14 in anti-terror raids, interior minister says-AP
Maronite prelate wants Lebanese solution to political crisis-Catholic
World News
Aoun is sick and asked Bassil to represent him-Ya
Libnan
Arab states must clarify plan to end Lebanon crisis: Berri
AL chief satisfied with talks with Assad over Lebanon-Al-Bawaba, Jordan
Lahoud attended cultural event in in Damascus
Nasrallah Assures Bush Armed Resistance will Never Stop, Tells
Israel He Possesses 'Body Parts' of Soldiers-Naharnet
Maronite Bishops Urge Revival of Constitutional Institutions-Naharnet
Sarkis: I can’t believe a Christian Maronite assaulted Sfeir-Ya
Libnan
Berri: Syria, Saudi
Arabia Hold Key to Lebanon Solution-Naharnet
Moussa 'Satisfied'
after Talks with Assad-Naharnet
U.S. Citizen Convicted
of Conspiracy, Ties to Lebanon Assassinations-Naharnet
Aoun is sick and asked Bassil to represent him
Saturday, 19 January, 2008 @ 10:02 PM
Beirut - General Michel Aoun has asked his son-in-law Gibran Bassil to represent
him at the quartet meeting which will take place after Moussa returns from
Damascus. Aoun 72, a key member of the Hezbollah-led opposition and leader of
Free Patriotic Movement said he is sick and is being treated for kidney stones.
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa was able to have his first breakthrough
last Thursday when he succeeded in arranging a quartet meeting between the
opposition and the majority .
The meeting which lasted for nearly four hours was attended by Moussa, Lebanon’s
former president Amine Gemayel, Parliament majority leader MP Saad Hariri, and
General Michel Aoun. Moussa wanted to have a follow up meeting to cover the
issues that were not agreed on during the first meeting , in order for the
parliament to proceed with the election of a president on Monday
Aoun who was appointed by the Hezbollah-led opposition to negotiate on its
behalf initially asked for the postponement of the quartet meeting , but upon
the insistence of Moussa he appointed Bassil as his replacement . Moussa who is
trying to broker a three point Arab plan to end Lebanon’s political crises, is
now in Damascus to convince the Syrian officials to give the green light to its
allies to cooperate in ending the crises. Moussa who met Assad today said he was
satisfied with the meeting , but that he was “ neither optimistic nor
pessimistic “Prior to leaving for Damascus Moussa said : I pray to God that
Lebanon will have a president on this coming Monday “ The three point Arab
Foreign ministers plan calls for the immediate election of the president to be
followed by the formation of a national unity government based on the
constitution, to be followed by a new electoral law . A step by step approach
for ending the crises .
Lebanon has been without a president since Lahoud stepped down on November 23,
2007.
Lebanon’s Army chief General Michel Suleiman was nominated to be the next
president , but the Iranian and Syrian backed opposition is insisting on a whole
basket of demands before they agree to go ahead and elect him. The basket of
demands was rejected by the majority as unconstitutional and “would handcuff
Suleiman before arriving to the Presidential palace in Baabda “Update :10:30 PM
Beirut time
A follow up to the quartet meeting is currently taking place at the parliament
to discuss the Arab plan . The meeting is being attended by :
Director of the Office of the Secretary General of the League of Arab States
Ambassador Hisham Youssef , Legal advisor of the Arab League Talal Amine ( both
representing Arab League Chief Amr Moussa) , Salim Sayegh representing former
President Amine Gemayel, Gibran Basil representating Gen Michel Aoun, Hani
Hammoud, representing parliament majority leader Saad Hariri.
Since Aoun is ill he appointed Bassil as his representative. Aoun’s absence has
resulted in the absence of all the other 3 key attendees of the first quartet
meeting : Moussa, Gemayel and Hariri.It is not clear why the meeting is being
held before Moussa returns to Beirut . The meeting was supposed to take place on
Sunday according to Moussa. Moussa is expected in Beirut Saturday evening
A 13th Delay of The Presidential Election
A Parliament session due on Monday to elect Lebanon's president has been
postponed to February 11, despite Arab mediation to break the deadlock, the
parliament speaker's office announced on Sunday.
"Monday's session has been postponed until February 11 to allow further dialogue
between the different parties on the Arab initiative," the office of speaker
Nabih Berri said in a statement.
Lebanon has been without a president since pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud stepped down
on November 23 amid a deadlock in parliament between the Western-backed ruling
majority and the opposition, which is backed by Syria and Iran.
The latest delay brings to 13 the number of sessions that have been postponed
since September, amid failure by the rival parties to pick a successor to
Lahoud.(AFP) Beirut, 20 Jan 08, 14:06
Moussa: My Clarification of the Initiative is Official, Final
Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa announced Sunday that his clarification
of the Arab initiative is "official …The majority would not take half plus one
and the opposition would not take one third plus one."
Moussa told reporters after separate meetings with Premier Fouad Saniora and
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri he would leave Lebanon later in the day because
"obstacles persist and might need more time."
If sides "disagree on figures it doesn't mean that the initiative has failed,"
Moussa said.
He stressed that the Arab League is "biased only in favor of Lebanon … We are
not exerting pressure, either the majority or the opposition."
Moussa made the remarks after Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun said he
is suffering from a Urinary Track stone attack, which forced him to cancel a
meeting with majority representatives and Moussa to consider the Arab
initiative.
Aoun told Voice of Lebanon radio he needs "two more days" of rest before
resuming his public efforts.
The meeting, originally scheduled for Saturday, was to group Aoun, ex-President
Amin Gemayel and Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri with Moussa to review the
outcome of talks the Arab League chief held with officials of Syrian President
Bashar Assad's regime in Damascus.
The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat said the clarification made by Moussa during his
talks with Syrian officials, including Assad and his deputy Farouq al-Sharaa,
focused on the fact that the Lebanese opposition should not get more than one
third of the government seats and the majority should not get more than half.
Such a clarification, which prevents the Hizbullah-led opposition from having
veto powers in the cabinet, was "accepted" by Syrian officials, al-Hayat
reported.
The March 14 majority had proposed a 14-6-10 formula that the opposition
rejected and insisted on its 10-10-10 proposal, while Moussa proposed a concept
based on 13 seats for the majority, 10 seats for the opposition and seven seats
for the president, the newspaper added.
It said Moussa would try to promote his proposal in Beirut based on the
"positive" talks he held in Damascus.
Moussa, the newspaper said, would decide Sunday whether to stay in Beirut,
waiting for progress of Aoun's health condition to enable the latter take part
in the meeting with Gemayel and Hariri.
The Arab initiative was further criticized Saturday by Hizbullah leader Hassan
Nasrallah, who accused the Arabs of pressuring the opposition.
He urged the Arabs to work out a "domestic settlement based on the principle of
partnership not on the base of pressuring a party into surrendering."
"If the mediations and initiatives fail, we would not stand idly by the dead
end. The opposition would shoulder its responsibility and has the courage to
sponsor action under a political slogan," Nasrallah threatened.
Beirut, 20 Jan 08, 13:13
Aoun's Urinary Track Stone Postpones Moussa-Sponsored Meeting
Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun said Sunday he is suffering from a
Urinary Track stone attack, which forced him to cancel a meeting with majority
representatives and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa to consider the
Arab initiative.
Aoun told Voice of Lebanon radio he needs "two more days" of rest before
resuming his public efforts.
The meeting, originally scheduled for Saturday, was to group Aoun, ex-President
Amin Gemayel and Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri with Moussa to review the
outcome of talks the Arab League chief held with officials of Syrian President
Bashar Assad's regime in Damascus.
The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat said the clarification made by Moussa during his
talks with Syrian officials, including Assad and his deputy Farouq al-Sharaa,
focused on the fact that the Lebanese opposition should not get more than one
third of the government seats and the majority should not get more than half.
Such a clarification, which prevents the Hizbullah-led opposition from having
veto powers in the cabinet, was "accepted" by Syrian officials, al-Hayat
reported.
The March 14 majority had proposed a 14-6-10 formula that the opposition
rejected and insisted on its 10-10-10 proposal, while Moussa proposed a concept
based on 13 seats for the majority, 10 seats for the opposition and seven seats
for the president, the newspaper added.
It said Moussa would try to promote his proposal in Beirut based on the
"positive" talks he held in Damascus.
Moussa, the newspaper said, would decide Sunday whether to stay in Beirut,
waiting for progress of Aoun's health condition to enable the latter take part
in the meeting with Gemayel and Hariri.
The Arab initiative was further criticized Saturday by Hizbullah leader Hassan
Nasrallah, who accused the Arabs of pressuring the opposition.
He urged the Arabs to work out a "domestic settlement based on the principle of
partnership not on the base of pressuring a party into surrendering."
"If the mediations and initiatives fail, we would not stand idly by the dead
end. The opposition would shoulder its responsibility and has the courage to
sponsor action under a political slogan," Nasrallah threatened.
Beirut, 20 Jan 08, 10:07
Berri: Syria, Saudi Arabia Hold Key to Lebanon Solution
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Saturday urged the Arab League to clarify its
initiative on ending Lebanon's presidential crisis, insisting that Syria and
Saudi Arabia held the key to a solution.
"Without Syria and Saudi Arabia, there will be no resolution to the Lebanese
crisis," Berri said in an exclusive interview with AFP. "But I can't believe
that the Arabs would not put their differences aside for the sake of Lebanon.
The two countries have had strained relations since the February 2005
assassination of Rafik Hariri, Lebanon's billionaire ex-prime minister and a
close ally of Saudi Arabia.
Syria has been accused of orchestrating the killing but has denied involvement."Those who say that the situation in Lebanon can remain like this for months or
until next year's legislative elections are seeking to destroy Lebanon," Berri,
a key opposition member said.
He said that the Arab initiative as being touted by Arab League chief Amr Moussa
was bound to fail as it did not address the demands of the opposition.
"The Arab League ministers must meet again and come up with a clearer statement
because their last statement doesn't make sense unless you interpret it the way
I have," Berri said.
The Arab initiative is based on a three-point plan that calls for the election
of army chief General Michel Suleiman as president, the formation of a national
unity government in which no one party has veto power and the adoption of a new
electoral law.
Moussa said that the plan means that neither the majority nor the opposition
would have the upper hand in the new government and has refused to say how many
seats each side would get in the new cabinet.
Berri said his reading of the plan means that the new 30-member cabinet would be
divided equally between the majority, the Hizbullah-led opposition and the new
president.
The majority, however, rejects such a scenario.
"If the Arab League ministers don't agree with my explanation of their plan,
they should meet again and come up with a new explanation," Berri said.
Moussa later Saturday was due back in Beirut from Damascus, where he held talks
with officials there on ending the crisis, Lebanon's worst since the end of the
1975-1990 civil war. Lebanon has been without a president since Emile Lahoud
stepped down on November 23 with no elected successor because of the standoff
between the pro- and anti-Syrian camps.
Berri has scheduled 12 sessions in parliament since September for lawmakers to
elect a new head of state but all have been postponed despite intense
international pressure to end the crisis.
A new session is scheduled on Monday but it is widely believed that it will also
be postponed.(AFP) Beirut, 19 Jan 08, 19:02
Opposition Sets New Condition: Formation of a Non-Voting Cabinet
The Hizbullah-led opposition has reportedly set a new condition for talks on
ending the presidential election crisis: The formation of a non-voting cabinet.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said the new condition was proposed by Gen.
Michel Aoun.
Geagea said that Aoun made his proposal during a meeting on Thursday between the
Free Patriotic Movement leader, MP Saad Hariri and former President Amin Gemayel
in the presence of Arab League chief Amr Moussa.
"This proves that the opposition is not willing to elect a new president as it
wants to change the cabinet into a presidential council," Geagea said.FPM MP Ibrahim Kanaan refused to comment on Geagea's remarks.
"I did not read Geagea's statement and I don't know what he means by a
non-voting cabinet," he said. "I don't think General Aoun proposed such an
idea," he told The Daily Star. Sources with the majority March 14 Forces said
Arab League Amr Moussa has clarified the interpretation of the Arab plan which
denies the opposition veto power in the future government, while denying the
ruling coalition absolute majority.
The Arab League plan appears to be inclined to adopt a formula where the
majority gets 12 seats in a future cabinet, while the opposition gets 10 and the
President 8. The sources said March 14 did not reject the Arab League proposal,
where as the opposition adhered to its stance which advocates a 10+10+10
formula. Beirut, 19 Jan 08, 08:45
Qandil Wants Opposition Represented at Arab Foreign Ministers' Conference
A Prominent pro-Syrian figure, ex-Mp Nasser Qandil, said Sunday Arab League
chief Amr Moussa is "biased" in favor of the majority and called for
participation by the Hizbullah-led opposition in the forthcoming conference of
Arab foreign ministers. Qandil told a pro-opposition television station the
opposition "should be represented at the forthcoming meeting of Arab foreign
ministers scheduled for next Sunday Jan. 27 by a high ranking delegation to
protest against the bias by the Arab league Secretary General Amr Moussa in
favor of the majority through his interpretation of the Arab initiative" "The
Secretary General, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are biased in favor of the ruling
party," Qandil added. The outspoken supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad's
regime also said the forthcoming prime minister "should be chosen along a
consensus base, even prior to distributing cabinet seats according to the
concept of three equal shares." Qandil noted that if efforts failed to achieve a
settlement to the ongoing crisis along the lines set by the opposition, then
early parliamentary elections should be held. Qandil's remarks echo demands by
the Hizbullah-led opposition to control veto powers in Lebanon's decision-making
process, even without going through a constitutional process. Beirut, 20 Jan 08,
12:54
Sarkis: I can’t believe a
Christian Maronite assaulted Sfeir
Wednesday, 16 January, 2008
Beirut - Lebanon’s Minister of Tourism, Joesph Sarkis was outraged . He could
not believe that former Minister Suleiman Franjieh would assault Christian
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir. He added : “I cannot believe that a
Christian Maronite who is the son of a prominent Zgrtawiyeh family would utter
such words against Patriarch Sfeir. Even his foreign masters ( meaning the
Syrians and Iranians ) would never have dared to assault the patriarch in such a
rude manner .”
“Just like every Christian , every Maronite , every Moslem partner , every
Lebanese citizen , I was shocked by what I heard from Suleiman .”The Master of
Bkirki ( Sfeir) is in no need of being defended by anyone, because Bkirki
defended Lebanon during the time of difficulties, custodianships and occupation
and will not be intimidated by statements of this sort neither will such
statements stand in Bkirki’s way . Sarkis continued : “ Bkirki is a solid rock
which crashed all conspiracies that were plotted against Lebanon throughout
history “"Bkirki ( seat of the Patriarch) has experienced in the past many
storms and many temptations but its position remained firm in defending
Christians and the Lebanese… all the Lebanese, in the face of greed and
conspiracies.”“Some Christians are obviously not aware of the conspiracies that
are being plotted against Lebanon . These conspiracies aim at destroying Lebanon
as a nation through blocking the election of its president and through
paralyzing the national role of the church, if successful such conspiracies
could lead to ending the Christian presence in Lebanon …this is something that
the former minister Suleiman Franjieh should better know “