It’s August, which for many Europeans means taking almost the entire month off. So why is it difficult to get Americans to take even the little vacation time they receive? A recent piece in The Economist states workers in the U.S. are doing it “all wrong” by taking short holidays — which can add even […]

foxbusiness.com — A 22-year-old has been arrested in an alleged scam of the largest internet retailer that totaled nearly $370,000 by sending return packages filled with dirt. James Gilbert Kwarteng, of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, allegedly swindled Amazon Opens a New Window. by filling up the ordered items’ boxes with dirt and registering with the […]

New York (CNN Business) — Jeff Bezos has sold more than $1.8 billion worth of stock, as the world’s richest person continues to sell his Amazon stake to fund his space venture. The Amazon CEO offloaded roughly 960,000 shares, each worth around $1,900 on Wednesday, according to the company’s regulatory filings. Bezos sold the stake […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, targeting the country’s top spokesman and potentially hurting chances of diplomatic talks amid rising tensions between the two countries. Zarif, a critical figure in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, dismissed the action and said it would not affect him. U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the deal last year and ramped up sanctions to put pressure on Iran’s economy. The move dismantled part of President Barack Obama’s legacy and upset U.S. allies who were party to the agreement, which was designed to restrict Tehran’s pathway to a nuclear bomb in exchange for sanctions relief. Strains between Washington and Tehran have risen more in recent months after attacks on tankers in the Gulf that the United States blames on Iran and Iran’s downing of a U.S. drone that prompted preparations for a U.S. retaliatory air strike that Trump called off at the last minute. “Javad Zarif implements the reckless agenda of Iran’s Supreme Leader, and is the regime’s primary spokesperson around the world. The United States is sending a clear message to the Iranian regime that its recent behavior is completely unacceptable,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

by cnn.com —By Evan Perez and Ryan Browne — The US believes late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza bin Laden is dead, a US official told CNN on Wednesday. The official said the US had a role in his death but did not provide details. The official added that the US government recently received evidence that it believes corroborates his death. The New York Times reported that Hamza bin Laden had been killed in an operation within the last two years. Earlier this year the US State Department called bin Laden, who is believed to be in his early 30s, an “emerging” leader in the terror group al Qaeda, offering a million-dollar reward for information leading to his capture. The New York Times, citing two US officials, said “the United States government had a role in the operation that killed the younger Mr. bin Laden, but it was not clear precisely what that role was.”

When it offered the reward the US government accused the Saudi Arabia-born Hamza bin Laden of seeking to encourage attacks against the US. While The New York Times said the operation that killed him took place prior to the State Department’s reward offer, his death had yet to be confirmed by the US government. Hamza bin Laden “has released audio and video messages on the Internet, calling on his followers to launch attacks against the United States and its Western allies, and he has threatened attacks against the United States in revenge for the May 2011 killing of his father by US military forces,” the State Department said in its announcement offering the reward.

by Sam Brennan— al-monitor.com — BEIRUT — Speaking about the new musical about the life of legendary Lebanese writer Khalil Gibran, Lebanese-British playwright Nadim Naaman told Al-Monitor, “Lebanon is extremely proud of him and extremely vocal about how he is one of their own. But what they aren’t so good at is looking at him in a new light.” In the musical he co-wrote, “Broken Wings,” Naaman wanted to show Middle Eastern audiences “this guy who was critiquing them massively 100 years ago.” The musical, adapted from Gibran’s novella of the same name, made its international debut at the Beiteddine Art Festival July 24-26. The poet, artist, writer and philosopher’s work preached love, challenged power and explored humanist themes at the turn of the century. Gibran is currently the third highest-selling poet of all time and a Lebanese national icon.

jalopnik.com — Ma Jie, Bloomberg News — Nissan Motor Co.’s prospects are getting bleaker by the quarter, with the Japanese automaker forced to shed 12,500 jobs and reduce production capacity by 10% as its aging lineup weighs on profitability amid a global slump in car demand. In the 250 days since the arrest of former Chairman Carlos […]

BEIRUT,  (Xinhua) — Lebanese Labor Minister Camille Abousleiman said his ministry was capable of securing 1,000 to 1,200 job opportunities for the Lebanese since July 10, Al Joumhouria local newspaper reported on Monday. “A lot of Lebanese companies announced that they have replaced their foreign workers with local ones and a big number of unemployed […]

catholicherald.co.uk — The recent baptism of a child raised by a same-sex couple has caused a controversy in Colombia, after a parish pastor issued a baptismal certificate indicating that the child has two mothers. Manuela and Luisa Fernanda Gómez, who are civilly married under Colombian law, wanted to have their 17-month-old son Matías baptized in the city of Medellin. According to local media reports, the couple went to several parishes where they were told that their son could be baptized, but that a baptismal certificate would list only the same of his biological mother, and not that of her partner, since the Church does not recognize the marriage of persons of the same sex.

Manuela Gomez told reporters that eventually, they found a parish priest willing to perform the baptism and record them both as mothers on the baptismal registry, if the Archdiocese of Medellin would permit him. “He wrote to the (diocesan) curia, investigated, and he told us that he could (perform the baptism), in fact, because according to canon law, the sacrament must be documented with the same information that appears on the civil registry of the minor’s birth, which in this case had two lines: ‘Mother one’ and ‘Mother two,’” Manuela told the local media. The baptism was performed on July 13. In a statement issued on July 23, the Archdiocese of Medellin said that for several years “the sacrament of baptism has been administered to children of homosexual couples.” The statement said that through baptism, “the Church gives the grace of Christian life to the children.” Baptism in such cases is “not a recognition of the couples themselves,” the archdiocese added. The archdiocese also said that “for the registration of the baptism and the issuance of the certificate of the latter, the Church assumes the information that appears on the civil documents which must be presented before the administration of the sacrament, taking into account that on the certificate the names of those that are recorded on the civil registry as parents, in the same order in which they are written on that registry.”

by aawsat.com —Three people were killed on Sunday after a brawl turned into an exchange of gunfire during a wedding near the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) said. The singer who performed during the wedding in the town of Younin was among those killed in the deadly brawl after […]