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Lebanon Elects Suleiman President as Hezbollah Gains
 Lebanon's parliament elected armed forces chief Michel Suleiman president, ending a power struggle in which Hezbollah, labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S., gained authority at the expense of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's pro-Western government. The result of the vote was carried by international broadcasters and was a foregone conclusion. Siniora's parliamentary bloc and the Hezbollah-led opposition on May 21 endorsed Suleiman, 59, as part of an Arab League-brokered deal struck in Qatar to end a political crisis that sparked the worst fighting since the 1975-1990 civil war. Suleiman was elected by 118 of the 127 lawmakers who voted, Agence France-Presse said. Posted by: Fred 2008-05-26 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=239967 |