U.S. backed Hariri coalition claims victory in Lebanon vote

All kinds of good news in this, can't wait to see what happens in Iran.

BEIRUT (AFP) – A US-backed coalition in Lebanon claimed victory on Monday over an alliance headed by the fundamentalist Shiite militant group Hezbollah after a fiercely-contested election.

"This is a big day in the history of democratic Lebanon," a triumphant Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian grouping known as March 14, told cheering supporters at a rally after Sunday's vote.

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Hariri's coalition -- which held the majority in the old parliament -- was set to win 70 seats in the new 128-seat assembly against 58 for Hezbollah and its Christian and Shiite allies, according to his Future television station.

Poll: Mideast Arabs think very highly of Obama

It's been awhile since I posted a poll, and this is a good one.

WASHINGTON — As President Barack Obama prepares to journey to Egypt on June 4 to address the Muslim world, his overtures to the Middle East are paying off in positive feelings towards him from Arab peoples that far outpace the region's critical view of the United States itself, according to a new McClatchy/Ipsos Poll.

The poll of six Arab nations found that residents think that Obama will have a positive impact on the Middle East — a region marked by war, religious disputes, ethnic and sectarian violence — as well as on the United States and the rest of the world.

Obama scored highest in Jordan, where 58 percent of its citizens have a favorable opinion of him, 29 percent have an unfavorable view, 6 percent had no opinion and 7 percent didn't know.

Saudi Arabians have a 53 percent favorable opinion of Obama, followed by 52 percent in the United Arab Emirates. From there, Obama's popularity dips below 50 percent with a 47 percent favorability rating in Kuwait, 43 percent in Lebanon and 35 percent in Egypt. In none of these countries, however, was Obama's unfavorable rating higher than his favorable one.

In contrast, only 38 percent of Saudis have a favorable view of the United States, followed by 36 percent of Jordanians, 34 percent of UAE residents, 31 percent of Lebanese and 22 percent of Egyptians.