Prince Alwaleed bin Talal takes issue with Future TV
Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s office in Beirut has objected to news coverage by Future TV, owned by Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, stemming from the cellular phone row raging between President Emile Lahoud and the premier.
Alwaleed’s office said the station had taken comments by the prince out of context regarding the cellular issue, and added that Alwaleed “fully supported” Lahoud’s stand on the matter, questioning the sell-off of two mobile phone licenses while prices in the sector are at a minimum worldwide.
The statement also reminded Future that while identifying the prince as “the owner of the Movenpick Hotel in Beirut” was accurate, he could also be referred to as the full owner of more than 1,300 companies and some 4,000 affiliated firms across the world.

Addoum orders investigation into ‘black box’ funds
State Prosecutor Adnan Addoum has charged assistant state prosecutor, Rabia Qaddoura Omaish, with investigating a tip-off to the judiciary over the alleged siphoning of funds from Casino du Liban into a “black box,” to be used for political purposes.
The head of the Surete Generale, Major General Jamil Sayyed, informed Addoum that several politicians had made statements in the media recently, alleging that revenues destined for the state were being diverted to fund an effort to see President Emile Lahoud secure a second term.

Soldiers reminded of their duty and of fallen comrades
Army Commander Michel Suleiman issued an order of the day Tuesday, reminding members of the military of their duties and of their three comrades who were recently killed in action.
In a reference to the three army soldiers killed in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian camp in early July, Suleiman praised the popular support the army received over the incident.
“Your stern attitude has led to the arrest of the culprits,” he said in his address to the military. “Everyone rallied around you (the army).”
Also Tuesday, Defense Minister Khalil Hrawi visited army units in the South in the run-up to Army Day, which will be celebrated Thursday.

Hariri confers with Palestinian Orthodox spokesperson
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri conferred Tuesday with the official spokesperson from the Orthodox Church in Palestine, Father Atallah Hanna, concerning Israeli policies that have proved damaging to the church.
During a visit to the Grand Serail, Hanna discussed with the prime minister the importance of strong Arab support for Palestinians, who have been struggling to end the Israeli occupation and establish a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.
He also pointed to the “Zionist interference” in the affairs of the church, which supports the Palestinian cause.

American Task Force director ‘positively impressed’
George Cody, executive director of the American Task Force for Lebanon, said Tuesday that he would be taking back to the United States a “very positive impression” of the country.
“I have been here 10 to 15 times and each time I seem to sense that there is an improvement,” he told reporters at a news conference at the Riviera Hotel.
Cody was one of five delegates from the ATFL who spent a weeklong fact-finding trip to Lebanon and Syria, where they met senior officials and NGO representatives from both countries.

Lahoud to be focus of Shabrouh Dam ceremony
Preliminary preparations for the weekend ceremony of the Shabrouh Dam are reportedly under way in Kesrouan.
The ceremony will be held Saturday in the presence of President Emile Lahoud, while a meeting Tuesday at the Zouk Mikail municipality discussed the welcoming ceremony for the president.
A large tent was set up in Faraya to receive Lahoud, ministers, MPs, the representative of Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Butros Sfeir as well as other figures.
Meeting participants asserted that Kesrouan will express to Lahoud its appreciation for his personal efforts in carrying out the long-awaited project.

Gabriel Murr visits Michel Aoun in Paris
Metn MP Gabriel Murr paid former army Commander General Michel Aoun a visit in his Paris exile Tuesday to thank him for Free Patriotic Movement support during last month’s Metn by-elections that split the electorate into pro-regime and pro-opposition camps.
Murr, whose election is currently being contested before the Constitutional Council, insisted on his calls for Syrian withdrawal, a stance he shares with Aoun.
During the 90-minute meeting, Murr discussed the country’s economic crisis and the issue of freedoms, issues on which he said he agrees with Aoun.
Murr said his visit was delayed because he was caught up in preparing a response to the challenge that his opponent Myrna Murr had submitted to the Constitutional Council.

Private hospitals will treat urgent public patient cases
Two weeks after announcing they could no longer admit government-insured patients due to a lack of funds, private hospitals have officially decided to treat urgent cases.
Private hospitals have been facing economic hardship due to the government’s failure to pay its dues, which amount to more than $200 million.
The president of the Association of Private Hospitals Fawzi Adaimi said Tuesday after a meeting with Prime Minister Rafik Hariri that, although the government has paid less than 20 percent of its dues, hospitals are receiving patients “as much as our capacities allow.”

Military Tribunal accuses Hamadeh of army killings
The Military Tribunal on Tuesday accused Badih Hamadeh, also known as Abu Obeida, of the premeditated murder of three army intelligence soldiers in Sidon earlier this month.
Chief Military Investigating Magistrate Riad Talih requested the death sentence for Hamadeh, as well as his Palestinian fiancee, Suhair Said, and her mother Naifa Qanawan for facilitating the crime.
Hamadeh was arrested two weeks ago after taking refuge at the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon, near where he allegedly killed the soldiers.
Talih requested hard labor for Ahmed Mikati and Saededdine Sis, who are at large, for allegedly sheltering Hamadeh after the killings. The magistrate also instructed security personnel to determine the full identity of two other people who helped shelter Hamadeh.
Talih decided that two government informants, who had been suspected of being double agents, will not face trial due to a lack of evidence.

Lahoud sends condolences over Ukraine air disaster
President Emile Lahoud’s chief of protocol, Maroun Haymari, extended the president’s condolences to Ukrainian Ambassador to Lebanon Valery Rilach on Tuesday for the deaths of Ukrainian citizens during the recent air show disaster in western Ukraine.
During his visit to the Ukrainian Embassy in Jisr al-Basha, Hmeiri conveyed the president’s “deepest sympathy” to the Ukrainian people in the condolences book.
A Sukhoi Su-27 jet ploughed into spectators during a Saturday air show in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, killing 83 people and injuring over 100.

Journalist fined LL1 million for contempt of court
A journalist was fined LL1 million for contempt of court Tuesday for comments made on a talk-show criticizing judicial inaction in a long-running lawsuit.
Saada Allaou, a reporter for the As-Safir daily, was fined LL 10 million, but the court of publications waived 90 percent of the fine.
In an appearance on a Future TV talk-show several months ago, Allaou said judicial authorities had lost a file pertaining to a suit by a woman whose daughter had disappeared after entering a convent 14 years ago.
The mother of the missing girl and her lawyer, Said Alameh, were also guests on the show.
The court had announced in early April that it would prosecute Allaou for contempt of court and insinuation over a matter that was sub judice.

UN body accepts membership of family planning group
The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) approved the membership of the Lebanon Family Planning Association in its executive council Tuesday, joining the association with hundreds of other Arab and international associations.
The association’s president Tawfiq Osseiran, who is currently in Yemen, said the decision was an “honor” for the association, which was founded 50 years ago.
Osseiran said the association was not politically, religiously or confessionally defined, and that it strove for the country and all its people. He added that this gesture of appreciation would help open doors for funding.
The Arab world regional director at the International Confederation of Family Planning, Mohammed Kamel, said the association’s achievement added up to a series of other achievements, stressing its precedence in serious work, voluntary service, and devotion.

Jezzine announces schedule for summer festival
Jezzine Mayor Said Abi Aql on Tuesday announced the schedule for the city’s 2002 summer festival, which is being sponsored by the municipality in association with local social clubs.
The festival began Tuesday with the inauguration of a road leading to the city from the west, Abi Aql told a news conference.
The next slated event will be a beauty pageant on Aug. 3, to be held at a local restaurant.
The town will mark the Feast of the Assumption of Mary on Aug. 15 with festivities that begin on Aug. 10 and end Aug. 18 with a night of music.
An exhibition of Jezzine handicrafts will mark the end of the festival on Sept. 13-15.
Tourism Minister Karam Karam is the expected patron of the exhibition.

Italian battleship will help mark Army Day
The Italian Embassy announced Tuesday that the missile cruiser Vittorio Veneto will arrive in Beirut on Friday to help commemorate Army Day.
The battleship will be open to the public on Friday from 4pm to 7pm and on Sunday from 3.30pm to 6.30pm.
An embassy press release said that the missile cruiser’s visit would occur within the framework of the Italian Navy cadets naval campaign and that the “beautiful Italian battleship” would leave Lebanon on Aug. 5.
The statement added that the gesture marks the 20th anniversary of the presence in Lebanon of the Italian Peace Contingent of the Multinational Force from 1982-84.
The embassy said the visit “is a way to honor the endeavor of those Italian soldiers who stood side by side with the Lebanese people during one of the most dramatic moments of their history,” the statement said.

Bank employees want dental care covered by NSSF
The Confederation of Bank Employees Unions on Tuesday called for the immediate extension of dental care coverage by the National Social Security Fund and respecting the list of drugs covered by the NSSF.
The confederation’s secretary-general, Ghazi Hibri, who is also member of the NSSF administrative board, urged Labor Minister Ali Qanso to settle the dental issue, saying dental clinics are empty because people are waiting for the dental coverage to begin.
Hibri reminded physicians and people benefiting from NSSF coverage of the need to respect the list of NSSF accepted drugs, starting Aug. 1.
He urged bank employees to be careful with all medical prescriptions, saying any medicines not listed will not be covered.
Hibri also questioned the Labor Ministry about the reason behind its delay in approving the NSSF decision on July 4 to increase the number of dentist and physician observers.

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