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.

PARIS, (Reuters) By John Irish — Senior Lebanese politician Gebran Bassil said on Thursday he was working to find a compromise candidate for the presidency who would be able to push through crucial reforms, but that he would run for the post himself if he deemed a chosen candidate a bad option. Lebanon has had neither a head of state nor a fully empowered Cabinet since Michel Aoun’s term as president ended on Oct. 31 – an unprecedented vacuum even by the standards of a country that has enjoyed little stability since independence. The vacuum marks a new phase in the crisis that has hit Lebanon since its financial system collapsed in 2019, impoverishing a large swath of people, paralysing banks and fuelling the biggest wave of emigration since the 1975-1990 civil war.

The presidential post is reserved for Christians, but part of the standoff reflects rivalries among the community as well as crucial political and religious balances in the country. “I am the head of the biggest parliamentarian bloc and it is my total right to be the candidate and promote myself but I see that the existence of Lebanon is much more important than this and it’s now the existence of Lebanon that is at stake,” Bassil, a Maronite Christian, who is one Lebanon’s most influential politicians, told Reuters in an interview. “I took the decision not to present myself in order to avoid the vacancy and facilitate the process of ensuring a good profile with a high possibility of success. I did not do this to have the vacancy and a bad person to fill the void,” he said. “I will not accept to have a bad president and in that case of course I would run.” With politicians showing no compromise in a tussle over state power, some political sources and analysts say a compromise on the presidency may demand the type of foreign mediation that has saved Lebanon from such standoffs previously.

By Najia Houssari – arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliamentary blocs are pushing conflicting views over what should top the priority list of the crisis-hit country, with one MP warning of a “social explosion” if a policy of “patchwork solutions” remains unchanged. Some blocs believe that electing a president is the most pressing issue, while others say that legislation should be prioritized. This divergence reflects the depth of the political crisis that Lebanon is facing more than two weeks after President Michel Aoun’s departure from the presidential palace. Repeated failures to elect a successor have raised fears of a “power vacuum” in the country. In a meeting on Tuesday, 19 MPs representing 32 independent and reformist MPs in the Kataeb Party, the Democratic Renewal Movement, Project Watan, and the Independent Parliamentary Coalition said that “electing a president remains the priority.” The MPs said they will refuse to take part in legislative sessions, claiming these will “consolidate a presidential vacuum.”

A parliamentary source said this stance would be viewed as problematic by Speaker Nabih Berri and other blocs that support “legislation of necessity.” Some deputies who voted for presidential candidate Michel Moawad during the fifth parliamentary session said that “electing a president immediately is the key to realign the work of institutions, in accordance with the constitution and to save Lebanon.” Two other blocs, the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party, share the same position, but failed to attend the meeting on Tuesday. According to those present, the meeting was “an attempt to shape a significant opposition bloc in parliament that coordinates with other opposition blocs on presidential elections and future matters.”

Nada Atallah — thenationalnews — Cash-strapped Lebanon is hoping to fill state coffers by raising the exchange rate for taxes, fees and customs duties, Caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil told The National, as the country reels from three years of economic collapse. Lebanon will abandon the official rate of 1,507 pounds to the US dollar and introduce a combination of higher exchange mechanisms in accordance with the currency’s market value. Government revenue has shrunk dramatically, with the Lebanese pound’s market rate value sinking to about 40,000 to the dollar. A number of official exchange rates have sprung up since Lebanon’s economy collapsed in 2019 and unifying them is one of the main reforms demanded by international lenders for Beirut to access billions of dollars in loans.

Lebanon’s financial crisis explained: what happened and why is the country stuck? “We do not have any other choice,” Mr Khalil said. “The fiscal situation has become unsustainable: we collect at the official rate but we spend at the parallel one.” Taxes and fees will be paid based on the flexible rate set by Sayrafa, an official platform managed by the Central Bank, currently trading at about 30 000. The change comes as part of the 2022 budget voted in September by Parliament, which should be applied on Tuesday after weeks of delay. “Tax policies will be adjusted to limit the impact on vulnerable households,” Mr Khalil said. Customs duties will be calculated based on another rate of 15,000 per dollar. The minister said the switch, which should take place in mid-December, was expected to benefit public finances greatly.