Rizk recommends Bulbul in Gemayel case
Justice Minister Charles Rizk sent the Higher Judicial Council his recommendation on Wednesday to name Judge Imad Bulbul as investigating magistrate into the murder of former Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, slain last November in the Beirut suburb of Jdeideh. Bulbul is currently in charge of the probe into Gemayel's murder. The Higher Judicial Council is expected to announce its decision on the matter during its next meeting.

Siniora meets with PLO representative in Lebanon
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora met Wednesday with Abbas Zaki, the Palestine Liberation Organization representative in Lebanon, to discuss the latest developments in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas intends to visit Lebanon, and Siniora welcomed that probable visit," Zaki said. "The visit may be determined by next week." Siniora also met with the commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon in the South, Major General Alain Pellegrini, who recently ended his term in Lebanon. Siniora praised Pellegrini for his work during his term as head of the international peacekeeping force.

Mouawad holds talks with senior EC aid official
Social Affairs Minister Nayla Mouawad met Wednesday with Jean-Claude Heyraud, the head of the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Department in the Middle East, for a discussion on cooperation between Lebanon and the European Union to assist residents of the South. "The visit was aimed at checking how part of the 50,000 euros dedicated to offer humanitarian aid to those who incurred damage during the 2006 summer war with Israel were spent and to discuss ways to spend the rest of the amount in a more efficient way," Heyraud said.

Israeli Army increases patrols along border
National News Agency reports said Wednesday that the Israeli Army conducted extensive patrols in the Southern borders next to the towns of Adaysseh and Kfar Kila. The reports added that an Israeli surveillance drone violated Lebanese airspace earlier in the day, flying over the towns of Marjayoun and Khiam in the eastern sector of the South. Meanwhile, the Spanish contingent of UNIFIL conducted patrols in the eastern sector Wednesday afternoon.

European church delegation visits religious figures
A delegation from the Council of European Churches visited various religious figures in Lebanon on Wednesday in a show of solidarity with the Lebanese. "Our visit is aimed at achieving peace in Lebanon and the region," the delegation said after meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir. The delegation also met with Beirut Orthodox Archbishop Elias Aoude. "We came to strengthen ties between the Council of European Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches," said Archbishop Jean Arnold De Clairmont, the council's president. "We had a useful meeting with Aoude since we became capable of telling our own countries what is going on in the Middle East."