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France's Macron shares Israel's concerns about Lebanon's Hezbollah

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PARIS (Reuters) - France shares Israel's concerns at the arming of Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, President Emmanuel Macron told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after their first formal meeting in Paris on Sunday. Tensions have risen between Hezbollah and its longtime foe Israel since Donald Trump became U.S. president with his tough talk against Iran. The Iran-backed group's rocket arsenal can hit any military target in the Jewish state, its chief said last month. "I share Israeli concerns on the arming of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon," Macron told reporters on Sunday, alongside Netanyahu. "We seek Lebanon's stability with due regard to all minorities," he said. The French president reiterated that he would support any initiative seeking the resumption of negotiations of the peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has been frozen for three years. He confirmed France's long-held policy that favors a two-state solution with Jerusalem as the capital for the Palestinian state and Israel and said he would visit Israel "in the coming months", at the invitation of the Israeli prime minister.

Why women are almost invisible in Lebanon's parliament

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This article represents opinion of the author

by Joana Aziz - middleeasteye.net/

Women’s rights in Lebanon are currently a major topic of interest and concern on the national stage - and rightfully so. Women in Lebanon are not a minority. They constitute almost half of the population, but they have been systematically marginalised. Last month, Lebanese government officials decided once again to exclude the quota system which urges equal representation of women in parliament. The quota system would have guaranteed a minimum of 30 percent of the seats in parliament for women so they could play an active role in political decision-making.

Currently, women in Lebanon account for 3.1 percent of the deputies in parliament - four out of 128 seats - and 3 percent of the ministers in the Council of Ministers. That's compared to a global average of 22 percent of parliamentarians who are women. Failure to implement the quota signifies a recurring theme in Lebanon where women's rights are often marginalised. So why has the system failed once again to implement the legislation and examine other legal areas - rape, citizenship and the welfare of women for starters - where women have yet to gain equals rights? Only once we define the problems can we find viable and sustainable answers.

Support to the Lebanese Army

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khazen.org and all of the el Khazen family strongly supports the Lebanese Army. The Lebanese army is the institution that makes us Lebanese proud. The Lebanese army has been leading us for a prosperous & safe Lebanon. The Lebanese army equals loyalty, duty, respect, personal courage, selfless service, integrity and honor. We strongly stand by the Lebanese Army, our future.

We reject any disrespect to the Lebanese army. These so called groups that have called for a demonstration are infiltrators to Lebanon and the Khazen. Khazen.org will not tolerate any disrespect to our Lebanese army. The Lebanese army is a red line for khazen.org. #StandWithLebaneseArmy #SupportLebaneseArmy #LebaneseArmy #KhazenUnitedWithLebaneseArmy

Khazen.org

وكل عائلة بيت الخازن تدعم بقوة الجيش اللبناني : هذه المؤسسة التي نفتخر بها ونعتز بتضحياتها لضمان أمانة وازدهار بلدنا الغالي لبنان . الجيش اللبناني هو جيش الولاء والخدمة الذاتية والشجاعة والاحترام

نرفض أي عدم احترام لهذه المؤسسة فهذه الجماعات التي دعت إلى التظاهر ضد الجيش اللبناني هي تعدٍّ على لبنان وعائلة الخازن التي لن تسمح بالتطاول على هذه المؤسسة التي تُعتبر خط أحمر ممنوع تجاوزه.

Tanks, troops, and Donald Trump — see photos from this year's Bastille Day in France

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by Veronika Bondarenko - On Friday, France celebrated Bastille Day with fireworks, a parade, and Donald Trump. As part of their 24-hour trip to visit French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris, Donald and Melania Trump attended the city's annual military parade — an ornamental affair complete with music, military displays, and air shows. Here are some of the most interesting photos from this year's Bastille Day celebration

Bastille Day

French President Emmanuel Macron, second right, his wife Brigitte Macron, right, U.S President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, left, applaud during the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris Friday, July 14, 2017.

On July 14, France celebrates a turning point in the French Revolution with fireworks, street parties, and military parades.

An unidentified spectator wearing a tattoo depicting fireworks at the Eiffel tower that close Bastille Day, watches the military parade on the Champs Elysees in Paris, France, Friday, July 14, 2017.Matthieu Alexandre (Associated Press) Source: The Independent

As this year marks 100 years that the US entered World War I, Macron pulled out all the stops with a high-tech display of military might.

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are seen on a large screen as they stand during the American National Anthem during Bastille Day parade on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris, Friday, July 14, 2017.Carolyn Kaster (Associated Press) Source: CNN

The guests were also treated to air shows with French fighter jets and other military displays.

The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds fly over the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel during the traditional Bastille Day military parade in Paris, France, July 14, 2017.Philippe Wojazer (Reuters) Source: CNN

Along with a parade from all branches of the French army, some American soldiers also joined the march.

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and Chief of the Defense Staff Gen. Pierre de Villiers, right, drive down the Champs Elysees avenue during Bastille Day parade in Paris, Friday, July 14, 2017.Markus Schreiber (Associated Press) Source: CNN

Trump and Macron watched the proceedings from Place de la Concorde. In total, 241 horses, 63 airplanes and 29 helicopters participated.

French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S President Donald Trump, center, and First Lady Melania Trump, left, applaud during the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris Friday, July 14, 2017.Christophe Archambault Source: CNN

A century-old building to be preserved in Beirut

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by Joseph A. Kechichian, Gulf news Beirut: Hisham Jaroudi, a real-estate magnate had promised to save a 100-year building in Beirut, popularly known as “The Rose House” on account of its rose-coloured paint, instead of dismantling it and replacing it with yet another high-rise. Few believed Jaroudi, the owner of the Riyadi Basketball Club, though he surprised naysayers when he applied for a renovation permit. Spread over 2,800 square metres at the end of Bliss Street near the American University of Beirut, Rose House was first erected in 1880 by Mohammad Ardati at a time when Beirut was a small coastal town with few majestic edifices. Among its unique features are 5 metres tall sandstone vaults, with an added floor and a half that offers a 360 degree panorama over the sea and the mountains.

The traditional house is fairly large, with an approximately 850 square metres habitable section, and comes with a two-level garden as well as a swimming pool that, a century ago, was rare. Since 1964, the house served as a residence to Margot Al Khazen and her family, though Jaroudi purchased it in 2014 with the intention to demolish and replace it with a high-rise, characteristic of the neighbourhood. By universal acknowledgement, the house is in very poor condition, with part of the third floor balcony collapsed on the one below, while most reinforcements are seriously damaged. Fastenings of the shutters and doors are so spoilt that bursts are visible in the stone, with just about every window and door wrecked, though a miraculous exception is visible for the coloured stained-glass windows in the central hall that are almost intact. Jaroudi hired a renowned architect, Jacques Abou Khaled, to restore the house, who promised to put-up “a complete support with scaffolding, pending the city restoration permit”. It might take a while and cost a pretty penny, but against the odds of voracious appetites of brick-and mortar Lebanese builders who seldom worry about the past, Rose House will survive even if few such edifices usually make it.

A Guide to Brigitte Bardot’s Beirut

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by Vogue - Living Brigitte Bardot put St.-Tropez on the map. Beirut, on the other hand, was at the height of its Golden Age when the starlet set foot on its cosmopolitan shores—another celebrity endorsement was superfluous. The vibrant city was a jet-setter’s playground, with a social scene that rivaled its European counterparts. It’s what attracted Bardot in the first place. A 15-year civil war ravaged more than just the country’s reputation, but two decades of reconstruction have polished away the grit to reveal its golden sheen. Set between snowcapped mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, Beirut is an enchanting place to retrace Bardot’s steps.

Where to stay
Lebanon’s most glamorous guests settled in at the Phoenicia hotel, the nightlife capital of Beirut in its prime. Bardot was a poolside fixture, her lounge chair previously reserved for guests like Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg. The five-star hotel has been restored to its decadent, mid-century glory in recent years, and the mosaic pool retains much of its original character, including views of the sapphire sea. Thanks to a raucous cabaret club and hard-partying Hollywood occupants—Marlon Brando among them—the hotel’s pre-war debauchery has become the stuff of legend. But with maturity comes a more elegant, if more reserved, Phoenicia. The Phoenicia faced stiff competition in Bardot’s day, and today’s voyageur has plenty of five-star hotel options. The quietly extravagant Le Gray Beirut, a Gordon Campbell Gray property, is favored for its prime downtown position and a rooftop infinity pool that dissolves into the skyline.