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Rai to attend Christian safety conference in DC

rai(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Patriarch Beshara Rai will head to Washington, DC on Monday to lead a delegation of Eastern church patriarchs at a conference on protecting the Christian presence in the Levant.

The conference will draw senior Middle Eastern Christian and American figures in Washington D.C., according to sources.

Rai returned to Beirut on Tuesday following a visit to the Vatican, where he met with Pope Francis to brief him on the results of last month’s conference of the heads of Eastern churches held at the Maronite patriarch’s summer seat in Diman, to discuss threats facing the Christian presence in the Levant by Al-Qaeda-linked groups.

Rai did not speak to reporters at Beirut airport and headed straight to Bkirki, north of Beirut.

While in Washington, the conference’s sponsors may arrange meetings with senior U.S. officials, source say. If he meets U.S. officials, Rai will discuss issues that serve the Christian presence in the Levant.

The first day of the conference will take place at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in D.C., followed by two days at the Capitol building, where Rai and his colleagues will hold talks with U.S. senators and attend lectures on human rights and freedom of belief.

Rai will also visit Cleveland, Ohio. Click here for more information about the Ohio visit.

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Hezbollah says ISIS wants Lebanon

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — A senior Hezbollah official warned the threat of ISIS in Lebanon cannot be underestimated, stressting that occupying the country was part of the group’s plan.

“The terrorist threat on Lebanon is actual, real and continuous,” said Sheikh Nabil Kaouk, the deputy head of Hezbollah’s executive council. “And whoever doubts or underestimates (the threat) is either ignorant or negligent, and he harms the high national interest of Lebanon.”

Speaking at a ceremony in the southern village of Shaqra, Kaouk accused “whoever denies Hezbollah’s role in protecting” Lebanon of being “oblivious to the truth.”

“ISIS’s decision has been announced. Their pretended slogan is to create the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria, which includes Lebanon,” he said.

Stressing that Lebanon needed a unified defense strategy, Kaouk argued that “hesitation, procrastination, underestimation and aggressive and instigating speech give a free service to the takfiri plan.”

Hezbollah’s MP Nawwaf Al-Moussawi echoed Kaouk, stressing that Lebanon needed “agreements that should lead to creating one united Lebanese front against the takfiri threat that wishes to impose darkness on Lebanon and the region.”

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France, Saudi Arabia “finalizing” $3B Lebanese arms deal

(PARIS, FRANCE) — France and Saudi Arabia are close to signing a $3 billion arms deal for Lebanon, the Elysee Palace said late Monday following talks between President Francois Hollande and the Saudi crown prince.

“It will not be signed Monday but it is being finalized,” an aide to the president said.

The deal is for military equipment and arms to be supplied to Lebanon’s army.

Hollande told an official dinner at the Elysee presidential palace attended by Prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz, who is also the Saudi deputy prime minister and defense minister, that Lebanon was a “great but vulnerable country” which “needs security.”

“We have come together, Saudi Arabia and France, to help Lebanon on the condition that it also helps itself, for its own security,” Hollande added, without commenting directly on the joint contract.

The deal comes as Beirut faces the threat of jihadists on its border with Syria. More than a million refugees have fled the war in Syria by escaping to Lebanon, according to figures from the United Nations.

Hollande added that France and Saudi Arabia had a “shared priority of peace and security in the Middle East.”

Salman is due to hold talks with French Prime Minister Manuel Valls Tuesday.

He is also due to meet Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius Wednesday for talks over the situation in Iraq and Syria, where jihadists have seized swaths of territory and are terrorizing Christians and other minorities.

Last week, Hollande rejected any cooperation with Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom he accused of being a “de-facto ally” of Islamic State militants, after the regime said it was willing to work with the international community to tackle the jihadists.

And in comments carried on national TV at the weekend, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah warned the West would be the next target of the jihadists sweeping through Syria and Iraq, unless there is “rapid” action.

“If we ignore them, I am sure they will reach Europe in a month and America in another month,” he said in remarks quoted Saturday by the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper and Saudi-backed Al-Arabiya television station.

The visit comes just over two weeks after another member of the Saudi royal family, Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Fahd, fell victim to a brazen heist in Paris when a gang of heavily armed bandits hijacked the lead vehicle of his 10-car convoy and stole at least 250,000 euros and documents.

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 City Beat, Los Angeles, News

Coachella Valley High School retires controversial Arab mascot

coachella-valley-schools(COACHELLA VALLEY, CA) — Coachella Valley High School in Riverside County, California has retired its controversial Arab mascot amid protests by several national groups of Arab Americans.

The mascot did not appear at the school’s season opening football game on Friday night. A belly-dancing genie that often appears with the mascot also retired.

The mascot came under fire last November when the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) complained that the mascot enforces negative stereotypes of Arabs and Arab-Americans.

“Bombers, billionaires or belly dancers. There’s a lot more to Arab-Americans and the Arab culture and the Arab heritage than what’s being depicted by this high school,” said Abed Ayoub with ADC.

The Arab mascot had been around since the 1920s and was chosen to recognize the area’s reliance on date farming, traditionally a Middle Eastern crop. 

The Coachella Valley Unified School District refused to change the school’s Arab nickname, but did agree to give the caricature a makeover.

A new design has been approved by the D.C.-based Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), and may go into use, but it would need approval from the East Valley school board first.

The possible design:

possible design

According to a statement from Coachella Valley Unified, there will soon be a news conference featuring both the district and the ADC to discuss their resolution.

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Lebanese Army receives body of beheaded Lebanese soldier

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The Lebanese Army confirmed that it has received the body of one of its soldiers who was beheaded by ISIS militants last week. He was among 11 troops reported missing, believed to be held hostage by the militant group.

An Army statement said, “Around 16:00 today, the Army Intelligence was handed over the body of one of the missing soldiers which will be transported to the central military hospital where DNA tests will be conducted for identification.”

The body of Sergeant Al al-Sayyed was handed to the Lebanese Red Cross at the entrance of Arsal on Monday, days after militants said they slaughtered him.

Sources say his body was delivered by the Islamic Medical Association (IMA), a local health organization that has medical centers in Arsal, Tripoli, and Akkar.

They said an IMA vehicle first brought the body from the outskirts of Arsal to the entrance of the town where he was transferred to a Lebanese Red Cross ambulance.

The committee member said the areas controlled by ISIS in the outskirts of Arsal were closer and easier to access for the handover of the body than locations under the control of the Nusra Front.

Ghali confirmed that there were direct contacts with ISIS militants but did not disclose any information concerning the identity of the mediator.

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Five Lebanese hostages reunited with families

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The five Lebanese hostages released by the Nusra Front were reunited with their families on Sunday morning, as concerns grew over lebanese-hostagesthe fate of the remaining soldiers and policemen being held by Syrian militants.

Soldiers Ibrahim Shaaban, Ahmad Ghieh, and Wael Darwish met with their families in Arsal, according to the National News Agency.

All three soldiers were reportedly turned over to Sheikh Mustaphan al-Hujeiri by the Nusra Front Saturday evening. ISF member Saleh al-Baradei and soldier Mohammad al-Qaderi were also released by Nusra Front.

The five appeared on LBC TV Sunday morning, thanking Hujeiri for his efforts to secure their release and expressing gratitude over their safe arrival to Arsal. One of the freed hostages said that they were treated well by their captors and never assaulted or abused.

Hujeiri said Shiite hostages captured by Nusra were in “a more difficult position” than the rest of the hostages, hinting that the militant group had set high conditions for their release.

Earlier Sunday, the Nusra Front warned Hezbollah over the lives of the Shiite hostages.

With the release of the five, all Sunnis, Nusra Front and ISIS are still holding at least 24 soldiers and policemen taken captive during battles with the Lebanese Army at the beginning of August in Arsal.

The Lebanese army soldiers and security service members taken captive by the Nusra Front appeared in a video last week released by the group. The captives, who were kidnapped in the Lebanese town of Arsal near the Syrian border in early August, seem to be in good health.

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US delivers weapons to Lebanese Army

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The United States government delivered a shipment of weapons and military equipment to the Lebanese Armed Forces on Friday, oneweapons-to-lebanon of the first of many anticipated handovers to boost Lebanon’s security forces in the face of growing threats from terrorists.

The shipment included M-16 rifles, anti-tank system, and many sizes of mortars, which were handed to the Army at the Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport, according to security sources.

The United States previously donated several billions of dollars in supplies to the Lebanese Army over the last decade, but the majority of donations were strictly nonlethal equipment. They included armored personnel carriers and light aircraft and communication systems.

France and the United Kingdom have also pledged military aid, while Saudi Arabia announce a$1 billion donation to the Lebanese Army.

The five days of clashes in Arsal, the worst spillover yet from the more than 3-year-old Syrian civil war, left 19 soldiers dead. Tensions rose again Thursday in the border region after the Army shelled militant positions in the outskirts of Arsal and ISIS claimed to have beheaded one captive Lebanese soldier.

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Lebanese hotel owners warn possible bankruptcy

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese hotel owners warned of imminent bankruptcy on Thursday, blaming the dramatic drop in tourism, political instability, and security for the decline in hotel revenue.

The Syndicate of Hotel Owners said that the “hotels are in danger” of closing down as a result. They are calling on the Lebanese government to lift entry taxes to facilitate the flow of tourists through the Rafik Hariri International Airport.

The statement said the Syndicate was in the process of preparing a petition to be handed to the government and the Parliament, listing demands to help them overcome the crisis.

The Tourism sector in Lebanon has been an important contributor to the local economy, representing a major source of income and employment.

But travel bans by Arab Gulf countries prompted by political and regional instability have served a painful blow to the sector in recent years.

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Gemayel says all sects must unite against extremism

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Former Lebanese president and Kataeb leader Amin Gemayel said Thursday that extremist takfiri groups are harmful to both Muslims and Christians, and called for all sects to combat the extremism sweeping the Middle East.

“The whole Middle East region is going through a very difficult phase, especially with the extremist takfiri thought, which not only tarnishes Islam but harms Arabs and humanity as a whole,” he said.

Gemayel said that the bid to combat terrorism was a responsibility of all parties and factions, regardless of religious leanings. He added that the initiative of the heads of Eastern churches, led by Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, should be supported by all factions in Lebanon and the Middle East.

He said an initiative by the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Egypt’s highest Sunni religious authority, to hold a Muslim-Christian spiritual summit was taking shape with the support of other religious parties.

“The responsibility [to fight extremism] is not restricted to one patriarch or to one sect, but it is the responsibility of all us who feel how dangerous the situation is and must act,” Gemayel added.

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 Lifestyle, News

Michael Kors opens first standalone store in Lebanon

Picture 341(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — American fashion brand Michael Kors hosted a grand opening party Tuesday for the opening of its first store in Beirut, Lebanon.

Michael Kors, who built the successful brand, said Lebanon was a perfect choice for a new store.

“Fashion and style have really become global over the past few years. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to open stores in new regions around the world, and I think Lebanon, which has always been renowned for its sophistication, is the perfect choice for our newest location,” he said.

While the brand already sells at department stores, the 126-square meter space on Fakhry Bey Street in the Beirut Souks area is the first standalone store in the country.

The popular brand is the latest foreign label to open a shop in spite of its security issues in Lebanon. Other high-end brands that have opened standalone stores in Downtown recently include clothing brand Joseph and shoe maker Roger Vivier.

“It’s always exciting entering a new country,” said John D. Idol, the company’s CEO. “The Middle East is a key piece of our expansion strategy, and Beirut is a shopping destination for many fashion and luxury customers. We’re looking forward to introducing them to our jet set lifestyle.”

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