Happy Lebanese day for Lack of Independence in pictures
Lebanese government cancels Independence Day celebrations for the first time since the civil war
Joseph A. KechichianSenior Writer, gulfnews.com
Beirut: While the Lebanese Government cancelled its annual military parade to celebrate the country’s 71st Independence Day anniversary, Google—where several Lebanese-American techies have build solid reputations for themselves and their company—answered with a homepage doodle that featured dancers performing the traditional folk dance called dabké.Divided at every imaginable level, the Lebanese government canceled Independence Day celebrations for the first time since the 1975-1990 civil war both because of the country’s presidential vacuum and, equally important, because at least 27 Lebanese soldiers and members of the internal security forces are still held by Deash and Jabhat Al Nusra.
Military parades are annual November 22 fixtures in Lebanon although the 2013 version was also mired in utter confusion with a head-of-state presiding alongside the speaker and two prime ministers—the outgoing as well as unconfirmed incoming office holder. On Friday, senior government officials laid wreath of flowers on various memorials erected to the men who fought and secured independence from France in 1943, remembering their sacrifices to liberate the country from the French Mandate. Saturday’s cancellation was the first since the end of the civil war in 1990.
Since the day is usually marked with a speech to the nation delivered by the president, this year marked a stark void, which Google answered in a brilliant move. The message seemed to be: while local politicians bickered, the Lebanese continued to enjoy life, oblivious to perpetual machinations that pretended to govern, protected and promoted sectarian influences, and ensured economic stability at a time of significant regional upheavals.
Read more
Syrian Christians: ‘Help us to stay – stop arming terrorists’
Outgoing artillery shook St Elias church as the priest reached the end of the Lord’s Prayer.
The small congregation kept their eyes on the pulpit, kneeling when required and trying to ignore the regular thuds that rattled the stained glass windows above them.
Home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, the Syrian agricultural town of Izraa has stood the comings and goings of many empires over the centuries.
But as the country’s civil war creeps closer, it is threatening to force the town’s Christians into permanent exile: never to return, they fear.
"I have been coming to this church since I was born," said Afaf Azam, 52. "But now the situation is very bad. Everyone is afraid. Jihadists control villages around us."
Read more
khazen.org Remembers Family, friends attend Cheikh Pierre Amine Gemayel
khazen.org pays tribute to the Gemayel family & remember today the seventh commemoration of the minister’s assassination the Martyr Cheikh Pierre Gemayel. We demand the international community and Lebanese Justice to find as quick as possible the murderers and bring them to Justice.
Cheikh Pierre you are greatly missed!
Below details of his assasination that was posted by khazen.org in 2006
http://www.khazen.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1326&catid=1&Itemid=216
Read more
North Lebanon coast sees rare snowfall
TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Northern Lebanese coastal towns witnessed rare snowfall Friday as the country braces for a new weekend storm. Snow first fell in the northern region of Chekka with residents remaining in their vehicles and gathering inside a tunnel waiting for the storm to subside. In Nakhla, a north Lebanon village, snow blanketed the […]
Read more