Home - el Khazen Family Prince of Maronites : Lebanese Families Keserwan Lebanon

Top 5 Five predictions Data & AI 2021 by Malek el Khazen

Details

AI and Deep Learning Put Big Data on Steroids

Opinions are my own!

1- Machine Learning made easy, available in every editor tool without the need of being data scientist to develop ML Models and deep Programming Skills.

2- Serverless in Platform as a Service (PaaS) will be the star, overtaking “containers” especially in the world of Data & AI.

3- For 2021 the headline is “Data Democratization”. In the last couple of years, since the data is exploding, the focus was on Data Lake, a.k.a bringing the data in a common data store. Moving forward enterprises are now focus on organization of the data, providing a “common data model”, data governance, Role Based access (security) and consuming the data (Analytics, Machine Learning, Enterprise reporting) without the need to move the data out of the lake. Today, it is complete chaos, many companies use the terms of “Lakehouse”, “Datahub”, “DataBank”. These are different patterns/architecture. I simply call it Data Democratization an old concept but covers all these patterns.

4- AI is now mainstream! It is used at every level of our day-to-day life. First, Improving our applications, websites through noise reduction (AIOps). Second, a lot of focus on Natural Language Processing that will provide business outcomes to enterprises. Third, extracting data from unstructured document/pictures seamlessly to integrate with our structured data. The challenge for 2021 is how can we ensure AI is responsible and “unbiased.”

5- Real-Time availability will be necessary, IOT will be the star and containers will be the processing engine at the Edge behind these use cases!

Lebanese Judo Federation President Received Japan’s ‘Order Of The Rising Sun’

Details

by ijf.org -- Earlier this year the Embassy of Japan in Lebanon was pleased to announce that on 29th April the Government of Japan decided to award 'The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays' to Mr. Francois Saade, President of the Lebanese Judo Federation, for his outstanding contribution to promoting judo in Lebanon and strengthening friendly relations between Japan and Lebanon over many years. Eventually, after several months of waiting due to the global crisis, the Japanese Ambassador to Lebanon, Takeshi Okubo, presented the national order to Saade at the former’s home in Baabda, Mount Lebanon, during a symbolic, coronavirus-safe ceremony.

سفير لبنان في الفاتيكان: لا مبادرات فاتيكانية منفصلة عن المبادرة الفرنسية

Details

Farid Elias Khazen - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia

by annahar.com -- قال سفير لبنان لدى الكرسي الرسولي فريد الياس الخازن: "لكلام قداسة البابا وقع كبير في الصحافة العالمية والأوساط الدولية المعنية بالشأن اللبناني، وتأثير داخل الكنيسة وعلى الرأي العام لاسيما في لبنان. الرسالة - النداء التي وجهها البابا إلى كافة اللبنانيين، عبر البطريرك الماروني، هي تعبير صادق عن اهتمام مميز بلبنان، وهو لا يخفي قلقه وحزنه على ما آلت إليه الأوضاع في البلاد، وخصوصاً بالنسبة إلى الشبيبة التي يوليها الحبر الأعظم اهتماماً خاصاً في رسائله العامة وفي الأنشطة التي يقيمها الكرسي الرسولي، وآخرها في المجالين الاقتصادي والتربوي. حرص البابا على لبنان وتعافيه من أزماته المتفاقمة ودعوته إلى عدم فقدان الأمل والثبات في الأرض والتمسك بالهوية، لا يوازيه سوى حرصه على العيش المشترك وكرامة الإنسان، فيكون أهلاً للدور والرسالة التي أرادها للبنان سلفه البابا القديس يوحنا بولس الثاني. كما توجه البابا في رسالته إلى المجتمع الدولي داعياً إلى إبعاد لبنان عن النزعات الإقليمية".

Hezbollah’s ‘Bank’ Was Just Hacked & Damning Information Was Leaked

Details

By Rim Zrein -- the961.com --A hacker group called “SpiderZ” hacked into the servers and cameras of Al-Qard Al-Hassan, Hezbollah’s financial institution. It collected data and is beginning to leak them to the public and promising to publish additional details later. They exposed the names of senior depositors along with other details from the database. Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association was established by Hezbollah in the 1980s, and it is the right hand of the party. Licensed by the Lebanese Ministry of the Interior in 1987, the Hezbollah bank has 32 branches throughout Lebanon, and declares itself a charity association that provides financial assistance to the Shiite population in Lebanon.

However, even though Al-Qard Al-Hassan is registered as a charity in Lebanon, it appears to run as a financial institution in every possible aspect, providing various financial services to its clients, including loans. Information obtained from The Double Cheque quotes that the association’s annual loans are close to $500 million, its annual profits are close to $20 million, its deposit reserves are worth over $300 million, and it holds 15 tons of gold worth around $500 million. And 0 tax payment, contributing nil to the Lebanese economy.

The association confirmed to the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Ahed website that the breach has in fact occurred. According to Al-Ahed website, Al-Qard Al-Hassan stressed that “this breach does not give the attackers the ability to act or move the accounts.” In the video posted by the “Spiderz” group on their website, the hackers explicitly state that they have successfully managed to get hold of all of Hezbollah’s bank information, and confirm that Al-Qard Al-Hassan is not a charity, but a covert financial shelter for Hezbollah.

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America raises $50,000 for Beirut blast relief

Details

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America raises $50,000 for Beirut blast relief

by greekcitytimes.com -- The fatal blast in Beirut on the 4th August left at least 150 people dead, 6,000 injured and 300,000 homeless. The large sum was collected, and forwarded to the Ecumenical Patriarchate to be added to their worldwide collection to help meet the great and pressing needs of the Orthodox brethren in Lebanon, as well as to ease their suffering. In his letter thanking all of the worthy donors, Archbishop Elpidophoros of America wrote: “It is my prayer that your loving offering will serve as a means of great assistance and fraternal solidarity to all those families in need during this Christmas season, and that their hearts and homes will be uplifted and filled with the newborn joy of our Lord’s Nativity.”

Lebanese prime minister slams ‘diabolical’ move to charge him over blast

Details

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab

By ASSOCIATED PRESS -- BEIRUT — Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister said Tuesday he was shocked to learn he was being charged with negligence in the Aug. 4 port explosion, saying he did his utmost duty during his brief tenure, during which he learned about dangerous chemicals stored at the port. In an interview with the Associated Press, Hassan Diab described being singled out and charged while others knew more, calling it “diabolical.” He insisted the investigating judge must go through parliament to question him further, now that he has been charged. Lebanon’s prosecutor investigating last summer’s horrific explosion at the Beirut port filed charges against Diab and three former ministers earlier this month, accusing them of negligence that led to the death of hundreds of people. The charges caused a political storm in Lebanon and Diab and other ministers refused to appear before the judge for questioning as defendants, calling the charges politically motivated and selective.

Two of the former ministers challenged the authority of Judge Fadi Sawwan, calling on him to be recused from the investigation and a new judge named. The challenge prompted a pause in the probe that has cast doubt on the fate of the investigation into the blast that killed more than 200 people and destroyed parts of Beirut. “Questioning me is not an issue, he [the judge] is welcome to do it. But being charged is a whole different ball game,” Diab said. The catastrophic explosion was caused by the ignition of a large stockpile of ammonium nitrate that — it later transpired — had been stored at the port for six years with the knowledge of top security officials and politicians who did nothing about it. They include senior security officials, the army command, the president and former prime ministers. The blast killed more than 200 people and wounded thousands, devastating large parts of the capital Beirut.

US Senate passed a resolution recognizing the devastating explosion that rocked the Port of Beirut expressing solidarity with the Lebanese people.

Details

This US resolution just passed with full support: S.Res.682 expresses the Senate's affirmation that U.S. assistance should be delivered directly to the Lebanese people following the recent explosion in Beirut. Further, it calls on Lebanon to conduct a transparent investigation into the cause of, and responsibility for, the explosion and to prioritize policies and programs that advance the interests of the Lebanese people.