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.

By Ivan Korrs – musictimes.com — Starting with the labor issues and LGBTQ discrimination that many on social media have shed light on, it seems like the issues and the problems for the highly-anticipated sporting event will never cease. Earlier this month, different rumors of musicians like Dua Lipa, and Shakira, among many others, emerged – linking their involvement in the controversial event. They have denied involvement and called out the FIFA organization on proceeding with Qatar. However, it was until last week that Nicki Minaj confirmed that she would be doing a song with Colombian star Maluma and Lebanese songstress Myriam Fares.

The song “Tukoh Takah,” wowed everyone with its upbeat and highly-infectious energy. It is now the football anthem for the FIFA World Cup 2022. While Maluma and Minaj are already known to the American audience, Myriam Fares is definitely a new sound to many. After some slight digging by people on the internet, they came across an old video of Myriam Fares, who seemed to have done an act that many finds problematic. In a Rolling Stone report, it was revealed that Myriam Fares blackfaced on one of her earlier music videos, “Goumi” (or “Stand Up”). In 2018, Fares actually faced backlash after she wore makeup that significantly darkened her face and body to mimic a black person. Since the video’s release on YouTube, Fares has since faced a mountain of backlash over it, criticizing her for engaging in an act that insults a degrades a culture.

by arabamericannews.com — Donald Trump’s daughter Tiffany, 29, wed billionaire Michael Boulos before 250 guests at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on November 12. Boulos, 25, joins the family after he and Tiffany began dating in 2018. They were engaged in January 2021 with Tiffany posting an Instagram photo of them smiling at […]

by washingtonpost.com — Pranshu Verma — The global sports bonanza has started. Millions are tuning in at home, and others are braving the heat to watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar in person. A host of worries come with the attention on Doha: Fans will probably complain about botched calls. Stadium officials hope to minimize crowds. There are worries of overheating. Government officials will have public safety at the top of their minds. Scandals and human rights abuses abound. Tech is not your friend. We are. Sign up for The Tech Friend newsletter. Qatar, in reversal, bans alcohol sales at World Cup stadiums Technology can’t solve it all, but will be part of the answer. Officials are relying on sophisticated tools to control almost every aspect of the games: from the soccer balls being kicked around to the thousands of cameras tracking fans’ and players’ nearly every move, bringing intrigue and concern. Here’s a look at the innovations being used.

Sensor soccer ball The Adidas Al Rihla Official Match Ball featuring Connected Ball Technology. (Adidas) The official match ball, made by Adidas, will have motion sensors inside. The sensor will report precise location data on the ball 500 times per second, according to the company, helping referees make more precise calls. The sensor-filled ball was road-tested at several soccer tournaments leading up to the main event, including the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup, and did not affect player performance, Adidas said. The ball will be used in all of the tournament’s 64 matches, and will feed information back to a data nerve center, which officials can use to track statistics and monitor game play. Fox’s World Cup coverage of Qatar has a notable sponsor: Qatar

Video Assistant Referees

by AFP — Former US president vows to stick with his new platform Truth Social, the app developed by his own company Trump was kicked out of Twitter last year after he was deemed to have incited the 2020 US insurrection

SAN FRANCISCO: Donald Trump’s notorious Twitter account was reinstated Saturday after the platform’s new owner Elon Musk ran a poll in which a narrow majority of voters supported the move, days after the former US president announced another White House bid. Trump’s account was banned from the platform early last year for his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by a mob of his supporters seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election. “The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated,” Musk tweeted, shortly after the 24-hour Twitter poll on his account ended. “Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” he added, repeating a Latin adage he also posted Friday, meaning “The voice of the people is the voice of God.”

Ultimately, more than 15 million people — out of 237 million daily Twitter users — voted on whether to reinstate the controversial profile, with 51.8 percent in favor and 48.2 percent against. Trump, who had more than 88 million users when his accounted was suspended, reveled in using Twitter as a mouthpiece during his presidency, posting policy announcements, attacking political rivals and communicating with supporters. On Saturday, several of his political allies were highlighting his return. “Welcome back, @realdonaldtrump!” tweeted House Republican Paul Gosar.

Musk’s poll asked for a simple “yes” or “no” response to the statement “Reinstate former President Trump,” which the billionaire Twitter boss posted Friday. “Fascinating to watch Twitter Trump poll!” Musk mused Saturday morning in a blast of tweets from the controversial and hard-charging new owner of the one-to-many messaging platform. He has posed similar polls in the past, asking followers last year if he should sell stock in his electric car company Tesla. Following that poll, he sold more than $1 billion in shares.

The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect khazen.org

By Nizar Ghanem Founder of the Depositor’s Union of Lebanon Alex Ray Analyst at the Beirut-based think tank Triangle – Today, Lebanon has an enormous $72bn hole in its national finances. That figure alone, by any measure of the law, maths or logic should mean that Lebanon’s banks are bankrupt. Yet since the onset of the financial crisis, Lebanon’s banks and their supposed regulator, the Banque du Liban (BDL), have been making a bizarre ontological argument to avoid paying back their depositors and officially declaring bankruptcy. Despite there being no official capital controls, more than 60 of the country’s commercial banks have adopted the policy that a US dollar is not really a US dollar if it was deposited into a Lebanese bank before the financial crisis. Instead, they claim, a pre-crisis dollar is equal to a Lebanese pound and can only be withdrawn at a severely reduced rate – some 90 percent less than the current value of an American dollar on the black market. But any US dollars deposited to these same banks after the financial crisis would be “fresh” dollars, and thus, they can be withdrawn or exchanged with another currency at their real value at any time. Lebanese banks are basically claiming that not all debts to depositors are created equal. Naturally, millions of Lebanese are not on board with this. After enduring this absurd policy for three long years, a few desperate depositors have taken matters into their own hands.

There are near-weekly bank hold-ups across Lebanon, but with a twist: People have been threatening to use violence in banks not to steal other people’s money, but to obtain access to their own savings. Some believe, however righteous the depositors’ anger may be, threatening violence is a step too far. But when you think about how these people have lost their homes or found themselves unable to meet their families’ most basic needs, including food, education and medical care, – simply because a bank is not giving them access to their own money – it becomes hard to compare these acts to “normal” bank robberies. In any country with a functioning social contract, the banking sector’s invented distinction between “fresh” and “old” money would have gone to court, and a sane judge would have ordered the bank to either pay up or declare bankruptcy – but not in Lebanon. In Lebanon, the judiciary is so scared to take on the banks – many of which are owned by political elites – that they are allowing the banks’ white-collar theft to continue, citing “exceptional circumstances”.

by Nada Atallah  — thenationalnews.com – Lebanon plans to drastically raise taxes to boost the cash-strapped state’s revenues, but experts fear that the Lebanese will not be able to pay the new rates after three years of economic collapse, which pushed more than three quarters of the population into poverty. Lebanon’s public revenue fell by half in 2021 as the country grappled with a financial meltdown described as one of the world’s worst economic crises. The government currently generates taxes at the old pegged exchange rate, but Lebanon’s 2022 budget published on Tuesday introduced a new “effective rate” for taxes on salaries earned in dollars. Finance Minister Youssef Khalil confirmed to The National on Monday that the new rate for taxes will be set according to Sayrafa, the official exchange rate platform managed by the Central Bank, where the Lebanese pound is trading at about 30,000 to the dollar.

This is about 20 times higher than the current official rate. The local currency’s official rate had been set at 1,507 per dollar since 1997, before unravelling after the economic crisis unfolded in 2019. “This is a skyrocketing increase. The budget includes a 25 per cent tax for annual incomes above 675 million Lebanese pounds, which is only $16,875 per year”, tax lawyer Karim Daher said. The new rate for tax collection will be implemented once the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank issue a decree. Lebanon to raise exchange rate for taxes, fees and customs duties Legislators included higher tax brackets in the budget to alleviate the financial effect on taxpayers. But experts fear the adjustment is not enough for an impoverished population grappling with one of the highest inflation rates in the world.

سجعان قزي

انتهَت الـمُهلةُ الدُستوريّةُ لانتخابِ رئيسِ الجُمهوريّةِ اللبنانيّة، وبدأت الـمُهلةُ السياسيّةُ. الـمُهلةُ الأولى كانت مُحدَّدةً بشهرين، أما الأُخرى فمفتوحةٌ إلى ما شاءَ القَدَر. والقدرُ في لبنان هو التعبيرُ المرادِفُ لقِلّةِ الوطنيّةِ والمسؤوليّة. الـمُهلةُ الدُستوريّةُ كانت محصورةً ـــ مبدئيًّا ـــ بقرارِ الكتلِ النيابيّةِ: يَنتخِبون أو لا يَنتخبون رئيسًا صُنِع في لبنان. الـمُهلةُ السياسيّةُ تَستأثر بها، علاوةً على الأطرافِ الداخليّةِ، المحاورُ الإقليميّةُ والدُوَليّةُ، وتَرتَبطُ بأصغرِ حدثٍ في الـمِنطقةِ إلى أكبرِ صراعٍ دُوَليٍّ. اليومَ لبنان دولةٌ بلا دستور. يُدارُ مِزاجيًّا. هذه نهايةُ دولةٍ ما لم تُنقَذ سريعًا. وإذا كان الإنقاذُ متوافِرًا، المؤسفُ أن الحوارَ بين القوى اللبنانيّةِ الأساسيّةِ هو “أكذوبةٌ سياسيّة”. الحوارُ إرادةٌ قبلَ أن يكونَ جدولَ أعمال. في لبنان الإرادةُ غائبةٌ وجدولُ الأعمال مُختلَفٌ عليه. منذ ثلاثةِ أيّامٍ (14 ت2)، بفضلِ إرادةِ الاتفاق، تَوَصّل الرئيسان الأميركيُّ والصينيُّ إلى معالجةِ أصعبِ المشاكلِ السياسيّةِ والعسكريّةِ والاقتصاديّةِ بينهما في ثلاثِ ساعات.

سابقًا كان يَتعذَّرُ تقسيمُ لبنان حتّى لـمّا كان “مُقسّمًا”. اليومَ، صار يَصعُبُ توحيدُه حتى لو كان بعدُ “موحَّدًا”. تَعذُّرُ التقسيمِ قديمًا كان بفَضلِ وجودِ مشروعٍ لبنانيٍّ واحدٍ وحياةٍ لبنانيّةٍ واحدةٍ تُؤالِفُ بين جميعِ الطوائف ولو مع مطالباتٍ بتعديلاتٍ دستوريّة (الطائف). أما صعوبةُ توحيدِ لبنان اليومَ فبِسببِ نموِّ مشاريعَ غيرِ لبنانيّةٍ وانتشارِ نَمطِ حياةٍ غيرِ لبنانيٍّ حتى داخلَ كلِّ طائفة. افترق الإنسانُ ولو بَقيت الأرضُ 10452 كلم². الإشكاليّةُ الآن كيف نُحافظُ على وِحدةِ لبنان الكيانيّةِ مع إعادة التقسيماتِ المناطقيّةِ في إطارِ لامركزيّةٍ موسَّعةٍ. لا يُجدي التَعنّتُ والتَنكُّرُ للتحوّلاتِ التي طرأت على البُنيةِ البشريّةِ والمجتمعيّة اللبنانيّة. في حياةِ الأممِ تَنتهي مراحلُ لتبدأَ أخرى جديدة، ومختلفةٌ أحيانًا. بين 1798 و1958 غَيّرت فرنسا ستّةَ عشرَ نظامًا بين ملكيٍّ وإمبراطوريٍّ وجُمهوريّ. وكان أبرزُها الملَكيّةَ المطلَقة والملكيّاتِ الدُستوريّةَ والإمبراطوريّاتِ، فالجُمهورياتِ الأولى والثانية والثالثة والرابعة والخامسة مع الجنرال شارل ديغول سنة 1958. كانت التغييراتُ الدُستوريّةُ حاجةً أدّت إلى تَقدّمِ فرنسا ولو بالأوجاعِ والدماء.