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Lebanese Designers Exhibition held in London

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By TAMARA TURKI -- arabnews.com -- LONDON: The Arab British Chamber of Commerce hosted the first Lebanese Designers Exhibition in London, celebrating the country’s culture and creatives with a variety of locally handcrafted artisan jewelry, clothing and art. The ABCC, established in 1975, aims to promote trade and investment between Britain and Arab countries. This exhibition focused on empowering Lebanese women by providing them with a platform to display their entrepreneurship in one of the world’s most famous shopping districts.

Rami Mortada, the Lebanese ambassador to the UK, described it as “an event of endurance against all odds.” Mortada said the designers displayed their worth with “defiance against all the circumstances prevailing in our country, Lebanon, and determination to never allow these hardships to take away the soul of the Lebanese people, which is a soul soaked in ingenuity and imagination.” Kuwaiti Ambassador to the UK Bader Al-Awadi, Algerian Ambassador to the UK Lounes Magramane and Saudi Arabian Cultural Attache Amal Fatani also attended the launch. Catching the eye of visitors was the display of LVNT, an online concept store curating products immersed in Levantine heritage and representing the best of the region’s handicraft.

Mikati faces row over Lebanese Cabinet meeting on Monday

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Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi criticizes inability of parliament to elect president after 8 sessions

By Najia Houssari -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has called for a Cabinet meeting on Monday to deal with urgent matters in the country. He announced the move during a speech at the inauguration of the International Arab Book Fair in Beirut. The move has outraged Christian blocs in the Lebanese ruling class which consider it an unconstitutional step and an attempt to bypass the priority of electing a new president. Some eight electoral sessions have failed to procure a new president and the leadership vacuum has entered a second month.

Mikati confirmed that he had called the Cabinet to convene to try and tackle problems which, he said, were deemed important by ministers. An agenda comprising 65 items has been issued, although Mikati pledged in a parliamentary session held about a month ago not to call a Cabinet session amid the presidential vacuum, unless everyone agreed to the move. The decision raised concerns among members of the Free Patriotic Movement. The party denounced the invitation, fearing that the resigned government will carry out prerogatives reserved for the president. In an attempt to reassure those who are skeptical, Mikati said more than 40 items could be excluded from the agenda. He said: “We will only approve the matters that are deemed important and urgent by ministers. “It disappoints me when some people consider the meeting a sectarian move or an attempt that targets a specific group. “Do we discriminate when we provide assistance? What is being said is unacceptable.” Mikati added: “There’s a file related to cancer and dialysis patients that should be approved. “What our Cabinet does is perform governmental duties to serve the citizens. Whoever has an alternative can propose it.”

Iran reviews decades-old hijab law in bid to quell ongoing protests

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Story by Ahmed Vahdat -- telegraph.com -- Iran is reviewing a decades-old law that requires women to wear a hijab, as authorities struggle to quell protests over the dress code that have been ongoing for more than two months. The hijab has become the subject of daily protests since the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody after she was reportedly arrested for wearing her headscarf incorrectly - Twitter President Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday in televised comments that Iran’s republican and Islamic foundations were constitutionally entrenched, but that there were “methods of implementing the constitution that can be flexible”. It came a day after the country’s attorney general said parliament and the judiciary were reviewing legislation requiring a head covering. “Both parliament and the judiciary are working (on the issue)” and results will be presented “in a week or two”, said Mohammad Jafar Montazeri. The headscarf became obligatory for all women in Iran in April 1983, four years after the Islamic Revolution that overthrew the US-backed monarchy.

Hijab remains a highly sensitive issue

It remains a highly sensitive issue in a country where conservatives insist it should be compulsory, while reformists want to leave it up to individual choice. The hijab has become the subject of daily nationwide protests since the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in September after she was reportedly arrested for wearing her headscarf incorrectly.

Why is Saudi Arabia hosting one of the world’s biggest raves & Other news topics Iran Protests

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By Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN -- Electronic music, strobe lights, glittered faces and hundreds of thousands of people in mixed-gender gyrations are all part of a new kind of ritual in Saudi Arabia that didn’t exist just three years ago. The kingdom’s Soundstorm music festival, which began in 2019, is back again for its fourth year and will start on Thursday. In just five years since Saudi Arabia lifted its ban on musical events, the kingdom’s concert scene has arguably outshined even that of Dubai, long seen as the Gulf region’s premier entertainment hub. The country that has been better known as the birthplace of Islam than a rave capital has gone through a tremendous makeover since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (known as MBS) took control of the everyday running of the kingdom in 2017. Soundstorm is an eye-catching symbol of that change.

For three days every winter, hundreds of thousands of people from across Saudi Arabia and the region descend on a desert site outside the capital Riyadh to listen to some of the top Western and Arab acts . The rave is a manifestation of the ethos behind Saudi Arabia’s socioeconomic transformation, according to Anna Jacobs, a senior analyst at the Crisis Group think tank. “(It) is a particularly powerful example because it seeks to bring together young people and women from across Saudi Arabia and the world,” she said. David Guetta, Post Malone and Bruno Mars are just a few of the stars performing at this year’s event, which prides itself as being “the loudest festival in the region,” aiming to “amplify the unseen” as it supports local and international music in the Middle East. Tickets cost between 149 riyals (around $40) for a single day and 6,699 riyals (around $1,800 ) for a three-day VIP treatment. The festival reportedly welcomed 730,000 partygoers last year. By contrast, Las Vegas’ Electric Daisy Carnival, considered North America’s biggest dance music festival, had an attendance of over 400,000 this year.

An event like Soundstorm was inconceivable in the country just six years ago, when the notorious religious police would roam the streets and censure Saudis for mixing with the opposite sex or flouting social norms. But it is now part of a liberalization initiative spearheaded by MBS, the kingdom’s de facto ruler. It accompanies a series of steps to relax social rules, including lifting the ban on women’s driving and reining in the religious police.

Red Sea Film Festival red carpet fashion: Lebanese and Saudi designers reign supreme

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Freida Pinto wears Elie Saab at the opening night gala screening of What's Love Got To Do With It? at the Red Sea International Film Festival. Getty Images

by thenationalnews.com -- Katy Gillett -- While it's only in its second year, Jeddah's Red Sea International Film Festival has fast become an integral part of the annual celebrity circuit. Stars from across the world descended on the red carpet for opening night, showing off glamorous looks by international and regional designers. Priyanka Chopra and American dancer Julianne Hough wore gowns by Lebanese stalwart Tony Ward to the opening ceremony. Chopra donned an embroidered kaftan-style couture gown, while Hough dazzled in a custom tulle and feather trim halter dress. Freida Pinto chose Elie Saab for her eye-catching attire, a bright yellow gown with oversized, puffed sleeves from the Lebanese designer's pre-fall 2022 collection.

Zuhair Murad looks were everywhere, as the namesake Lebanese fashion designer hit the red carpet himself. Egyptian singer Yousra, who was awarded with the Gold Yusr Honorary Award for her contribution to cinema, wore a golden, beaded halter neck gown with embellished cape and a clutch, while Lebanese actress Nadine Nassib Njeim chose a one-shoulder Zuhair Murad fitted draped satin gown from the atelier's spring/summer 2022 line. Famed Lebanese presented Raya Abirached also chose Zuhair Murad in the form of a floor-length white cady kaftan with crystals and gold brooch beading from the ready-to-wear resort 2023 collection. Looking smart was Saudi filmmaker Fatima Al Banawi, who chose a crisp white lace suit with a trailing blazer by Lebanese designer Rami Kadi, paired with nude heels. Tunisian actress Dorra Zarrouk, meanwhile, donned a silver beaded gown with thigh-high slit and asymmetrical shoulders by lesser-known Beirut atelier Ziad Nakad. Designers from Saudi 100 Brands, in collaboration with the Saudi Fashion Commission, also dressed a number of celebrity guests.

Minister Sejaan Azzi: الاعترافُ بلبنانَ فعلُ إيمانٍ لا تَسوية

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سجعان قزي

@AzziSejean

قبل أن يُوقِّعَ بنجامين فرانكلين، البريطانيُّ الأصل، في تموز 1776 معاهدةَ الاستقلالِ الأميركيِّ ويُصبحَ أحدَ الآباءِ المؤسّسين للولاياتِ المتّحدة الأميركيّة، أعلن سنةَ 1760 بفَخرٍ وتباهٍ، وهو يُحيِّي الانتصارَ في معركة "الذئب" في سهول أبراهام الأميركية: "أنا بريطاني". لكن ما لَبِثَ أن تخلّى عن جِنسيّتِه البريطانيّةِ وآمَن في وجدانه العميقِ بـأن أميركا صارت دولةً قائمةً بذاتِها، وعلى كل ساكنٍ فيها أن يَنسى أصولَه الأولى ويَضع عليها خطًّا أحمرَ قوميًّا لبناءِ الولاياتِ المتّحدة. ومنذ أن اعترف بالولاياتِ المتحدة الأميركيّة وطنًا نهائيًّا، أصبح ولاؤه الكاملُ "النهائيُّ والثابتُ" لبلدِه الجديد.

الاعترافُ بــ"لبنان وطنًا نهائيًّا" ليس مجرّدَ إقرارٍ سياسيٍّ لتمريرِ تسويةٍ دستوريّة لم يقْبلها حزبُ الله وسواه. هو شعورٌ فرديٌّ وجَماعيٌّ يَسكنُ وِجدانَنا ومشاعرَنا ولاوَعْيَنا أكان مذكورًا في الدستور أم غيرَ مذكور، وينتفض تلقائيًّا تجاه أيِّ خطرٍ يَتعرّضُ له لبنان. وهو شعورٌ استقلالي يَقطعُ الولاءَ نهائيًّا للبنان عن مواصلةِ الولاءِ لأصولِ غابرِ الزمانِ وأعراقٍ وقوميّاتٍ بائدة. أن أكونَ لبنانيًّا لا يعني الانغلاقَ على حضاراتِ الآخَرين وثقافاتِهم شرقًا وغربًا، فالإنسانُ أصبحَ مواطنًا عالميًّا. ولا يَعني بالمقابِل التَذرَّعَ بالانتماءِ إلى المحيط لتبريرِ الولاءِ له أو التواطؤِ معه مثلما يَحصُلُ بين جماعاتٍ لبنانيّةٍ وعددٍ من دولِ الـمِنطقة وكأنَّ لا استقلالَ ولا ميثاقَ ولا "طائفَ"، وكأنَّ الاعترافَ بلبنان بالنسبة للبعض كان مناورة للحصولِ على تعديلاتٍ دُستوريّة.

Cotton blocking quick passage of 9/11 victims bill over Beirut concerns of 1983

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The Hill LAURA KELLY - Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is blocking the Senate from voting on a bill aimed at providing close to $3 billion to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, calling for victims of the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, to share in the compensation. The Republican senator opposed efforts by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) last month to fast-track the “Fairness for 9/11 Families Act” to a vote on the Senate floor. The bill, H.R. 8987, passed the House in September with overwhelming bipartisan support, with 400 in support and 31 against. Cotton’s opposition presents an obstacle as the 117th Congress comes to a close and could force the bill’s sponsors to reintroduce it in the House in the next Congress, which begins in January. Cotton exercised his right to oppose the bill amid negotiations by Schumer to bring the legislation for a quick Senate floor vote through a process of unanimous consent, which can be employed when a bill is viewed as noncontroversial. “Senator Cotton will not allow a live [unanimous consent] of the bill as long as the Beirut bombing victims are left out,” James Arnold, press secretary for Cotton, told The Hill.

The Fairness for 9/11 Families Act was drafted to compensate 5,364 9/11 victims, spouses and dependents who were excluded from the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund (USVSSTF), established in 2015 as a way to compensate victims of terrorism who have secured final judgements in American courts against a state sponsor of terrorism. The more than 5,000 9/11 victims had earlier received compensation from the 2001 Victims Compensation Fund, but had argued they had been unfairly excluded from compensation from the USVSSTF. A report by the Government Accountability Office published in August 2021 found that the funds the 9/11 victims applied for through the USVSSTF amounted to about $2.7 billion. Lawmakers sought to provide this amount of money in a “catch-up payment” and drafted the Fairness for 9/11 Families Act, using leftover funds from the 2020 CARES Act, which was Congress’s COVID-19 relief package. But victims of the 1983 Beirut bombings are lobbying to also be acknowledged as missing out on payments provided by the USVSSTF.