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Hezbollah is moving with precision and deliberately... The white ballot remains until Suleiman Bey is elected president

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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.

THE BLACK BELTS OF THE LEBANESE ARMED FORCES

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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.

What can the Maronite rite offer the Eucharistic Revival? Here’s what two Maronite bishops say

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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.

Lebanese invent new energy car to cope with energy crisis

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by Dana Halawi BEIRUT, (Xinhua) -- Lebanese industrialists are trying to produce their own alternative fuel vehicles amid the country's severe energy crunch. Hisham Houssami is one of them. Named "Lira," the name of the Lebanese currency, the hybrid car designed by Houssami, who was originally a manufacturer of industrial equipment, can be charged with electricity or via solar panels. The idea of designing and making his own car came to the 46-year-old man as he witnessed the difficulty of Lebanese in securing fuel for their cars amid the energy shortages as a result of the financial crisis. "It's a shame that the Lebanese can barely afford gasoline, and it's even more painful to see people suffering to access the commodity every now and then," Houssami said.

In Lebanon, 20 liters of gasoline could cost about 800,000 Lebanese pounds (about 20 U.S. dollars). Houssami said he currently has a team of 7 to 10 regular workers working on the new car while he supervises the production process. A mechanic works on a hybrid car made by Lebanese industrialist Hisham Houssami, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Nov. 21, 2022. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) "Unfortunately, we do not have car engineers in Lebanon, but my experience in producing industrial equipment makes this job possible for me," Houssami said. The industrialist planned to launch the EV this year during Christmas and New Year seasons at less than 10,000 U.S. dollars. Houssami has already placed several ads on social media channels asking for more people to join his new car factory.

Minister Sejaan Azzi: معادلةُ جبران خليل جبران

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سجعان قزي

@AzziSejean

جميعُ طوائف لبنان، أكانت قويّةً أم ضعيفةً، تجتازُ أزَمات. وعوضَ أن تُوحِّدَها الأزَماتُ تُفرِّقُها. ما يُميّزُ أزْمةَ المسيحيّين أنها أزمةٌ وجوديةٌ بينما أزماتُ الآخَرين سياسيّة. الفئاتُ الأخرى تَطمَحُ إلى مزيدٍ من الرُبحِ، والمسيحيّون يحاولون الحدَّ من الخَسارة. الفئاتُ الأخرى تَدخُل إلى المستقبلِ اللبنانيِّ، والمسيحيّون يَخرجون منه. الفئاتُ الأخرى تَبحثُ عن وجودِها في السلطةِ، والمسيحيّون عن وجودِهم في الجُغرافيا اللبنانيّة. يَشعرُ المسيحيّون، وبخاصّةٍ الموارنةُ، أنهم أسّسوا هذه الدولةَ/الوطن، وها هي تُنشَلُ منهم وصاروا مخيَّرين بين اتّباعِ الآخَرين أو الهِجرةِ من دونِ أن يُفكِّروا بخِيارِ المواجهةِ، أو على الأقل بخِياراتٍ دُستوريّةٍ أخرى وتنفيذِها من دونِ خَجَلٍ أو حَرَج.

باتَ الرأيُ العامُّ المسيحيِّ يُحمِّلُ المسؤوليّةَ الرئيسيّةَ لضُمورِ السلطةِ المارونيّةِ لدى بعضِ القوى المارونيّةِ وزعمائِها الّذين انتقلوا من مقاومةِ الأعداءِ إلى الاقتتالِ في ما بينَهم، ثم إلى العَداءِ الحاقِد من خلال تحالفاتٍ هجينةٍ وتَبعيّةٍ، فأَنْهكوا شعبَهم ومجتمعَهم. وبمنأى عن مواقفِ بعضِ الأطراف، بما فيها حزبُ الله، ما كان لبنانُ بَلغَ هذه الحال لو كانت تَصرّفاتُ بعضِ القادةِ المسيحيّين وخِياراتُهم وتحالفاتُهم من التسعينيّات الماضيةِ حتى اليوم مختلفةً، ولَمَا كانت رئاسةُ الجُمهورّيةِ تَعرّضَت للإهانةِ والإذلالِ لو كان بعضُ هذه القياداتِ تهيَّأَ للاستحقاقِ الرئاسيِّ بشكلٍ آخَر، وواجَهَه بأسماءَ أُخرى. ألا نرى كيف جميعُ الأطرافِ يَمرحُون ويَتسلَّون ويَهزأُون بالمرشّحينَ الموارنِةِ إلى رئاسةِ الجُمهوريّة كأنّهم كُراتُ بِلْيارد؟

How Qatar’s riches touch millions of UK lives

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Irony or double standard by United Kingdom fans on their criticism of Qatar? (khazen.org comment)

by BBC -- Dharshini David - Qatar hosting the World Cup has drawn widespread criticism over its record on rights for women, LGBTQ+ groups and migrant workers. The attendance of officials, teams, even fans has been questioned. But our connection (United Kingdom) with Qatar goes way beyond the current tournament, touching most of our lives. At the core of that relationship is gas. Qatar is a tiny country about the size of Yorkshire but it has one of the largest natural reserves on the planet - and the UK is a key customer. About half our gas is imported and about half of that comes via a pipeline from Norway. But Qatar is second on that list supplying about 9% of our energy imports. In theory, that's the amount needed to power the boilers of around a million British homes. In the space of less than 20 years, Qatar has become a vital part of our energy mix.

Why are the World Cup 2022 finals in Qatar so controversial?

The UK and Qatar may have few historical links - but the latter has channelled its booming gas-based wealth into embedding itself into the UK's corporate and property landscape, and cementing a relationship with the top tiers of British establishment. Its monarch, the Emir, was one of the few Gulf leaders to attend the Queen's funeral. The current King accepted a donation for his charitable foundation worth over £2m (part of which was allegedly handed over in Fortnum and Mason's carrier bags) from a former Qatari political leader in 2015. Highly unusually, our nations' air forces have formed two joint squadrons - one of which is patrolling the skies above World Cup venues.

And in September, Qatar took ownership of 24 fighter jets built in Lancashire, part of a £5bn deal with BAE systems. On the ground, the Qatari government has been recycling some of its cash by investing in the UK. It's not one of our largest investors - but its holdings are strategically chosen to maximise profile and influence. It is among the dozen biggest property owners in Britain. Central to its property empire is the Canary Wharf Group which owns landmarks including 20 Fenchurch Street, nicknamed the Walkie Talkie, and the Shell Centre redevelopment on London's South Bank. The Qatari government also owns luxury department store Harrods and 5* hotel Claridge's in London. And in our day-to-day life it has significant shareholdings some of our biggest brands. Bank with Barclays, shop at Sainsburys or use Heathrow airport, and Qatar benefits. Turn on the tap as a Severn Trent water customer, and your bill adds to its profits.

Naomi Biden wears Lebanese wedding gown for White House reception

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The granddaughter of US President Joe Biden, Naomi, opted for a wedding dress by Lebanese designer Reem Acra for her reception at the White House. The bride wore a lace Ralph Lauren gown for her nuptials on Saturday, but changed into the Mikado silk Reem Acra gown for the reception and cake cutting festivities. The strapless ivory silk Mikado dress featured her grandmother Roberta Buhle’s pearls sewn into the six-foot train. For late-night dancing, she changed into a fringed Markarian mini-dress.

Naomi, 28, married Peter Neal, 25.

On November 19, 2022, Biden married Peter George Heermann Neal in a joint Catholic-Presbyterian ceremony held on the South Lawn of the White House.[18][9][19] There were two hundred and fifty guests.[6] Biden wore a dress designed by Ralph Lauren and diamond and pearl drop earrings from Tiffany & Co. for the occasion.[20] Biden's sister, Finnegan James Biden, served as maid of honor. Roberta Mabel Biden and Katherine Elizabeth Neal served as bridesmaids. Neal's brother, Robert Eliot Neal, served as best man and Joseph Robinette Biden IV and Charles W. Gerdts served as groomsmen. Notable guests included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, White House Cabinet Secretary Evan Ryan, and former senators Chris Dodd and Ted Kaufman.

A wedding luncheon was hosted by President and First Lady Biden in the State Dining Room of the White House.[18] A black tie reception was held that evening at the White House, with three hundred and fifty guests. Biden wore a strapless dress by Reem Acra for the reception. The wedding cake was a white fondant cake featuring seven tiers.The wedding was the nineteenth wedding to take place at the White House and the first since President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush hosted a wedding reception for their daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, there in June 2008.It was the first wedding to ever be held on the South Lawn, according to the White House Historical Association, and was the first time a president's granddaughter was married at the White House.