By NADIM SHEHADI -- arabnews.com -- My friend Faris Aractingi bears a striking resemblance to his ancestor, Assaad Khayat, who impressed Princess Victoria (the future Queen Victoria) when he accompanied three Persian princes on their visit to London in 1836. “He speaks many different languages, and amongst others English, very well; he is extremely handsome, and has a most interesting countenance,” she wrote in her journal. Khayat later became the first British Consul in Jaffa, where his daughter Mariana married Antoun Aractingi and where a hill still bears the family name. Faris, now living in Beirut, was born in Baghdad and sometimes, when he speaks, words come out with the Mosul accent of his mother.

In his award-winning movie “Heritages,” Philippe Aractingi, who is from another branch of the family, traces his roots to Adana in southern Turkey, with his grandmother’s family leaving the port on a boat in 1922 and heading to Damascus, which his father left for Beirut. The artist, Willy Aractingi, from yet another branch, was brought up in Cairo before moving to Beirut in the 1950s. There are many people like the Aractingis, who were attracted to Beirut throughout the 20th century. Some came as refugees from Turkey or Palestine; others were driven out of Egypt, Iraq or Syria by the wave of homogenizing nationalism that gradually prevailed in the region or when their businesses and properties were nationalized. They brought with them a rich history and a great cuisine, as inheritors of a type of Levantine Ottoman culture that had gradually eroded from the perimeters of the Mediterranean, and of which Beirut was the last station. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was Europeans who came to Egypt to find jobs instead of the other way round.

by thenationalnews.com -- Elias Sakr -- Iraq will provide cash-strapped Lebanon with fuel in a deal that will help to increase power supply in coming months, Lebanese Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar said on Saturday. He was speaking on his return from Baghdad where he signed a one-year agreement to purchase one million tonnes of Iraqi fuel, to be paid for in Lebanese pounds. Iraq will spend the sum on Lebanese services, Mr Ghajar said. Lebanon, on the other hand, will swap Iraqi heavy fuel oil with spot cargoes of fuel suitable to run the country’s power plants. “At peak [power] production, the deal will ensure the provision of electricity for four months,” , Mr Ghajar told reporters at Beirut airport. “We hope other Arab countries follow suit and give us this opportunity because it is really a golden opportunity for us,” he said. The deal with Iraq will enable the state-owned power company, Electricite du Liban, to increase its power supply from the current level of less than two hours daily in many parts of the country once new spot cargoes are purchased and delivered, Mr Ghajar said.

Two weeks ago, EDL had to temporarily shut down two plants after running out of fuel. The plants provide up to 60 per cent of the country’s electricity. Lebanon’s decades-old power woes have intensified in recent months over shortages of diesel and other fuel. The central bank has reduced its subsidies of oil imports because of falling foreign currency reserves. Electricity supply has been unreliable in Lebanon since the end of the 15-year civil war in 1990. Since then, EDL has sold power at a loss. The country’s energy troubles have been compounded by the smuggling to neighbouring Syria of diesel used to run private generators that compensate for state power rationing. Acute shortages in diesel recently forced private generators to cut their power supply, plunging many areas across the country into hours-long daily blackouts that threatened to shut down hospitals among other vital facilities and businesses. Bakeries in some parts of Lebanon have shut down their ovens. Supermarkets said the lack of power impedes their ability to preserve perishable food.

by arabnews.com — DUBAI: Lebanese documentary “Enough: Lebanon’s Darkest Hour” took home the Movie That Matters Award 2021 at a Better World …

هل تسمية الحكومة حكومة مهمة يكفي لنجاحها؟ هل السياسة العامة للبنان هي من ضمن المهة الموعودة؟ ام ان ان السياسة العامة وتصويب …