Lebanon: Warlord with Nine Lives

At 86, former President Camille Chamoun has long since lost track of exactly how many times his enemies have tried to kill him. As the senior Christian Maronite leader in Lebanon, Chamoun is a magnet for political assassins. Last week would-be killers struck again -- and failed again.

This time, a remote-controlled bomb concealed in a blue Peugeot was detonated as Chamoun's motorcade passed through an East Beirut suburb en route to a meeting of Christian power brokers. The explosion sent his bulletproof + car flying more than 50 ft. across the pavement. Miraculously, the car landed on its wheels, and Chamoun escaped with only cuts and scratches. "God is protecting us," he concluded. Others were not so lucky. The explosion took the lives of a pedestrian and three of Chamoun's bodyguards, who were traveling in a separate car, and injured 35 others.