Pope John Paul II yesterday called on the thousands of Lebanese who converged at the Vatican to celebrate the beatification of father Naamatallah Hardini "to live up to their Christian commitments by showing charity and open-heartedness towards others". The pope also urged Lebanese Christian to follow the example of father Hardini.
The pope sent special greetings to cardinal Nasrallah Butros Sfeir and the Maronites, as well as to all Lebanese pilgrims who participated in the event. Sfeir expressed his deep gratitude to the pope stressing the Lebanese people's gratefulness for the beatification of father Hardini.
Two Lebanese civilians were wounded yesterday by Israeli artillery in Kfar Tibnit. Five houses, a school and a car were damaged in the shelling, which also targeted other villages nearby.
In retaliation for continued shelling of Lebanese villages and civilian injuries, Hizbullah fighters targeted Israeli positions along the border. Two Israeli soldiers were wounded in the Galilee. These were the first casualties on Israeli soil for more than two years.
Hizbullah said "this is a warning to the enemy for its continued violations of the April Understanding."
The Lebanese government lodged a complaint with the five-nation monitoring committee over the civilian injuries.
Elsewhere, a Lebanese man, Ali Ahmad Banjak, arrested by Israel two years ago was released yesterday after an Israeli court found him innocent of conducting attacks against Israeli troops.
The volatile situation in south Lebanon dominated discussions in Damascus between vice-president Abdel-Halim Khaddam and Lebanon's prime minister Rafik Hariri and house speaker Nabih Berri.
Discussions also focused on the regional peace process and bilateral issues. Khaddam told the daily Hayat that municipal and mayoral elections should take place as scheduled, adding they will further enhance the Lebanese government structure.
Hariri who had a series of meetings with Khaddam since last night also updated his Syrian counterpart Mahmoud Zo'abi on his recent talks with French president Jaques Chirac in Paris.
The head of the National Liberal Party Dory Sham'oun today announced his candidacy for the head of the Deir-el Kamar municipal council. Sham'oun said he will put all his capabilities at the disposal of the town.
Sham'oun hoped he could form one single list that could be approved by all, which he said would be to the advantage of Deir-el-Kamar.
The General Labour Confederation announced elections for a new head will take place on July 7. The announcement was made after the GLC had an extraordinary session headed by outgoing head Ghanime Zoghbi. Zoghbi had resigned earlier this month after failing to unite labor unions in Lebanon. The outgoing head of the GLC hoped unions would unite under one umbrella.
Recommendations of the 4th Arab capital markets conference which was held in Beirut and for four consecutive years were announced yesterday. Participants stressed the importance of liberalizing Arab economies, increasing privatization in Arab states, avoiding financial crises similar to those of Asia and preparing policies to accommodate competition and globalization.
A record number of participants took part in the meeting. 475 senior government officials and business leaders from 21 countries attended the conference during which there was evident interest in the Lebanese market and investment in Lebanon.
Kuwait national bank and the Institution in charge of attracting investments to Lebanon today signed a loan agreement to finance the building of an underground parking area at the Beirut international airport. A number of local banks also took part in financing the 16 m dollar loan.
Acting finance minister Fouad Seniora was present at the signing ceremony and praised the agreement saying it manifests the importance of cooperation with the private sector to finance such projects.
The parking area will initially have parking spots for 2300 cars.
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