By Eric Santos — msn.com — One of the big upsets of this World Cup came on November 22nd with the victory of Saudi Arabia against Argentina. Lionel Scaloni’s men went into the match on an unbeaten streak of 36 games and went ahead thanks to a penalty from Messi, but after the break, and after a much-noted half-time talk by coach Hervé Renard, the Saudis managed to turn the game around and record a famous victory that delighted Mohamed bin Salman, the country’s crown prince and one of the richest people in the world.

The footballers of the Saudi Arabian national team are now dreaming of qualifying for the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar, but while they are savoring this much-heralded victory they are going to receive a spectacular gift from the delighted Crown Prince. The 37-year-old from Jeddah is closely following Saudi Arabia’s participation in the World Cup in Qatar and personally congratulated the team members for winning their debut against all the odds, but he is so delighted that he has gone one step further and presented his beloved footballers with a gift valued at almost 500,000 dollars. The Crown Prince, according to CNN, has decided to give a Rolls-Royce Phantom, the basic model of which costs around $460,000, to each of the players who beat Argentina as a thank you for their performance and as a motivational tool for the next match, which they will play against to Poland. A decent result in that game and Saudi Arabia could achieve a historic qualification for the round of 16.

by AP — AL-RAYYAN, Qatar: Tensions ran high at Iran’s second match at the World Cup on Friday as fans supporting the Iranian government harassed those protesting against it and stadium security seized flags, T-shirts and other items expressing support for the protest movement that has gripped the Islamic Republic. Some fans were stopped by security guards from bringing in Persian pre-revolutionary flags to the match against Wales at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. Others carrying such flags had them ripped from their hands by pro-government Iran fans, who also shouted insults at fans wearing T-shirts with the slogan of the protest movement gripping the country, “Woman, Life, Freedom.” Unlike in their first match against England, the Iran players sang along to their national anthem before the match as some fans in the stadium wept, whistled and booed. The national team has come under close scrutiny for any statements or gestures about the nationwide protests that have wracked Iran for weeks. Shouting matches erupted in lines outside the stadium between fans screaming “Women, Life, Freedom” and others shouting back “The Islamic Republic!”

Mobs of men surrounded three different women giving interviews about the protests to foreign media outside the stadium, disrupting broadcasts as they angrily chanted, “The Islamic Republic of Iran!” Many female fans appeared shaken as Iranian government supporters shouted at them in Farsi and filmed them up close on their phones. After Iran’s 2-0 triumph, crowds of Iranian fans wildly waving national flags streamed out of the stadium. They thronged a group of protesters who held up photos of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old whose Sept. 16 death in the custody of the morality police first unleashed the protests, yelling “Victory!” to drown out chants of Amini’s name. One 35-year-old woman named Maryam, who like other Iran fans declined to give her last name for fear of government reprisals, started to cry as shouting men blowing horns encircled her and filmed her face. She had the words “Woman Life Freedom” painted on her face. “I’m not here to fight with anyone, but people have been attacking me and calling me a terrorist,” said Maryam, who lives in London but is originally from Tehran. “All I’m here to say is that football doesn’t matter if people are getting killed in the streets.” Maryam and her friends had worn hats emblazoned with the name of an outspoken Iranian former soccer player Voria Ghafouri, who had criticized Iranian authorities and was arrested in Iran on Thursday on accusations of spreading propaganda against the government. She said Iranian government supporters had taken the hats from their heads.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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؟

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.

 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 […]

By David Sedler — globeecho.com — The meeting of an official in “Hezbollah” and the army commander did not deal with the presidential file Yesterday, Tuesday, the commemoration of the 79th anniversary of Lebanon’s independence was limited to calls for electing a president and preserving sovereignty, without an official ceremony that Lebanon used to hold on this occasion, due to the vacancy in the presidency. The Lebanese army did not organize a military parade on the occasion, in which military brigades representing combat brigades and regiments usually participated, along with battalions from the security forces and the Red Cross, in addition to receiving congratulations from the presidents at the presidential palace. Military sources said that the performances were not held this year, due to the presidential vacancy, since the president by law is the supreme commander of the armed forces, and therefore it is not possible to organize a ceremony, even if it was symbolic, because of this aspect only.

The Minister of Education, Abbas al-Halabi, laid a wreath at the site where President Rene Moawad was assassinated on November 22, 1989, and Moawad was the first president of the republic to be elected after the Taif Agreement was reached. Also, in previous presidential vacancy periods, no military parades were held, while two symbolic parades were held in 2019 and 2020 at the Ministry of National Defense, with the participation of the President of the Republic, the Speaker of Parliament, the Prime Minister, ministers and other officials, in light of the protests in 2019, and the crisis of the spread of the Corona epidemic in 2019. 2020. And 22 days have passed since the vacancy in the position of the presidency of the republic, since the end of the term of former Lebanese President Michel Aoun on October 31, and it is still not possible to reach a consensus between the political forces represented in the House of Representatives on one person who can secure the votes of two-thirds of Parliament for her in the session. the first, or securing a quorum of two-thirds of the members of the Council in the second session. It is expected that the fate of the session called for by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri tomorrow, Thursday, will be similar to the fate of the previous six sessions.