By Nadim El Kak — Al Jazeera — Beirut, Lebanon – It’s August 2022 and Lebanon are two points up on the Philippines with 18 seconds left in the game at a packed Nouhad Naufal Stadium in a Beirut suburb, when the ball spills out to Wael Arakji on the left – giving him the chance to sink a game-sealing three-pointer. If the shot goes in, it will not only guarantee the win but will also help secure Lebanon’s ticket to the 2023 FIBA World Cup taking place this August and September. Unfazed by the pressure of 8,000 roaring fans and an onrushing Jordan Clarkson looking to block, the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup Most Valuable Player (MVP) makes the shot – effectively guaranteeing the small Arab country its place in the World Cup for the fourth time in its history. Their qualification was confirmed after an easy win against India a few days later. Fans took to social media after the Philippines game to express their elation. “I was watching the game while at the office and couldn’t control my screams at every play,” Abed wrote in a Facebook group of 45,000 Lebanese basketball fans. “A lot of coworkers were confused and asked me what I get from all of this. There’s really no explaining our relationship with this sport.” Responding to Abed’s words, Sleiman takes a stab at the coworkers’ question in the comments: “What do we get from it? Thanks to this game we can experience pride in something called Lebanon rather than in parties, sects or politics.”

Being first isn’t everything in the NBA draft Indeed, basketball has brought back much-needed joy, solidarity and hope to a country still ailing from the aftermath of a foiled uprising, the catastrophic Beirut port explosion, and a continuing financial collapse. A few months before that, Lebanon lifted the 2022 Arab Championship trophy in front of a mostly Lebanese crowd in Dubai, mounting a spectacular fourth-quarter comeback to defeat reigning African champions Tunisia in the final. Experts say these successes have a profound effect on Lebanese society. “Sports are incredibly powerful because they’re a product that’s full of emotions – it’s a form of entertainment that meshes national identity with personal dreams and passions, regardless of political context,” Nadim Nassif, a scholar of sports history and governance based at Notre Dame University in Lebanon, told Al Jazeera. “Basketball appeals to the Lebanese because the country is internationally competitive in [one of the] most popular sports in the world.”

By MEE staff — Popular Lebanese comedian Nour Hajjar was detained on 25 August after posting a sketch online where he talks about the deteriorating economic conditions in the country. According to local media platform Megaphone News, the comedian spoke about Lebanese army personnel being forced to take on multiple side jobs such as delivery […]

by fortune.com — Coryanne Hicks –– ChatGPT is changing the way people live and work. From teachers to cybercriminals, it seems everyone is jumping on the artificial intelligence (AI) bandwagon. This is only to be expected when it can answer questions faster than any human and save you the trouble of scouring countless Google search […]

by by theguardian.com — Donald Trump has tweeted for the first time since 2021, posting the mugshot from his booking at Fulton county jail in Georgia on charges of election interference earlier on Thursday. The former president returned to the social media site, now known as X, with a post linking to his website and featuring the words “Election interference! Never surrender!” following his surrender at Fulton County jail on racketeering and conspiracy charges over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. Trump has previously said he would stick with his new platform Truth Social. He reportedly signed an 18-month exclusivity agreement to post on Truth Social when it launched, which expired in late June.

Trump’s jail spectacle is historic, but it won’t harm him politically It has been Trump’s main source of direct communication with his followers since he began posting on the app regularly in May. The former president has used it to promote his allies, criticise his opponents and defend his reputation amid legal scrutiny from state, congressional and federal investigators. Trump had 6.4m followers on Truth Social as of Thursday. He still has more than 88m Twitter followers despite being banned from the platform following the 6 January 2021 attack on Congress by his supporters, amid the risk of further incitement of violence. On 19 November the San Francisco-based app reversed the ban under billionaire Elon Musk, the self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” who bought Twitter last year. Musk restored the former president’s account after running a poll that received more than 15m votes and just narrowly won at nearly 52%. Despite the account being restored, Trump did not tweet until Thursday. He has previously used Twitter and other social media platforms to make false claims that his defeat in the 2020 election was due to widespread voter fraud and to share other conspiracy theories.

by naharnet –– The Maronite church’s dismay over the French policy towards Lebanon was clearly reflected in the sermon of Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday, when he criticized the questions addressed by French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian to Lebanon’s MPs. In remarks to ad-Diyar newspaper, Bkirki sources confirmed the dismay. “France has always stood by […]

by Arab news – Najia Houssari –– BEIRUT: Total Energies, along with its partners Eni and QatarEnergy, on Tuesday launched exploration activities in Block 9 within Lebanon’s territorial waters. The companies are searching for commercial quantities of gas and oil that Lebanon is pinning its hopes on to revive its collapsing economy. The drilling is set to start on Aug. 24, as announced by Energy Minister Walid Fayad. Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri visited the drilling platform Transocean Barents, accompanied by Fayad and Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamieh, as well as Lebanese petroleum officials to attend a ceremony to announce the exploration. Platform 9 is located about 120 km from Beirut.

During the visit, Lebanese officials were briefed on preparations for the drilling. Berri and Mikati toured the drilling platform to oversee the logistics for the oil and gas exploration in Block 9 within Lebanon’s territorial waters. Berri said he hoped that “in a few months, God would bless Lebanon with a flow of his grace, marking the beginning of solving the economic crisis that Lebanon and its people are experiencing,” and that the Lebanese would reach a consensus on electing a president who would initiate a political solution. Mikati said he wished that “the upcoming days bring signs of good fortune to help Lebanon address the numerous crises it is facing, and that everyone cooperates in the upcoming phase to halt the deterioration we are witnessing on all fronts.”

by Maan Jalal — the nationalnews.com — Egyptian pop star Amr Diab performed his first concert in Beirut in 12 years on Saturday, which was attended by about 20,000 fans, Lebanese media reported. But the show at Beirut Waterfront Arena has triggered heated debate online, with some criticising the mess left by concertgoers and others questioning its timing, considering Lebanon’s current economic turmoil.

On Sunday, Nasser Yassin, Lebanon’s Minister of Environment, posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, showing the road leading to the venue littered with rubbish. He wrote that Beirut Municipality had been informed and asked to “oblige the organising company to remove the waste and clean the place at its own expense”. “The Governor of Beirut must issue general cleanliness records against violators,” he added. Yassin’s video shows the four-laned road littered with items including water bottles, cans and rubbish bags. He ended his tweet with a hashtag in Arabic that translates to “clean your country”. Yassin later posted an updated video, showing uniformed cleaners sweeping the street. “Garbage contractor workers in Beirut began to remove waste from the Amr Diab party venue,” he wrote, adding that the “General Hygiene Department in the Beirut Municipality is following up on the work”.

theadvocate.com — It’s difficult to calculate just how many people of Lebanese descent live in Acadiana today, but the cultural impact of this population is apparent everywhere. Generations of Acadiana residents remember shopping at Abdalla’s, Brother’s on the Boulevard, or Boustany’s Department Store. Local institutions such as Evangeline Maid and Evangeline Downs were concerns of prominent Lafayette businessman Frem Boustany. And when you drive down Kaliste Saloom Road, visit the major retail and medical centers of South Lafayette, or eat at restaurants such as Tabouleh Lebanese Cuisine, you’re participating in slices of Acadiana life that only exist thanks to waves of immigration from the modern-day country of Lebanon.

The first families began arriving in South Louisiana in the 19th century, bringing names that are still well-known today — like Saloom. Other Lebanese family names include Boustany, Azar, John, Ashy, Antoine, Abdalla, Hannie, Mahtook, and Haik — a short list of dozens that have descendants in South Louisiana. The Salooms were some of the earliest arrivals from the region that was then a province of Syria. According to Lafayette City Judge Judge Doug Saloom, his great-uncle Racheed was the first Saloom in the area, after arriving in Ellis Island and working his way down from New York. “He was so exhausted when he got to New York, he fell asleep and he was robbed,” says Doug Saloom. “They took his passports, money, everything. He walked and hitched rides down to Louisiana.”

By Najia Houssari — Arabnews.com –– BEIRUT: Small portable alarms named in memory of a young British Embassy worker raped and murdered in Lebanon in 2017 have been distributed on Beirut Corniche as part of a campaign to protect women and girls from violence. Known as Becky’s Button, the lightweight devices were handed out by the Becky’s Button Association on Saturday, with volunteers explaining how the alarms can offer protection from sexual harassment or assault. When activated, the alarm emits an ear-piercing signal that can frighten off attackers and alert anyone nearby, offering wearers a few seconds in which to escape. We all know what happened to Becky. The news was shocking at the time and women in Lebanon are still living with the repercussions. The alarm is named after Rebecca Dykes, the 30-year-old British Embassy worker raped and strangled to death in 2017 by a taxi driver. Dykes’ killer, Tariq Samir Huweisheh, was sentenced to death by a criminal court in Mount Lebanon.

On Saturday, volunteers wearing T-shirts bearing the words “Press, Run and Report” explained the benefits of the device and how it could protect women exposed to any kind of danger. A British Embassy official joined the volunteers as the alarms were handed out to women passers-by. Female officers and members of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces were also present. Becky’s Button can be placed under clothing or attached to a bag. Becky’s mother, Jane, who has been donating the alarm to vulnerable women, believes her daughter’s life might have been saved if she had such a device. The alarm is provided to women after an interview at the Ahla Fawda NGO, a community organization. “Stocks are currently limited, but they can be requested via social media,” an association activist said.

BY BASSEM MROUE AND QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA — BEIRUT (AP) — A Lebanese Shiite cleric who has angered politicians and religious leaders in Lebanon and Iraq said Friday that groups including Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah are trying to silence voices of dissent within the sect — including his own. Sheikh Yasser Auda has developed a reputation on social media in recent years for his criticism of corruption in Iraq and Lebanon. He has also spoken out against the use of violence against opponents of Iran-backed groups in the two crisis-hit countries. He vowed in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday not to bow down even if it costs him is life. His comments came two days after a department within The Supreme Islamic Shiite Council of Lebanon, the country’s top Shiite religious authority, issued a statement naming 15 clerics whom it said are not qualified to provide religious guidance. Auda was at the top of the list and was almost stripped of his religious status. But the council later issued a statement saying that the position of the General Directorate for Religious Advocacy did not represent its point of view.

“I don’t recognize The Supreme Islamic Shiite Council of Lebanon,” Auda said in the sitting room of his modest apartment in Beirut’s predominantly Shiite southern suburb of Mreijeh. Auda said he rejects “corruption by politicians who are protected by religious authorities,” in an apparent reference to the council. He blamed the divisions within the council regarding the statement about his being unqualified to provide religious guidance to competition among clerics who hope to head the council one day.