By NAJIA HOUSSARI -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Rival drug-dealing families using machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades brought mayhem to the streets of a southern Beirut neighborhood during a series of violent clashes on Tuesday. Lebanese troops were forced to step in to end the fighting in an area adjoining the Burj Al-Barajneh camp for Palestinian refugees after members of the two families became embroiled in a dispute over drug trafficking. Clashes initially broke out late on Monday when Hassan Jaafar, an alleged Syrian drug dealer with a Lebanese mother, began arguing with members of a rival family living in the same area, known as the Baalbekien neighborhood. Samir Abu Afash, an official of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Fatah movement in Beirut, told Arab News that Jaafar started “shooting randomly in the direction of the camp” due to a dispute with other gunmen. “We feared that something was planned against the camp,” he said.

Abu Afash said that the PLO has pledged not to interfere in Lebanese affairs, or involve refugee camps in any disputes between the Palestinians and the Lebanese. “So we contacted the Lebanese army and Hezbollah to stop the clashes. But the fights continued throughout the night and intermittently until the army intervened in the morning and entered the haven Jaafar had formed years ago for his gang and arrested two people. Jaafar remains at large.” He added: “Hezbollah and the Amal Movement have repeatedly stressed that they do not provide cover for Jaafar, and when they do intervene, he usually lays low for a while. Jaafar was able to make a name for himself in the area and managed to bring in prohibited materials into the camp, including building materials for example, along with drugs.” The army is believed to have seized stolen items, including motorcycles, during the raid. Burj Al-Barajneh camp is home to over 35,000 Palestinian refugees, as well as some Syrians and Palestinians who fled from Syria.

By Ruiqi Chen, Editor at LinkedIn News — Netflix’s most recent bet on movie theaters has paid off. The streaming giant’s theatrical …

By Razmig Bedirian -- thenationalnews.com -- Nancy Ajram will perform at Global Village next month. The Lebanese singer, known for her hits including Akhasmak Ah and Aah w Noss, will be taking to the Global Village Main Stage at 9pm on December 12. Ajram is an influential force in the Arab music industry and has previously been named as one of the top female Arab artists by Forbes. In 2009, she was selected by Unicef as the first female regional ambassador for the Mena region. Between 2013 and 2017, she served as a judge on MBC's reality talent show Arab Idol. She also began serving as a coach on The Voice Kids: Ahla Sawt in 2016. This year, she collaborated with Marshmello on the single Sah Sah, proving her music has global reach. Ajram is the second Arab superstar to be billed for this year's event. Myriam Fares, the Arab "Queen of the Stage", performed at the venue this month.

Global Village opened for its 27th season on October 25 and will be running until April. Last season, the family-friendly attraction in Dubai welcomed a record 7.8 million visitors during the six months it was operational. The venue is famous for its pavilions, each themed according to a different nation or culture. This year, 27 pavilions representing more than 80 cultures are featured. More than 400 performers from around the world will be part of the event's entertainment line-up. This includes more than 200 performances each night, such as Puttin' on the Glitz, which brings jazz music to the theme park.

By Charles Boehm @cboehm -- mlssoccer.com -- AL-RAYYAN, Qatar – The US men’s national team already had to deal with intense pressure and massive stakes around Tuesday’s World Cup match with Iran Decades of bitter political history between the two nations always makes this matchup an emotional one, and now a place in the tournament’s knockout rounds is on the line, with the US needing a victory to advance out of Group B and Iran able to claim that spot with a draw or a win. Now events of the past few days have added an even sharper edge to this enormous fixture.

Klinsmann vs. Queiroz

Former USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann upset Iranians with his comments in an appearance on BBC in the wake of Team Melli’s dramatic win over Wales on Friday, in which he affirmed British presenters’ accusations of gamesmanship and dirty play by Iran as “just part of their culture.” This also drew the ire of Iran manager Carlos Queiroz, whose managerial track record Klinsmann critiqued unflatteringly in his comments. Queiroz, who coached the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (today the New York Red Bulls) in the early days of MLS, responded on Twitter with a lengthy, full-blooded denunciation of Klinsmann’s comments – concluding with a demand that the German-American resign from his current post on FIFA’s Technical Study Group. Chaired by Arsene Wenger, the TSG is a prominent body which analyzes and evaluates every World Cup match, compiling detailed statistics and gleaning insights about the present and future of the sport. Queiroz specifically noted Klinsmann’s “American/German” status in his Twitter thread. Klinsmann addressed Queiroz's comments on BBC on Sunday, saying "there was stuff really taken out of context. I will try to give him a call and calm things down. "I have never criticized Carlos or the Iranian bench," he added.

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