By Reem Abulleil - thenationalnews.com -- For more than a decade, Tunisian Malek Jaziri and Egyptian Mohamed Safwat have been the leading Arab players on the men’s tennis tour, but a new protagonist has emerged from the region, looking to make his way to the top of the sport. Lebanon’s Hady Habib only kickstarted his professional career in earnest mid-last year, after graduating from Texas A&M University in May. In his final months as an 'Aggie', Habib was the No 1-ranked college tennis player in the United States – a fitting way to close the door on one chapter of his career before starting a new one in the pros. Since graduation, the 23-year-old Habib has picked up four ITF titles, including one at a $25k-level tournament in Sharm El Sheikh, where he defeated in the final former top-30 player Lukas Rosol, who famously beat Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2012. “It gives you incredible belief,” Habib told The National after clinching the trophy last Sunday. “I actually watched him a few years back play against Rafa and beat him on TV, and it's just a pleasure to play him. And winning is huge. “His level obviously isn't at his prime right now. But still, he knows how to play and he's got experience, so it's definitely a huge win for me, giving me some good confidence for the rest of the year.”

Habib was born in Houston, Texas before moving to Lebanon with his family at the age of six. He got introduced to tennis at Mtayleb Country Club in Beirut when he was nine after dabbling in swimming and basketball. “I just started playing tennis and I got good at it really fast,” Habib said. “I was really enjoy playing so I gave it a shot and I kept playing and that eventually turned into true love for the sport. “My parents actually told me, ‘Is this what you want to do? Is tennis your thing?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, 100 per cent this one I want to do’ and that's why we decided to move out of Lebanon.” After eight years in Lebanon, Habib returned to the US, first training in California before heading to Nick Bollettieri’s IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. As a 16-year-old, he was ranked as high as No 77 in the world junior rankings, which helped him catch the eye of college recruiters. He eventually landed a scholarship in his home state and began his college tennis career at Texas A&M while pursuing a degree in sports management.

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ليس الموارنةُ أبناءَ ممالكَ وإمبراطوريّاتٍ وسلطناتٍ، لكنّهم واجَهوا الممالكَ والإمبراطوريّاتِ والسَلْطناتِ. هم أبناءُ الإيمانِ وآباءُ المقاومة. آمَنوا باللهِ والإنسانِ والأرض، وقاوموا الظُلمَ والاضْطهاد. الصليبُ رمزُهم والقيامةُ قَدَرُهم. الفداءُ رسالتُهم والحياةُ مُشتَهاهُم. الاستسلامُ خطيئةٌ لا يَقترِفونَها والسلامُ فضيلةٌ يَنشُدونَها. خطُّ سيرِهم هو الحرّيةُ. مهما تَعرّجَ في الأمكنةِ يَستمرُّ قَويمًا في الأزمنة. سَلكَه الموارنةُ غابرًا وحديثًا بين الأشواكِ والتضحياتِ والشهداءِ والأمجاد. الحريّةُ هي دائمًا وطنهُم الأمّ. هي الريشةُ التي ترسُمُ حدودَ وجودِهم ومعيارَ علاقتِهم مع الآخَرين. نَزحوا في هذه الأمّةِ من بقعةٍ إلى أُخرى ليَبقَوا في ظلالِ الحرّيةِ، كما يَتبعُ البَحّارةُ نجمةَ الصُبح، والغِزلانُ ينابيعَ المياه، والطيورُ ربيعَ النسَمات.

نَشَأت المارونيّةُ بداياتِ القرنِ الخامسِ على مفهومِ القيمِ. والتزَمت الجماعةُ المارونيّةُ نمطَ حياةٍ مميَّزًا يلتقي مع إيمانِها باللهِ وبتعاليمِ الإنجيل. فالقديسُ مارون كان ناسِكًا لا ملِكًا، ومثالًا لا فيلسوفًا. نمطُ حياتِه كان هو الفلسفةَ والكلمةَ والموعِظَة. النُسْكُ أَزْهرَ شَعبًا مؤسِّسًا في لبنان، وبنّاءً في العالم العربي، وبارزًا في العالم، وصامدًا في كلِّ مكان. حين واظبَ الموارنةُ على تلك الخُطى تمكّن قادتُهم الأوائل، وفي طليعتِهم البطريركيّةُ، من تأسيسِ دولةِ لبنان، وحين تواطأ بعضُ قادتِهم لاحِقًا على المفاهيمِ المارونيّةِ وثوابتِها وقيمِها وحلفائِها التاريخيّين، عرضّوا هذه الدولةَ البهيّةَ للخطر. لا يجوزُ للّذين في ما مضى سَحبوا لبنانَ من فَمِ سايكس/بيكو أن يُقْدِمَ اليومَ بعضُهم على تقديمِ لبنان إلى مؤامرةٍ إقليميّةٍ تَقضي عليه.

By Najia Houssari -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Lebanese officials on Thursday began internal discussions in preparation for a response to US envoy Amos Hochstein, who has urged them to settle a maritime border dispute with Israel. Hochstein conveyed ideas for advancing the negotiations, which have been stalled for several months. After he met Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday, presidential adviser and former minister Elias Abi Saab said: “We evaluated the meetings that took place, where is Lebanon's interest, and what are the next steps for this visit. There is a step forward in what the mediator presented, but nothing is final yet, and we will see how its results will be. “Some things must be completed internally, and there are things that Hochstein will present later.”

Hochstein, who is the US State Department's senior adviser for global energy security, arrived in Lebanon on Tuesday to revive talks between Lebanon and Israel over a maritime border dispute that is holding up oil and gas exploration. While the ideas he conveyed to the Lebanese side were not revealed, it was reported that he had “made a positive offer regarding Line 23, giving Lebanon the area of 860 sq. km that it demands, in addition to preserving the entire Qana field." Before leaving Lebanon on Wednesday evening, Hochstein said that Lebanon had an opportunity to reach a deal. “We are at the moment of bridging the gaps in the maritime delimitation file,” he said.

He linked reaching an agreement with addressing the economic crises that Lebanon is mired in, emphasizing that Lebanon needed to support itself. “Let's see something that works, that the reforms that are necessary are passed, are in place, and are serious, and then the international community will support Lebanon,” he said. The head of the Lebanese Phalange Party, Sami Gemayel, said in response to the visit: “In a failed state, the international negotiator must negotiate with all the political and security authorities and turn into a judge of peace among them.” Businessman Bahaa Hariri tweeted: “The time has come for the maritime border demarcation file to witness the birth of a solution that is far from the political class's quotas and the mistakes that Lebanon made as a result of its influence. “Reaching an agreement as soon as possible may be a step toward mitigating the severity of the economic collapse.”

Lebanese interior Minister Mowlawi by alarabiya.net — Lebanon on Thursday banned Bahraini opposition forces from holding two events in the country, amid …