LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
August 7/07

Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 9,28-36. About eight days after he said this, he took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." But he did not know what he was saying. While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my chosen Son; listen to him."After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen

Opinions
The good, the bad, and the bizarre in Lebanese elections-The Daily Star. August 7/07

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for August 7/07
Aoun says Metins Fell to Financial Temptation-Naharnet
Geagea: March 14 Christians Won Metn Elections by Referendum-Naharnet
Gemayel: I Represent the Christians-Naharnet
Hariri: Beirut and Amin Gemayel Emerged Victorious-Naharnet
Israel Warns Citizens of Possible Hizbullah Kidnappings Abroad-Naharnet
Fadlallah Urges Formation of "Axis of the Good" to Face U.S. Policies-Naharnet
Opposition Wins Metn By-Election by Narrow Margin, Gemayel Reaps Majority Maronite Votes-Naharnet
Moustaqbal Celebrates By-Election Victory in Beirut-Naharnet
Six People Killed in Head-on Collision in Lebanon-Naharnet
Lebanon Opposition Wins Parliament Seat-Washington Post
Opposition Has Edge in Lebanon Vote-New York Times
By-elections: Aoun supporters attack opponents wounding 3-Ya Libnan
Fadlallah Urges Formation of 'Axis of the Good' to Face U.S. Policies
Siniora praises democratic process in by-elections-Daily Star
Itani wins by wide margin in Beirut's second district-Daily Star
Aoun declares victory of FPM candidate in Metn, Gemayel disputes results-Daily Star
Girl 'raised from dead' after Israeli air strike-Daily Star
Security measures prove successful as few incidents occur during voting-Daily Star
LADE sees only a few 'disturbing' violations in by-elections-Daily Star
Supporters, voters turn out in droves for peaceful ballot casting in Metn-Daily Star 
Siniora praises democratic process in by-elections-Daily Star
Army seizes tunnels, buildings in Nahr al-Bared-Daily Star Staff
Lebanese vote in tense elections-CNN
Russian Navy to operate from Syria-Ynetnews
Spanish FM has 'positive message' from Syria for Olmert-Ha'aretz

Gemayel: I Represent the Christians
Ex-President Amin Gemayel said Monday results of the Metn by-elections show that he is the true representative of the Christians, stressing that the forthcoming head of state should be chosen from the March 14 alliance. Gemayel, who lost Sunday's elections with a narrow margin, said 57% of Maronite voters supported him, compared with 47% in favor of Camille Khoury, who won the race for Gen. Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement.
Results of the vote, Gemayel noted, "show how deep Syria's influence is in the Metn. This worries us, especially that we observed the extent of its influence on its allies." "That is why, the battle for sovereignty and independence is not over yet. Our mission is to expose how serious is the influence of Syria's intelligence in Lebanon," Gemayel added. He noted that Aoun's candidate won 80% of Armenian voters, 97% of Shiite voters and 50% of Sunni voters. "These figures prove that the Muslims supported Aoun and backed his candidate," Gemayel added. He said the forthcoming president should "naturally be (chosen) from the March 14 ranks."He warned against the election of a president with "dual loyalty, loyal to Lebanon and loyal to Syria."Gemayel also rejected the formation of an interim cabinet if parliament fails to elect a new head of state before President Emile Lahoud's extended term expires on Nov. 22. Beirut, 06 Aug 07, 19:24

Opposition Wins Metn By-Election by Narrow Margin, Gemayel Reaps Majority Maronite Votes
Camille Khoury, the candidate backed by opposition leader Gen. Michel Aoun beat by a narrow margin former President Amin Gemayel in the crucial Metn by-election, but the anti-Syrian runner reaped a vast majority of Maronite votes. Gemayel, a prominent leader of the pro-government ruling majority, had been vying to replace his son Pierre Gemayel who was killed last November in one of a series of attacks blamed by the majority on Syria. Damascus has rejected the accusations.
Khoury won 39,534 votes, against 39,116 votes for Gemayel, whose representative has lodged a "complaint on the results," Interior Minister Hasan Sabah said in a press conference before dawn Monday. He gave no other details. Both sides declared they had won a few hours after the polls closed Sunday.
The daily An Nahar on Monday said the Armenian community in Lebanon played a key role in the Metn by-election victory. It said that while Khoury obtained 8,400 Armenian votes, Gemayel got only 1,600. Several Lebanese newspapers on Monday said that although Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement emerged the winner in the weekend poll, the party had nonetheless been weakened politically as it only clinched a narrow victory.
The pro-government French daily L'Orient Le Jour said that had it not been for the support of the Armenian community in one district, where Gemayel alleged vote-rigging, Aoun's party would have been trampled in the polls. Sabeh earlier told reporters that the ruling majority candidate, Mohammed al-Amin Itani, had won as expected a landslide victory in another by-election which was also held on Sunday in Beirut.
The by-elections were held to replace two anti-Syrian lawmakers killed in attacks blamed by the anti-Syrian March 14 majority on former powerbroker Damascus, which supports the Hibullah-led opposition. The two murdered MPs were Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, a Christian who was gunned down in a Beirut suburb on November 21, 2006, and Sunni Muslim Walid Eido, who was killed in a car bombing in Beirut on June 13.
After the end of the by-elections, the two camps immediately called for self-restraint, as hundreds of supporters from both sides gathered in public squares amid a heavy deployment of army and security forces backed by armored vehicles. One person was slightly injured by youths throwing stones in Beirut's northern suburb of Jdeideh where supporters of the two camps had gathered in the same public square, an AFP photographer witnessed. In a televised speech Aoun had announced Khoury's victory over Gemayel, and appealed for calm.
But Gemayel had refused to admit defeat until official results were announced and demanded a rerun of the vote in one mainly Armenian region where he claimed voter fraud. "We want elections to be repeated in the Burj Hammoud district," Gemayel told his supporters gathered in his hometown of Bikfaya.
He said there were reports from that area of people not living there or deceased casting votes as well as irregularities with voting cards. The Metn by-election has deeply split Lebanon's Christians ahead of polls to elect a new head of state. The outcome of the poll is expected to set the tone for presidential elections due to be held in September. Traditionally, the president is chosen from the Maronite Christian community in Lebanon.
"The legend of Michel Aoun as the sole Christian leader has crumbled," Walid Jumblat, a prominent leader of the ruling majority, told Lebanese television. "Amin Gemayel has won the political battle. Michel Aoun has fallen politically despite all his alliances," he said. Following the by-elections, parliament's challenge will still be to elect a new president to succeed pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud by a November 25 deadline. While the majority controls enough seats to elect a president, it needs the opposition to take part for the two-thirds quorum required for parliament to convene.
The by-elections came amid heightened political and security tensions in the deeply divided country as a deadly showdown between the army and Islamist extremists in the northern Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-bared continues to rage after 11 weeks.(AFP-Naharnet)(An Nahar photo shows Aoun supporters celebrating in Jdeideh) Beirut, 06 Aug 07, 07:21

Geagea: March 14 Christians Won Metn Elections by Referendum
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Monday the Metn by-elections were rather a referendum in which Christian factions of the March 14 alliance harvested 52% of the sect's votes. "some (factions) wanted the Metn competition to be a referendum. Indeed, it was. and the results are clear: Christian forces of the March 14 alliance were backed by 52% of Christian voters in the northern Metn constituency," Geagea told a news conference. He criticized Gen. Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement because its candidate, Camille Khoury, won the Metn parliamentary seat that went vacant by the tragic assassination of Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel last Nov. 21. Gemayel's father, ex-President Amin Gemayel, lost the seat with a narrow margin in the vote Sunday. "Is it fair that some one else occupies the seat of martyr Pierre Gemayel who has been assassinated?" Geagea asked. "It is as if the enemies of Lebanon who carry out political assassinations have achieved their purpose by uprooting a (parliamentary) seat, stripping the Phalange Party of it and giving it to other people" Geagea said.
Geagea said he is "proud of the Lebanese People, especially the Metnis, for their democratic practice."In answering a question as to whether Aoun's chance of being elected president has decreased because of the Metn election result, Geagea replied: "yes in light of his behavior."He said Aoun has in fact has recognized the legitimacy of Premier Fouad Saniora's government by taking part in the election, the call for which was made by a government decree that lacked the signature of President Emile Lahoud. Beirut, 06 Aug 07, 20:00

Aoun says Metins Fell to Financial Temptation
Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun on Monday accused fellow citizens in the Metn of falling victim to financial temptation. Aoun, in remarks published on his movement's website, said: "We hope this does not become a habit." Noting that "..Metn citizens .. fell victim to financial temptation." Aoun said his movement was "proud" of representing the social fabric in Metn. He congratulated Metn voters for electing his candidate Camille Khoury and accused the Hariri clan of financing the campaign against his FPM. He also attacked Druse leader Walid Jumblat, a prominent figure of the March 14 majority alliance. Beirut, 06 Aug 07, 20:27

Hariri: Beirut and Amin Gemayel Emerged Victorious
Al-Moustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri said Monday that Premier Fouad Saniora's majority government emerged victorious from the by-elections and proved that it is not biased in favor of any faction. Hariri said the March 14 majority alliance registered victories on Sunday in the Beirut and Metn constituencies.
In Beirut, al-Moustaqbal candidate Mohammed al-Amin Itani won the competition registering a "decisive victory against crime and its tools," Hariri said.
He was referring to the late MP Walid Eido who represented al-Moustaqbal in parliament until he was killed by a powerful car bomb blast along with his son, Khaled, on June 13. By casting their ballots on Sunday, voters in Beirut achieved "victory against crime and its tools … Beirut said it will not forget its martyrs irrespective of how many car bombs the criminals send to it," Hariri said. In the Metn constituency, ex-President Amin Gemayel who lost the competition with a narrow margin "emerged victorious … because Christians in general and Maronites, in particular, supported him," Hariri said. "Results testify to this fact."
Gemayel entered the race to fill in the parliamentary seat that went vacant when his son, Pierre, was gunned down by unidentified assailants on Nov. 21.
"Sheik Amin emerged victorious and Pierre, the martyr, also emerged victorious," Hariri added. He criticized charges to the al-Moustaqbal movement of seeking to Islamize Lebanon, stressing that such a "slogan had been fabricated by Syrian intelligence and circulated in Lebanon." Beirut, 06 Aug 07, 18:10

Israel Warns Citizens of Possible Hizbullah Kidnappings Abroad
Israel on Monday warned Hizbullah militia is seeking to kidnap Israelis who visit Muslim countries. Israel's anti-terror headquarters issued a travel warning ahead of the Jewish holidays in mid-September, repeating its call not to travel to any Arab country. The warning included Jordan and Egypt with its Sinai peninsula -- one of the most popular destinations for Israeli tourists. Jordan and Egypt are the only Arab countries to have signed peace accords with Israel. The warning said that there is "a severe potential threat" of kidnapping Israelis throughout the world by Hizbullah, with which the Jewish state fought a war a year ago after the militia seized two soldiers in a cross-border raid. In 2000, Hizbullah snatched Israeli businessman Elhanan Tannenbaum after luring him to the United Arab Emirates.
He was released in January 2004 as part of a prisoner exchange deal with the militia.(AFP) Beirut, 06 Aug 07, 19:16

Six People Killed in Head-on Collision in Lebanon
Six people were killed Monday in a head-on collision between a car and a passenger van on the Bekaa road connecting Lebanon with Syria, the state-run National News Agency said. NNA said the 7:30 accident between a white Kia and a grey van took place between the towns of Shaat and Rasm al-Hadat near Baalbek in east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. It said among the dead were five Syrians, including the Kia driver, identified as Houri Abbas. NNA said a Lebanese army soldier was seriously wounded in the traffic accident. It said a number of van passengers were also injured in the collision and were taken to Dar al-Hikmeh Hospital in Baalbek for treatment. Beirut, 06 Aug 07, 10:55

Fadlallah Urges Formation of "Axis of the Good" to Face U.S. Policies
Lebanon's most senior Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah urged Arabs and Muslims to form an "Axis of the Good" to counter U.S. policies in the Middle East. Fadlallah criticized a Mideast peace conference proposed by U.S. President George Bush for later this year saying "Palestinians and Arabs will only get promises from it," according to comments released by his office on Sunday. Fadlallah also criticized some Arab governments that have good relations with the United States. "We see that there is a clear and dangerous attempt to change the type of conflict in the region from a conflict between the Arabs and the Zionist entity into an Arab-Islamic conflict or an Arab-Iranian conflict," Fadlallah said. "We call for setting up an Axis of the Good that should include Arab and Muslim people," he said. "It is not enough to talk about the American project aiming to divide the region."
In 2002, U.S. Bush labeled Iran, along with North Korea and Iraq, as an "Axis of Evil." Fadlallah added that Arab states decided in their previous summits not to show that they want to go to war with Israel and "not to use their American-made weapons in an armed conflict with Israel." The black-turbaned cleric said Arab states are helping U.S. and British arms companies by buying weapons they produce. The U.S. plans to extend its aid commitment to Egypt for 10 years and sell Saudi Arabia an estimated US$20 billion of sophisticated weaponry, including advanced air systems that would greatly enhance the striking ability of Saudi warplanes. (AP-Naharnet) Beirut, 06 Aug 07, 09:40