By Kareem Chehayeb — aljazeera — Beirut, Lebanon – Lebanese security agencies have foiled an attempt to smuggle nine million illegal amphetamine Captagon pills to an unnamed Gulf country, officials said. Lebanese Customs said in a statement on Wednesday that they arrested several perpetrators and have opened a judicial investigation into a plot to smuggle the pills out of Lebanon after officials found them in a shipment of plastic oranges at the Beirut port. Speaking at the port later, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said he could not disclose details about who had been arrested and what they knew so far about the operation. However, he said the investigation will reveal where the pills were produced and packaged, and who was responsible for hiding them in the shipment of fruits. “We promise [our] citizens and all the friendly countries, especially the Gulf countries, the Lebanese authorities are serious in combatting the smuggling of Captagon,” he said. Sources familiar with the case told Al Jazeera that the Captagon shipment was heading to Kuwait.

The seizure comes as the cash-strapped country tries to resolve an ongoing diplomatic rift with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Saudi Arabia last April announced an indefinite ban on Lebanese agricultural products after officials said they had thwarted an attempt to smuggle 5.3 million Captagon pills hidden in a shipment of pomegranates at Jeddah port. Captagon is manufactured in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, and is often exported to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. The Saudi authorities have since announced the seizure of several shipments containing millions of Captagon pills from Lebanon and Syria.

by HASSAN AMMAR — TRIPOLI, Lebanon (AP) — Lebanon’s energy minister launched two projects in the country’s north on Tuesday to facilitate the flow of natural gas from Egypt. The move aims to improve electricity production and expand the country’s tanks to increase oil reserves. The revival of the Arab Gas Pipeline to deliver Egyptian gas to Lebanon comes as the small country is reeling from a crippling electricity crisis. The pipeline has been out of service in Lebanon since before Syria’s 10-year conflict began in 2011. Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayad said Egypt’s Technical Gas Services will begin renovation work on the pipeline inside Lebanon within days and work should be done in a little more than two months. Egypt has agreed to supply Lebanon with natural gas to its power plants through Jordan and Syria. Syrian experts have finished work inside the war-torn country.

The Syrian government is under U.S. and Western sanctions for its role in the war, which has left nearly half a million killed and disappeared and nearly half of the population displaced. Despite the sanctions, the U.S. has supported the resumption of natural gas flow from Egypt to Lebanon via Syria. Fayad told The Associated Press during a tour of an oil facility that U.S. officials who have visited Lebanon said the contract to bring gas from Egypt will not be targeted by sanctions because “no cash is going from any side to Syria.” He added that Egyptian officials are in contact with the Americans to make sure that the contract does not violate the sanctions.

By Najia Houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Officials in Lebanon continue to acquit themselves of all the crises that the Lebanese people are facing, as a result of the economic collapse, political disputes and Hezbollah’s influence on Lebanon’s external decisions. Following President Michel Aoun’s televised speech to the Lebanese people, where he indirectly criticized Hezbollah and its Shiite ally Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Najib Mikati held a press conference on Tuesday. He said that “interfering in the work of the Cabinet hindered the mission of his salvation government” and that “halting the Cabinet’s session since Oct. 12 constitutes a structural malfunction in the work of the government that cannot be ignored or overlooked.” Mikati stressed that he does not accept any settlement at the expense of institutions. “I do not barter the Cabinet’s meetings for any settlement that is not accepted by the Lebanese people and families of the victims of the Beirut port explosion, and the international community.” He added that he cannot hold anyone responsible for not holding the Cabinet’s sessions “as I am convinced of a disruption in the course of the Beirut port investigation; however, this cannot disrupt the government and stop the reforms.”

Mikati stressed the need to “distance the judiciary from political disputes and maintain its independence to preserve one of the state’s most important pillars,” in response to Hezbollah and the Amal Movement’s insistence on the dismissal of Judge Tarek Bitar from the investigation of the Beirut port explosion. He said: “When the state stopped acting by the law and became influenced by the sectarian political authority, it started breaking down and lacking the capability to carry out its missions as a body that is trusted to implement policies and strategies.” Mikati called for a national dialogue to improve Lebanon’s ties with the Arab states, especially in the Gulf. He also urged Lebanese leaders not to interfere in their internal affairs, and called for a return to the “dissociation policy that preserves our home and protects its relations with the international community and the Arab world.” He said that remediation should be done “within constitutional and legal frameworks,” and stressed the necessity to implement the constitution. He added that if his resignation is the solution, he will not hesitate to resign if he sees that it will contribute to further damage.

President Michel Sleiman: “Une nouvelle stratégie défensive devrait confier les armes à l’autorité exclusive de l’État dans un délai d’un an”  https://icibeyrouth.com/liban/20060

By Donna Abdulaziz – wsj – —  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—This conservative Islamic kingdom is rapidly trying to ease its staid social norms, allowing women to drive and travel freely in recent years, opening doors to tourists and tolerating music blaring from modern coffee shops. A four-day music festival earlier this month is emblematic of how Saudis are learning to have fun in ways that are common in much of the world but long forbidden here. The festival—called Soundstorm and organized by a Saudi company called MDLBeast (pronounced Middle Beast)—featured 200 performances, including from big-name DJs such as David Guetta. Held north of the capital Riyadh in a vast desert, the electronic-music event drew tens of thousands of people, most of them young Saudi men and women. Many mixed traditional national dress with LED sunglasses, marshmallow helmets, and the face paint common at rave parties, embellished with crystals and glitter.

“I can’t believe this is happening in Riyadh,” said Noura Mohammad, 28 years old, who attended Soundstorm with her twin sister, Ohoud, wearing matching white coats and pink bandannas over their niqabs, a traditional face covering. The sisters said they discovered electronic music through American movies but never expected to be able to dance openly in their home country. “My sister and I love to dance,” Ms. Mohammad said. Dancing and the mingling of sexes was once forbidden here. Now, the Saudi government is betting that events like Soundstorm will give the country’s large population of young people—about 70% of the population is under 35—an outlet for entertainment they are used to seeing in other parts of the world but not here. The government aims to double household spending on cultural and entertainment activities inside the kingdom by 2030, as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s drive to diversify and modernize the oil-dependent economy.

by NNA – President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, affirmed that “From my position as the custodian of the constitution, I call for an urgent national dialogue in order to reach an understanding on three issues, and to work towards their approval later within the institutions, namely: Expanded administrative and financial decentralization. – The defense strategy to protect Lebanon. -A plan for financial and economic recovery, including the necessary reforms and a fair distribution of losses.

The President also clarified that he had called for more than one meeting and conference and proposed solutions, but the people of the organization refused to give up any gain, and did not take any account for the people, reiterating his call to dialogue for every Lebanese woman and man who desires the salvation of Lebanon. The President indicated that “In spite of everything, the solution is possible within the national reconciliation document, and it requires first accountability, that is, determining responsibility for the collapse, protecting people’s money and returning it to depositors”. “The solution also requires moving to a civil state, and a new system whose main foundation is expanded administrative and financial decentralization, and the upcoming parliamentary elections should constitute a referendum on this basis” President Aoun said. In addition, President Aoun stressed that “Defending the homeland requires cooperation between the army, the people and the resistance, but the primary responsibility is for the state. Only the state sets the defense strategy and ensures its implementation”.

By LYNN TEHINI AND HAMZA MAKRAOUI — arabnews.com — The French-Lebanese production was born from a distant, but still vivid, memories of the Lebanese filmmaker. “Memory Box” deals with the separation of two young Lebanese women — one in Paris and the other in Beirut — who write and send each other recordings every day for six years. The two friends meet again in 2013 at an exhibition and discuss the notebooks and tapes that they gathered every day from 1982 to 1988. Joana, who lives in Paris, retrieves her letters and tapes, which arouses the curiosity of her daughter Alia. Thanks to these letters and recordings, the latter discovers what her mother thought and said when she was her age. For Hadjithomas, “conveying” is the keyword of this cinematographic adventure. ‘Khalil (Joreige) and I are artists; we worked a lot on the image and character of this film, paying attention to both its sound and pictorial dimension.’ Joana Hadjithomas, Lebanese filmmaker “I wanted to tell a story of women and that of three generations of women,” the filmmaker told Arab News. “I wanted to show another relationship to the war, away from the trauma, as seen in the eyes of the youth of the 1980s, driven by this crazy desire to live that was ours,” she said.

The film is a story of women, but, above all, a story of generations amid the disastrous civil war in Lebanon. “When I received an invitation for the film, I did not hesitate. I said to myself: ‘I want to meet this generation’,” Hadjithomas said. “Khalil (Joreige) and I are artists; we worked a lot on the image and character of this film, paying attention to both its sound and pictorial dimension. So we were keen to talk about the development of the film, to convey something of this experience,” Hadjithomas said. Her eyes shine as she recalls how the film was received by the different audiences who had the opportunity to watch it. “I feel overwhelmed every time,” she said. “Whatever their nationalities or background, people understood the movie.” Hadjithomas added: “Maybe it is because the film sheds light on a myriad of experiences and a lot of details that I have taken from my notebooks; maybe also because we see my real notebooks in this film and there is a transition between fiction and reality. Maybe, finally, because it is a story of women and the actresses have put a lot of themselves into it.” She added: “It is also a story of encounters. With Khalil, we met the actresses, we saw them, they inspired us.”

انا اعترف … قال رئيس الجمهورية العماد ميشال عون عشيَّة الميلاد، في لقائه الـمُفعَم بالروحانيات والمعاني الجميلة، إنَّ وصايا السيد المسيح في العهد الجديد تحمل الصيغة الإيجابية، وأعطى مثالًا على قوله الآيةَ التالية: “قيل لكم: لا تحلفوا باسم الله بالباطل. أما أنا فأقول لكم: لا تحلفوا باسم الله البتة”. وأردف الرئيس عون قائلًا: “إن تَبِعة […]

by aawsat.com — Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Beshara Al-Rai, stressed the importance of the country holding legislative elections next year as he delivered his Christmas sermon on Saturday. Al-Rai also called for the government to convene, saying that failing to do so sets a precedent that may hinder the function of future governments. Lebanon’s cabinet, which is focused on restarting talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to unlock much-needed foreign aid, has not met since Oct. 12, due to a dispute over a probe into last year’s deadly Beirut port blast. “We support your commitment to holding the legislative elections,” said Al-Rai, directing his speech to President Michel Aoun who was attending the sermon. “The elections are the guarantee that presidential elections will be held on time and it is an opportunity for change.”

Parliament had voted for the legislative election to take place on March 27 but Aoun has said he would only sign a decree for them to take place in May. Al-Rai also offered his condolences to the families of the victims of the port blast which killed more than 200 people in August last year. “Our thoughts today are with the families of the port blast victims who are in pain because the judiciary is hindered and the fate of investigation is uncertain,” he said. The explosion was caused by a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely for years with the knowledge of top officials, but more than a year on, no one has been held accountable. Hezbollah and its allies have pushed to remove the lead investigator of the explosion, accusing him of political bias.

by theguardian.com — In Lebanon’s year of loss and deprivation, simple pleasures have steadily drained away along with its fortunes. But amid a crisis renowned for breaking new ground, few Lebanese had thought their ability to stay in touch was at risk – until a pre-Christmas warning sent shudders through the country. The telecommunications minister, Johnny Corm, warned this week that a lack of funds and fuel could soon see Lebanon’s already struggling internet grind to a halt, making festive calls and messages even trickier than usual – and a financial and social disintegration like no other even more acute. As weary Lebanese approached another lacklustre Christmas, the warnings appeared to be bearing out. The internet was barely functioning in Tripoli on Tuesday. By the day after, Beirutis could barely communicate or open websites. Things were forecast to get worse in time for Christmas Day.

Where is Christmas? It should be full of lighting and life. We were praying for the end of 2020, but this year is worse for sure Miriam Sarhan, 31, who left Lebanon for Canada in July after losing faith in her homeland, says calling her family on messaging apps had helped settle her in and reassure her family back home. “I was speaking to them by video in November,” she says. “Now we can’t even manage a voice call. What else will my country take from me?” The crisis affecting the telecom sector mirrors that faced by all arms of government; bills to overseas providers need to be paid in US dollars and the cost of doing so has increased up to twentyfold since the country’s plunging currency lost parity in late 2020. Since then, the value of the lira has been in freefall, while costs of goods and services have skyrocketed. Through it all, staying in touch had been at least one salvation; as had a hope that somehow, someday, things would get better. But as a cruel winter sets in, after an arduous year, there is little sign of a brighter horizon. Resilience, once a buzzword used to describe the Lebanese, is now parodied by citizens themselves. “How much more can we be humiliated?” asks Mustafa Alloush, an expatriate living in London. “It seems something that outsiders wish upon us to make themselves feel better about our situation.”