bbc- The Lebanese army has recaptured a third of an enclave held by so-called Islamic State near the north-eastern border with Syria, officials say. Troops launched an offensive near the town of Ras Baalbek on Saturday. The army says there are about 600 militants in the mountainous area, which IS has held since 2014 and is […]
by Joe Ciolli – Business Insider – Amazon got a pretty sweet deal on its recent $16 billion debt financing. The deal was so good, in fact, that a chunk of it ended up being better than what the governments of Russia, Mexico, Greece, Chile and China could’ve gotten, according to a report from Quartz’s […]
Associated Press BEIRUT — Lebanon’s parliament on Wednesday abolished a law that allowed rapists to avoid prison by marrying their victims. The repeal of the law, which had been in place since the 1940s, follows years of campaigning by women’s rights advocates. Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt have canceled similar ‘‘marry the rapist’’ clauses over the […]
Ambassador Elizabeth Richard participated today in the delivery of eight M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and armored field artillery ammunition supply vehicles to the Lebanese Armed Forces at Port Beirut. These are the very first of a total shipment of 32 Bradleys that will be delivered in the coming months. This contribution to the Lebanese Armed […]
The daily star.com.lb – BEIRUT/OUAGADOUGOU: Three Lebanese nationals, including a pregnant woman, were among 18 killed in a terrorist attack on a Turkish restaurant in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou, Lebanese authorities said Monday. A statement from the Lebanese Foreign Ministry identified the Lebanese victims as Ahmad al-Bali, Mohsen Fneish and his wife who was pregnant at the time but was not named in the statement. It added that they were killed in the crossfire between security forces and the terrorists who had attacked the restaurant. At least eight foreigners of multiple nationalities were among the deceased. Prime Minister Saad Hariri ordered the head of the Higher Relief Committee Gen. Mohammad Kheir to coordinate with his counterparts in Burkina Faso and offered them any resources they might require to help the affected Lebanese nationals. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place Sunday evening. However, Burkina Faso’s Communications Minister Remi Dandjinou said that it was “a terrorist attack.”
Amy Sawadogo, waitress at the popular restaurant, told AP about the horror of the attack. Sawadogo was still searching for her colleagues as of Monday morning. “I just want to go to the hospital and see who is still alive,” the distraught young woman, who was still dressed in her uniform said Monday. “I am calling them in vain, no response.” The Aziz Istanbul restaurant is often packed with expats who would go there to watch football. Authorities said that many of the victims are children dining with their families. The attack began around 9 p.m. Sunday when the restaurant was full with customers. Two young men wearing jeans and jackets drove up on motorcycles and began indiscriminately shooting at the people inside with Kalashnikovs, witnesses told AP.
“I heard a noise when they smashed a car with their motorbike and before I understood what happened they started shooting at the customers on the terrace,” Assane Guebre, who had been keeping an eye on customers’ cars parked outside, said. “They were close to me, and I still don’t know how they did not hit me first,” Guebre said. His hands were still bleeding from the cuts he had suffered when he threw himself to the ground to avoid the bullets.A Reuters witness saw customers running out of the Aziz Istanbul restaurant as police and paramilitary gendarmerie surrounded it, amid gunfire. The shots rang into the night before the country’s special forces ended attack hours after it began. Initially, authorities had said there were three or four assailants. However, government spokesman Remy Danguinou told reporters early Monday that two attackers had been killed by the authorities.
In January, Kuwait’s highest court overturned the death sentence imposed by a lower tribunal against one of the men, reducing it to life, it also reduced the life sentence for another man to 15 years in prison and sentenced several others previously judged “not guilty” to 10 years. Twelve of the Kuwaiti nationals convicted in absentia were arrested Saturday on charges of spying for Iran and Hezbollah. Two other Kuwaitis and one Iranian national remain at large. In July, Kuwait expelled 15 diplomats for alleged links to the cell. “There is a great Kuwaiti resentment toward [this matter] and they are right about it, and we in Lebanon will cooperate on the issue,” Hariri said.
Following a meeting with his Kuwaiti counterpart, Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabagh, Hariri said he was hopeful this resentment would not translate into measures against Lebanon, but said the issue had to be addressed “clearly and boldly” in order to prevent further strains between the two countries. President Michel Aoun also pledged to follow up on the issue. “The Kuwaiti people, state and emir always treated Lebanon and the Lebanese as they treat the Kuwaitis. I hope that the relations will improve,” Hariri said. The diplomatic strain recently led to speculation that Gulf Cooperation Council countries could implement a blockade against Lebanon, similar to that against Qatar, with dire repercussions for economic stability.
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Sunday dismissed the prospect of tougher U.S. sanctions against his group, which is backed by Iran, and said the U.S. administration had no way to harm it. “The American administration, with all available and possible means, will not be able to damage the strength of the […]
Saudi Gazette – KUWAIT CITY — Authorities on Saturday arrested 12 convicted members of a “terrorist cell” with ties to Iran and Lebanon’s Shiite movement Hezbollah after a weeks-long manhunt. The Interior Ministry said the 12 had been captured in different areas across Kuwait. They had been on the run since their sentencing last month, […]
By Lisa Barrington BEIRUT (Reuters) – Hezbollah and its allies are pressing the Lebanese state to normalize relations with President Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria, testing Lebanon’s policy of “dissociation” from the Syrian conflict and igniting a political row. Calls for closer ties with the Syrian government, including on refugee returns and military operations on the Lebanon-Syria border, come as Assad regains control of more territory from insurgents and seeks to recover his international standing. The Lebanese policy of “dissociation”, agreed in 2012, has aimed to keep the deeply divided state out of regional conflicts such as Syria even as Iran-backed Hezbollah became heavily involved there, sending fighters to help Assad, who is also allied to Iran. The policy has helped rival groups to coexist in governments bringing together Hezbollah, classified as a terrorist group by the United States, with politicians allied to Iran’s foe Saudi Arabia, underpinning a degree of political entente amid the regional turmoil.
While Lebanon never severed diplomatic or trade ties with Syria, the government has avoided dealing with the Syrian government in an official capacity and the collapse of the policy would be a boost a political boost to Assad. It would also underline Iran’s ascendancy in Lebanon, where the role of Saudi Arabia has diminished in recent years when it has focused on confronting Tehran in the Gulf instead. Assad’s powerful Lebanese Shi’ite allies want the government to cooperate with Syria on issues such as the fight against jihadists at their shared border and securing the return of the 1.5 million Syrians currently taking refuge in Lebanon. “Everybody recognizes (the dissociation policy) as a farce to some extent, but at least it contained the conflict and prevented Lebanon from being dragged even further into what is going on in Syria,” said Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Centre in Beirut. “(A normalization of relations) would be viewed as a victory, if using sectarian terms, of Shi’ites versus the Sunnis and will just inflame tensions even more.”
BEIRUT, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) — The British Charge d’Affaires in Lebanon Ben Wastnage emphasized Friday that the Lebanese army is the “sole legitimate defender of Lebanon” and reiterated British support for the military institution. According to a press release by Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s office, Wastange said “I reaffirmed the British support to the Lebanese […]
Population Movements to Keserwan - The Khazens and The Maans
ما جاء عن الثورة في المقاطعة الكسروانية
ثورة أهالي كسروان على المشايخ الخوازنة وأسبابها
Origins of the "Prince of Maronite" Title
Growing diversity: the Khazin sheiks and the clergy in the first decades of the 18th century
Historical Members:
Barbar Beik El Khazen [English]
Patriach Toubia Kaiss El Khazen(Biography & Life Part1 Part2) (Arabic)
Patriach Youssef Dargham El Khazen (Cont'd)
Cheikh Bishara Jafal El Khazen
Patriarch Youssef Raji El Khazen
The Martyrs Cheikh Philippe & Cheikh Farid El Khazen
Cheikh Nawfal El Khazen (Consul De France)
Cheikh Hossun El Khazen (Consul De France)
Cheikh Abou-Nawfal El Khazen (Consul De France)
Cheikh Francis Abee Nader & his son Yousef
Cheikh Abou-Kanso El Khazen (Consul De France)
Cheikh Abou Nader El Khazen
Cheikh Chafic El Khazen
Cheikh Keserwan El Khazen
Cheikh Serhal El Khazen [English]
Cheikh Rafiq El Khazen [English]
Cheikh Hanna El Khazen
Cheikha Arzi El Khazen
Marie El Khazen