by By Brian Trusdell – newsmax.com — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared that President Donald Trump will be dead ”in a few days” during a speech to his Islamic nation’s cabinet as the first anniversary of the killing of a general in the country’s military approached. Rouhani’s Wednesday speech, excerpts of which were posted in English on the Iranian presidential website, called Qasem Soleimani a ”martyr” and ”moderate leader with tact.” Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s Quds Force — described by military specialists as an unconventional war and clandestine operations unit — was killed in a targeted drone strike on Jan. 3, 2020, that was approved by Trump. The U.S. Department of Defense blamed Soleimani for hundreds of deaths and injuries to Americans; he was purportedly killed while in neighboring Iraq while ”actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”

Besides Trump, Rouhani referred to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as the ”main perpetrators of this crime.” “One of the effects of this stupid and disgraceful act was that Trumpism ended and in a few days, the life of this criminal will end and he will go to the dustbin of history, and we are very happy about this and we believe that the period after Trump will be a better condition for regional and global stability,” Rouhani said. The remarks come as tensions have intensified approaching the anniversary of Soleimani’s death; his successor has vowed vengeance, and the U.S. has flown B-52s over the region in an act of deterrence.

by middleeasteye.net — New Year celebrations in Lebanon were marred by what local media said was a “horror night”, after celebratory gunfire left a Syrian woman dead and damaged an aeroplane. Lebanese authorities could do little to prevent the barrage of festive gunshots that rang out across the country on Thursday night, a popular way […]

Michel Hayek Prediction 2021 – 2022

by NAJIA HOUSSARI – arabnews.com — BEIRUT: After a year of financial, political and social turmoil, few in Lebanon believe the crisis-wracked country’s situation will improve in the coming 12 months, while growing numbers fear their plight will worsen dramatically. “Our country is broken,” said Rima Al-Khatib, who works in the banking sector, describing a year in which her father died and the family was unable to pray for him in the mosque because of a nationwide lockdown at the time. Al-Khatib told Arab News that she “is in a state of denial about everything that happened this year.” “I don’t want to reflect on it because it is too painful,” she said.

With university and health studies in recent weeks showing alarming levels of depression and anxiety in young and old alike, it is clear few people have any expectations, let along dreams, for the new year. One mental health survey concluded that up to 16 percent of people aged 18-24 suffer from severe depression, while 41 percent of women still suffer from post-traumatic stress in the wake of the Beirut port blast. Meanwhile, lockdowns imposed to halt the spread of the coronavirus affected the mental health of 41 percent of the participants in another study, with a further survey claiming 9.5 percent of the population risk becoming depressed because of the country’s dire economic situation. Al-Khatib said that she will never forget the day of the port explosion. “I was in my car on the road and a balcony fell from a building in front of me,” she recalled. “I could not understand what happened. My friend narrowly escaped death and the explosion killed two of my work colleagues, leaving two children orphans.”

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 […]

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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 […]