LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
June 16/08
Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to
Saint Matthew 9,36-38.10,1-8.
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they
were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his
disciples, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master
of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest." Then he summoned his
twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the twelve apostles
are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of
Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the
tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean, and
Judas Iscariot who betrayed him. Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing
them thus, "Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation:
'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse
lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are
to give.
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for June
15/08
Syria's Assad meets French envoys-International
Herald Tribune
Israeli officials take part in another round of Syria talks-Jerusalem
Post
Israel-Syria talks enter second round in Turkey-Ha'aretz
European MPs Pressing Towards Branding Hizbullah 'Terrorist' Group-Naharnet
Bush,
Sarkozy Committed to Backing Lebanon-Naharnet
Arab League chief sees new Lebanon government soon-Reuters
Bush,
Sarkozy Committed to Backing Lebanon-Naharnet
Handbag Loaded With
Feminine Underwear Blocks Traffic-Naharnet
Rice
More Positive About Sarkozy-Assad Meeting-Naharnet
At Least 10 People Arrested after Shooting Incident on Army Patrol-Naharnet
Moussa
Wouldn't Interfere in Cabinet Forming-Naharnet
Aoun Rejects Giving President Two Key Christian Cabinet Seats-Naharnet
'Al Watan': Europe will stop Hariri probe if Syria cuts terror ties-Jerusalem
Post
Analyze This: A shadowy Syrian arms dealer's extradition ...Jerusalem
Post
Joint US-France Statement on Lebanon-US
Department of State
Moussa: no meddling on cabinet posts-Gulf
Times
Olmert aide: Israel, Syria may hold direct talks soon-Xinhua
Bush, Sarkozy Urge Diplomatic Ties Between Syria and Lebanon-Voice
of America
Syria warns Golan ‘can be freed through means other than peace’-Ynetnews
A Major Arms Dealer in Shackles, Delivered to New York-New
York Times
Aoun Rejects Giving President Two Key Christian
Cabinet Seats
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun has rejected giving the
President two key Christian seats in the new cabinet. "We do not accept giving
the President two sovereign Christian portfolios, because acceptance of that
would be neutralizing the Christian decision inside the government," Aoun told
his Orange television late Saturday. "Therefore, the neutral, consensus
President should choose between the interior and defense ministries," Aoun
added. "In both cases, what is needed is a Christian-Muslim balance in the
President's portfolios so that there would be a balance inside the government."
"When the President is being (given control over the allocation) of two
sovereign portfolios, then one (post) should go to the Christians and the other
to the Muslims," Aoun said. He was responding to remarks made by Prime
Minister-designate Fouad Saniora earlier Saturday. Aoun said that the two other
cabinet posts should be divided up equally between the opposition and the
majority. Saniora on Saturday said "national and security needs require that
President Michel Suleiman names the defense and interior ministers." Saniora
said the new cabinet would "eventually be formed. Every day we face a small
obstacle and we overcome it." Beirut, 15 Jun 08, 09:02
At Least 10 People Arrested after Shooting Incident on Army
Patrol
Naharnet/More than 10 people have been arrested after gunmen
fired at a Lebanese army patrol near the Palestinian refugee camp of Beddawi in
north Lebanon.
The attack on Saturday took place in Qobbeh, a predominantly Sunni district on
the northeastern edge of the port city of Tripoli. No casualties were reported.
"There was an exchange of fire, but there were no injuries," a security official
said, adding that 10 people were arrested after the incident near the Beddawi
camp.
More people were detained as about 100 men and boys from the area took to the
streets, burning tires and blocking off roads, in protest at the initial
arrests, an AFP correspondent said. The army intervened to reopen the roads, one
security official said, adding that all those detained were released, apart from
three people suspected of involvement in the shootout. Local storeowners shut
down early and the unrest led to an increased army deployment in the
neighborhood.
Security concerns have mounted in Lebanon in the face of sporadic attacks on
army posts and sectarian clashes between opponents and supporters of the
government. On Thursday, the army defused a roadside bomb near a military base
north of Tripoli and last month a soldier was killed in a blast at an army
intelligence base in Abdeh, also in north Lebanon. The latest violence comes as
efforts to form a new national unity government are deadlocked over key
portfolios, including the defense and interior ministries, despite an agreement
in Doha last month by rival factions.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 15 Jun 08, 09:00
Rice More Positive About Sarkozy-Assad Meeting
Naharnet/U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed
confidence Saturday that France would send the right message to Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad when he visits Paris next month. Rice spoke soon after her
arrival to Israel from the French capital, where she took part in a donors'
conference for Afghanistan and accompanied U.S. President George Bush on his
visit there. Earlier in the week she had expressed some reservations about the
recent rapprochement between France and Syria. Freshly arrived in Jerusalem on
Saturday however, she was more positive about the forthcoming meeting between
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Assad. "I don't have any doubt that any
contact with Bashar al-Assad will be from our point of view contacts that
communicate the right messages on what are shared French and American goals ...
in the Middle East," she told reporters. Assad is to attend the July 14
Independence Day celebrations in Paris at the invitation of Sarkozy. "I also
know that we and the French have completely consonant views on the situation in
Lebanon as evidenced by the joint statement that presidents Sarkozy and Bush
issued today," she added. Earlier Saturday, Bush and Sarkozy issued a joint
statement in which they urged Syria to break ties with Iran, end its support for
anti-Israeli militants, and renew formal ties with Lebanon.(AFP) Beirut, 15 Jun
08, 04:14
European MPs Pressing Towards Branding Hizbullah
'Terrorist' Group
Naharnet/European MPs representing several blocs of the
continent's nations have prepared a memorandum urging the European Union to
declare Hizbullah a "terrorist organization." The memo states that Hizbullah
"poses a direct threat to the EU security." It accuses Hizbullah of backing
groups like Hamas, classified by the EU as a terrorist faction, broadcasting
through its al-Manar television mouthpiece messages of "hatred and violence" and
glorifying suicide attackers.
Elmar Brok, a German member of the European Parliament and chairman of the
committee on foreign affairs, declared support for the memo and said he expects
at least half of the European Parliament's legislators to sign it. However, Brok
emphasized that the last say in this regard lies in the hands of the European
Council that tackles such issues behind closed doors. Berlin, Brok added, is
following up the situation in Lebanon and stressed that the issue of classifying
Hizbullah as a terrorist organization should be discussed in light of Lebanon
developments. Brok, who was elected on the Christian Democratic Union's ticket,
said "important steps" have been achieved in Lebanon in light of the Doha Accord
that had been signed by the various factions, including Hizbullah.
Such important steps include the election of Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman
president, he noted.
Intensive efforts are underway to form a national unity cabinet, Brok said,
adding that "these steps are being exerted in the proper direction that enables
Lebanon to overcome the threat of split.""We'll do whatever leads to a positive
development in Lebanon and serves the interest of the Lebanese people," he
pledged.
However, a German foreign ministry spokesman told the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat
Berlin has reservations over efforts by European Parliament members to list
Hizbullah as a terrorist organization. Such decisions are usually tackled by the
European Council and not by the European Parliament, the spokesman noted.
Such an issue should be evaluated in light of the "positive development in
Lebanon," the spokesman stressed. Berlin's stand reflects the German
government's interest in maintaining its rather unique relations with Hizbullah
as a successful mediator for more than a decade in prisoner swaps between the
Iranian-backed party and Israel. Beirut, 14 Jun 08, 09:48
Bush, Sarkozy Committed to Backing Lebanon
Naharnet/U.S. President George Bush and his French counterpart
Nicolas Sarkozy said Saturday they agree on guaranteeing Lebanon's sovereignty
and independence. Sarkozy also said Paris and Washington would proceed with the
international tribunal to the "maximum" stating that Syria should keep Lebanon
free.
Bush, on his part, said Syrian President Bashar Assad should halt his alleged
support to "terrorists." Bush, on a visit to France, said he discussed with
Sarkozy the situation in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, emphasizing on
the importance of a settlement to the situation in the Middle East. Beirut, 14
Jun 08, 13:46
Handbag Loaded With Feminine Underwear Blocks Traffic
Naharnet/A handbag loaded with feminine underwear blocked traffic
in south Beirut's Chiyah district for 30 minutes after sparking panic that it
could be booby trapped. The black and red handbag was found deserted on the main
Chiyah highway, a stronghold for Hizbullah and allied AMAL movement on Beirut's
southern edge. A police official said the department received "a flood of calls
reporting a suspicious object. Army units sealed off the area as a sapper opened
the bag and found feminine underwear."The highway was reopened to normal
traffic, he added. Beirut, 14 Jun 08, 12:22
Moussa Wouldn't Interfere in Cabinet Forming
Naharnet/Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said Saturday
he would not interfere in the forthcoming cabinet make up or distributing
portfolios.
Moussa, talking to reporters after meeting Premier-designate Fouad Saniora, also
emphasized that the Doha Accord's "general spirit" has spoken of a "neutral
interior minister." Obstacles facing efforts to form the new cabinet, according
to Moussa, "are Lebanese problems" that the Arab Ministerial Committee does not
interfere in. "All obstacles can be surpassed," he added. Moussa, who flew in
late Friday on a dual mission, is to hold talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih
Berri and caretaker Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh. Later Saturday, the Arab
league chief is to attend the wedding of Berri's daughter to which he was
invited by the Lebanese parliament speaker. Beirut, 14 Jun 08, 11:27
European Parliament Conference Highlights Assyrian
Suffering in Iraq
6-14-2008 13:22:13
Assyrian International News Agency
Brussels -- On Wednesday 11 June 2008 more than 100 guests attended a conference
at the European Parliament in Brussels on the situation of the Assyrians in
Iraq. The event was organized by the Assyria Council of Europe in cooperation
with the European Peoples Party-European Democrats, the biggest bloc in the
European Parliament, and touched on crucial issues and questions regarding the
plight and future survival of Iraq's indigenous people. Subjects discussed
included the plight of Assyrian IDPs throughout Iraq, Art. 125 of the Iraqi
Constitution and the protection of minorities, territorial and extra-territorial
federalism, the situation of other Iraqi minorities, and EU aid to Iraq. The
general consensus throughout the conference was that the situation of the
Assyrians in Iraq is precarious and more must be done by the international
community, including the EU, to protect the Assyrians.
His Eminence the Ambassador of Iraq to Brussels, Mr. Mohammed Al-Doreky, made it
clear that it saddens him when Assyrians leave Iraq and that as the indigenous
people of the land they have a right to remain on their ancestral homeland. In a
very thought-provoking analysis, Dr. Willy Fautre of Human Rights Without
Frontiers also discussed whether territorial federalism alone in Iraq will
suffice to protect its minorities or whether there needs to be some kind of
extra-territorial federalism also to ensure the survival and protection of
minorities wherever they reside in the country. Mrs. Pascale Warda of the
Hammorabi Human Rights Organization and the former Minister of Migration and
Displacement, was adamant that the Iraqi government must do more to ensure the
protection of the Assyrian Christian community and reminded all the participants
that since 2003 at least 44 churches have been bombed throughout the country.
In addition to a good number of MEPs present at the conference, there were also
representatives of various NGOs, journalists and representatives of other Iraqi
minority communities. Furthermore, His Beatitude the Bishop of the Syriac
Orthodox Church in Belgium, Severios Hazail Soumi, together with the Syriac
Orthodox Church Bishop of Mosul, Severios Hawa, was also present at the event.
In particular, His Beatitude Hazail Soumi asked the panelists why a safe haven
in Iraq isn't being created for the Christians whereas in the 1990's steps were
taken to protect the persecuted Kurdish and Shiite communities of Iraq. Mr.
Ninos Warda, ACE Project Director stated that, 'This event has been a profound
success because it has raised the profile of the suffering of the Assyrians in
Iraq in an institution which has on many occasions released resolutions
expressing its concern for the suffering of these people.'
Assyria Council of Europe