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The most and least powerful passports in the world

by Jeff Desjardins, Visual Capitalist According to the Passport Index, the distinction for the world’s most powerful passport actually ends up as a tie between Germany and Singapore. Both have unparalleled access to visa-free entries, each with a list of 159 countries that citizens can go to without any hassles.

Like Germany, most other Western European nations do similarly well in the visa-free department:

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In Asia, however, things are quite different. After Singapore and a few other countries (Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia), things drop off faster.

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Further down the list in Asia, citizens of certain countries find themselves in even a tougher place, especially if they reside in the Middle East. Countries like Afghanistan (22), Pakistan (25), Iraq (26), Syria (30), and Bangladesh (35) have some of the shortest lists of visa-free countries that citizens have access to.

In North America, the United States and Canada both have powerful passports with 157 and 155 visa-free options respectively. However, they differ in a few key areas. Americans have visa-free access to Armenia, Equatorial Guinea, Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the Central African Republic, while Canadians have visa-free access to Bolivia, Venezuela, and Gambia.

We alluded earlier to the fact that a passport can also be very limiting in terms of traveling. Here are some of the countries with the least amount of visa's

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Lebanese president says to control "Syrian chaos" in his country

BEIRUT, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese President Michel Aoun stressed Monday that Lebanon would seek to bring under control the "Syrian chaos" in the country, the National News Agency reported. "We have managed to ensure stability and security and the facts prove this," Aoun told a delegation representing Small and Medium Enterprises headed by Minister of Economy Raed Khouri. The delegation also comprised the ministers of telecommunications and tourism, the central bank governor, the EU ambassador, UN representatives, Lebanese economic officials and a group of business leaders. The Lebanese Forum for Small and Medium Enterprises will kick off on Tuesday under the patronage of Aoun. "However, after we eradicated terrorism, we have unfortunately started to witness major domestic chaos, especially by some Syrians, and we are seeking to bring this under control," Aoun added. "We will reach a result, the same as we did regarding terrorism," the president pledged.

Holy tattoo! A 700-year old Christian tradition thrives in Jerusalem

Razzouk Tattoo in Old City Jerusalem, Israel. Credit: Addie Mena/CNA.

By Adelaide Mena - Jerusalem, (CNA).- In the Old City of Jerusalem it's hard to escape the ancient history that's still alive within its walls. A simple smartphone search can send you on a walk to a centuries-old shop, bring you to the steps of a millennium-old Church, or lead you past the 3,000 year-old Temple Mount – all bursting with people and energy. But it's only within the stone walls of Razzouk Ink that the modern pilgrim can have that history etched onto his or her body for the rest of their lives. And Christian pilgrims have come to the tattoo artists of the Razzouk family since the Crusades to receive ancient signs of Christian identity and pilgrimage. Even today, as the family uses up-to-date procedures and incorporates contemporary trends into some of their artwork, the Razzouk family still draws upon the history and skills passed down through the generations for nearly three-quarters of a millennium. They also incorporate instruments and designs dating back several hundred years, carrying on one of the world's oldest tattoo traditions.

A family legacy, written in ink

Wassim Razzouk, 43, is a tattoo artist descending from a centuries-long line in the trade: 700 years to be exact. “We are Copts, we come from Egypt, and in Egypt there is a tradition of tattooing Christians, and my great, great ancestors were some of those tattooing the Christian Copts,” he told me. The first evidence of a Christian tattoo tradition traces back to the Holy Land and Egypt as early as the 6th or 7th Century. From there, the tradition spread throughout Eastern Christian communities such as the Ethiopian, Armenian, Syriac and Maronite Churches. To this day, many Coptic Churches require a tattoo of a cross or other proof of Christian faith to enter a church. (Tattoo traditions among groups such as Celtic and Croatian Catholics emerged separately and at a later date.) With the advent of the Crusades beginning in 1095, the existing practice of tattooing pilgrims to the Holy Land expanded to the European visitors. Numerous accounts dating back to the 1600s describe Christian pilgrims taking part in already long-existing customs of receiving a tattoo upon completing a visit to the Holy City – a custom that survives to this day.

While in the tattoo parlor, I witnessed the Razzouk family help a Roman Catholic bishop from Europe plan a tattoo he hopes to receive once he completes a personal pilgrimage later this year. Only weeks prior, Theophilos, the Coptic Bishop of the Red Sea, came to the Razzouk Family receive a pilgrimage tattoo. Other patrons of the Razzouk family have included Christian leaders of Ethiopia, persecuted Christians, and Christian pilgrims of all denominations from around the globe. The Razzouk family themselves placed their roots in Jerusalem as pilgrims. After many pilgrimages and several generations of tattooing pilgrims and Christians of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, the Razzouk family relocated permanently to the Holy City around 1750. “A lot of them decided to come to the Holy Land as pilgrims themselves and decided to stay,” Wassim said. “For the past 500 years, we’ve been tattooing pilgrims in the Holy Land, and it’s been passed down from father to son.”

ISIS Traps Civilians in Commandeered Homes to Lure U.S. Airstrikes Amid Mosul Offensive

BY: Natalie Johnson - As Iraqi troops closed in on Mosul over the past few months, the Islamic State seized civilian homes and trapped families inside while they staged attacks from the rooftops against U.S.-led coalition forces to lure American airstrikes. The intent was political: to sew division among the local population and turn civilians against the American-backed Iraqi security forces. David Eubank, an American aid worker in Mosul who founded the humanitarian group Free Burma Rangers, said he and his team witnessed ISIS militants using civilians as human shields in this manner on several occasions. "You could hear [civilians] running out of the houses crying, ‘We were trapped here for a week and ISIS would shoot from our rooftop to get the Americans to do an airstrike to blame the Americans,'" Eubank said Friday during an event in Washington, D.C. Lt. Gen.

Stephen Townsend, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, offered a similar account in March after an alleged U.S. airstrikes in west Mosul killed up to 200 civilians. Townsend told reporters it appeared ISIS had forced hundreds of civilians into buildings in an attempt to protect their fighting position while luring American airstrikes. Eubank moved his wife and three children—ages 16, 14, and 11—to Mosul in November, one month after the U.S.-led operation to retake the city began.

The family returned to the United States on June 11. During those seven months, he said he witnessed a "measurable escalation" in ISIS's use of human shields as Iraqi troops pushed further into the city. When he first arrived in Mosul on Nov. 15, he said his brigade typically witnessed or heard stories of militants killing about one family a week. By May, when Iraqi troops had driven ISIS from all but a few pockets in the Old City neighborhood, he said the killings became more frequent as thousands of civilians attempted to flee war-torn towns. He often witnessed ISIS fighters forcing civilians to stand alongside them on rooftops or in front of houses while they opened fire on Iraqi security forces to deter U.S. airstrikes. On some occasions, he saw militants holding children at gunpoint while firing mortars at coalition troops to avoid American counterattacks. As the battle for Mosul appears just days away from the end, Iraqi commanders say female ISIS fighters are now using their own children as shields in a last ditch attempt to save the group's last sliver of the Old City. ISIS captured Mosul from the Iraqi government in June 2014, marking the group's most significant territorial grab. The fall of Mosul would all but signal the collapse of its so-called caliphate.

Lebanon kicks off renowned Baalbek music festival

by Reuters, BEIRUT: Thousands of music fans poured into a stadium in Lebanon’s Baalbek on Friday night for the opening performance of the oldest music festival in the region. On the opening night, the festival celebrated the 60th anniversary of its “Lebanese Nights” concert, which has given voice to the country’s music and heritage for decades. This year, the event will showcase Lebanon’s younger generation of pop stars, including Ramy Ayach, Aline Lahoud and Brigitte Yaghi, performing classic Lebanese hits as well as their modern repertoires. The internationally renowned Baalbek music festival will host a wide array of Lebanese and global artists for six nights at its historic venue among Roman ruins in the Bekaa Valley. The eastern town of Baalbek is home to some of the best preserved Roman temples, in which acclaimed musicians including American jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald and British singer Sting have performed. It is one of scores of international and local summer cultural festivals in Lebanon, held mostly in the open air, including one in Beiteddine Palace in the pine forest of the Chouf Mountains and another in the Phoenician port of Byblos. Founded in 1956 by then-President Camille Chamoun, the Baalbek festival is considered the most prestigious of the country’s annual festivals, having welcomed the Arab world’s musical legends such as Um Kulthoum and Fairouz.

Lebanese electoral law 2017: Full text in English

by the daily star.com.lb

BEIRUT: After years of wrangling, Lebanese lawmakers passed a new vote law in June that will govern the parliamentary elections slated for Spring 2018. The move marks a major step forward for the country, as political work had ground to a halt while lawmakers focused solely on agreeing the final text. Unlike the former winner takes all system, the new law will see proportional representation implemented for the first time in Lebanon. Candidates will be able to vote from anywhere in the country – through so-called magnetic voting cards – rather than having to travel to their district.

While no single bloc claimed dominance and the final agreement left out several major points called for by certain parties, it was praised as the first fully home-grown electoral law. It remains hard to predict how the new system of voting - with its new proportional representation, redrawn districts and preferential votes - will affect the outcome. However, analysts and experts who looked at the text soon after it was published said they expect to see the share of seats decrease somewhat for many of the major parties. With the reduction expected to be largely uniform across the spectrum, it hasn’t been treated as a significant loss by the major blocs. That said, several experts believe Hezbollah, through affiliated parties and candidates, could significantly increase their share of seats in parliament.

While it won’t be included in the next elections, Foreign Minister and head of the Free Patriotic Movement Gebran Bassil’s call for six MPs to be assigned for the diaspora has been heeded and the framework has been written into the new vote law. However, it will require a further Cabinet decree at some point after the next election to see it activated in future cycles, which could also come with significant wrangling and opposition. The 11-month so-called “technical extension” of Parliament’s term is to educate voters and overseers on the new law to facilitate a smooth process. In an effort to assist in this endeavor, The Daily Star has translated the full text of the new vote as closely to the original Arabic wording as possible. - The Daily Star

Lebanese electoral law 2017:

Lebanon: Ministers Disagree over Return of Syrian Refugees

By Youssef Diab - english.aawsat.com Beirut – Lebanon’s cabinet session held on Wednesday at the Baabda Palace saw disagreements between ministers over the return of the displaced Syrians to their country. While ministers, who support Bashar Assad, called for cooperation with the Syrian regime to achieve the quick return of refugees, other ministers from the so-called March 14 alliance have rejected any political negotiation with Assad, stressing the need for a return process that would be held under security, political and humanitarian guarantees by the United Nations. Wednesday’s cabinet session was chaired by President Michel Aoun, and followed tense remarks by ministers, some of whom warned against “handing over the refugees to the regime that had abandoned them, and drove them to flee death.”

However, Prime Minister Saad Hariri urged the March 14 ministers to avoid raising the refugee file during the session, noting at the beginning of the meeting that the issue of communication with the Syrian regime was controversial. “We want the return of the refugees to their country today before tomorrow, but it is the responsibility of the United Nations, which has to put a safe plan for this return,” Hariri said, adding that an agreement was reached over the need to put the files that create differences aside. This has not stopped Minister Ali Qanso from stating during the meeting: “Should the Lebanese government fail to cooperate with the Syrian regime, displaced will not return to Syria.” His comments sparked strong criticism by Minister Michel Pharaon, who told Asharq Al-Awsat that Qanso’s remarks were “provocative and involve threats.” During the meeting, Hariri announced he would be visiting the United States to meet US President Donald Trump. He will also travel in August to France and Russia on official visits. For his part, Aoun commended the judiciary to play a key role in reducing security breaches and stressed the need for coordination with the country’s security forces. In a news conference following the session, Information Minister Melhem Riachi said that the president raised recent security issues in the country, praising the role of the Lebanese Army and the security forces and warned against refugee camps “being transformed into hubs for terrorism.”