by AP -- AL-RAYYAN, Qatar: Tensions ran high at Iran’s second match at the World Cup on Friday as fans supporting the Iranian government harassed those protesting against it and stadium security seized flags, T-shirts and other items expressing support for the protest movement that has gripped the Islamic Republic. Some fans were stopped by security guards from bringing in Persian pre-revolutionary flags to the match against Wales at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. Others carrying such flags had them ripped from their hands by pro-government Iran fans, who also shouted insults at fans wearing T-shirts with the slogan of the protest movement gripping the country, “Woman, Life, Freedom.” Unlike in their first match against England, the Iran players sang along to their national anthem before the match as some fans in the stadium wept, whistled and booed. The national team has come under close scrutiny for any statements or gestures about the nationwide protests that have wracked Iran for weeks. Shouting matches erupted in lines outside the stadium between fans screaming “Women, Life, Freedom” and others shouting back “The Islamic Republic!”

Mobs of men surrounded three different women giving interviews about the protests to foreign media outside the stadium, disrupting broadcasts as they angrily chanted, “The Islamic Republic of Iran!” Many female fans appeared shaken as Iranian government supporters shouted at them in Farsi and filmed them up close on their phones. After Iran’s 2-0 triumph, crowds of Iranian fans wildly waving national flags streamed out of the stadium. They thronged a group of protesters who held up photos of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old whose Sept. 16 death in the custody of the morality police first unleashed the protests, yelling “Victory!” to drown out chants of Amini’s name. One 35-year-old woman named Maryam, who like other Iran fans declined to give her last name for fear of government reprisals, started to cry as shouting men blowing horns encircled her and filmed her face. She had the words “Woman Life Freedom” painted on her face. “I’m not here to fight with anyone, but people have been attacking me and calling me a terrorist,” said Maryam, who lives in London but is originally from Tehran. “All I’m here to say is that football doesn’t matter if people are getting killed in the streets.” Maryam and her friends had worn hats emblazoned with the name of an outspoken Iranian former soccer player Voria Ghafouri, who had criticized Iranian authorities and was arrested in Iran on Thursday on accusations of spreading propaganda against the government. She said Iranian government supporters had taken the hats from their heads.

After the visit of former Minister Youssef Saadeh, delegated by the head of the Marada Movement, Suleiman Franjieh, to Paris, where he met the head of the French Foreign Intelligence, Bernard Aimé, and with the description of the results of the meeting as constructive and good, the features of the steps that Franjieh is taking, calmly and without haste, in the race towards Baabda Palace began to appear. .. After his remarkable participation (and in the front ranks politically and spatially) in the UNESCO meeting, affirming the Taef Constitution, and with the absence of a Saudi veto on Suleiman Bey as a candidate for the presidency of the Lebanese Republic, even if Saudi Arabia supports the army commander, General Joseph Aoun, for the presidency of the Republic, well-informed political circles reported It can be described as close to Marada, according to "Lebanon Files" that France does not harbor any veto over Franjieh, and so is Washington's position, and therefore, and based on the range of contacts that France undertakes regionally as well as internationally (Macron-Biden meeting soon), and contacts at the cell level

The crisis between Paris and Haret Hreik, the atmosphere that began to seep into the course of the presidential election regarding Franjieh's fortunes, seems good, and indicated that the Shiite duo is satisfied with a wide aspect of his internal parliamentary political contacts, and is positively anticipating Regarding the French contacts related to the situation in Lebanon, including the presidential election.. The circles pointed out that the factor countering this atmosphere, related to the position of the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, rejecting Franjieh as president, and the strong positions issued by Basil, pointed out that the effect of this factor does not exceed even the nature of disturbing Hezbollah, which moves and works with accuracy, confidence and deliberation. Just to prevent embarrassment, and that the mechanism of this move seeks not to offend Mar Mikhael's February 6 understanding. And if the duo will keep their white papers (with their allies) in the presidential parliamentary election fund, until 65 votes are secured for Suleiman Bey, then what the circles indicate is that the matter is affected by the time factor, as this context requires at least two months, waiting.

by unifil.unmissions.org -- Who knew that the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have eight black belt Taekwondo athletes! In Korean, a Taekwondo practitioner is called Taekwondoin, and these eight Taekwondoins recently asked UNIFIL’s Republic of Korea Battalion for some brush-ups on a few techniques. Korean peacekeepers obliged by assigning two of their Taekwondo masters to spend a few weeks with LAF’s black belts. The LAF officers were already seasoned Taekwondo athletes sporting some impressive acrobatic moves and techniques, but they needed some guidance with the showmanship aspect of the martial art. The goal was to prepare for a sporting event commemorating the 79th Lebanese Independence Day on 22 November 2022.

The focus of the customized training sessions was the poomsae, which is a sequence of Taekwondo techniques linked together into a pattern of moves. To gain a black belt, a student generally must know all eight poomsae sequences and be able to perform them all consecutively without breaks in between. Although the LAF black belts had already mastered the poomsae sequences, they wanted to fine-tune them for the performance. “I was able to fix my incorrect poomsae posture through the instructors’ simple description, and all members of the demonstration team were then able to do a complete motion,” said Sergeant Major Raad of the LAF team. “This opportunity helped me to appreciate the attractiveness of Taekwondo’s sharp motions once again, and I thank ROKBATT [the Republic of Korean Battalion] for their detailed training and support,” he added.

By Joe Bukuras --- catholicnewsagency.com -- What can the Maronite Catholic Church offer to aid the U.S. bishops’ Eucharistic Revival that is currently underway in the United States? The two Maronite bishops in the United States say the answer is the Maronite liturgy, with its deep reverence and focus on Jesus Christ, truly present in the Eucharist. The U.S. bishops’ National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year initiative by the U.S. bishops to inspire Eucharist belief, follows a 2019 Pew Research study that suggested that only about one-third of U.S. Catholics believe the Church’s teaching that the Eucharist is truly the body and blood of Christ. "I think what we have to offer, of course, is the liturgy, which is the focus of our eucharistic reverence and amazement,” Bishop Gregory Mansour of the Maronite Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn told CNA at the U.S. bishops’ conference in Baltimore Nov. 16.

Mansour said that his parishes offer eucharistic adoration and added that when on retreats the priests will adore the Blessed Sacrament for one hour each night. He added that he thinks the Maronite way of receiving Communion by intinction — when the priest dips the Lord's body into his precious blood and places it on the communicant’s tongue — is a “very healthy way” to receive. “It's almost a way of receiving Communion that you have the best of all the worlds. You have it receiving on the tongue; you have it receiving the body and blood; and you have it where you have a moment just to receive Our Lord and reflect on him,” he said. “So I like that practice, and I notice some in the Latin Church have copied it, although I don’t think it’s the norm,” he said.