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Lebanon's famed musician Elias Rahbani dies aged 83

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Legendary Lebanese musician Elias Rahbani dies at 83

by arabnews -- DUBAI: Veteran Lebanese musician Elias Rahbani died on Monday at the age of 83 due to COVID-19, Lebanese media reported. According to Al-Arabiya, Rahbani – who was a composer, songwriter and an orchestra conductor – died due to COVID-19. He was the yonger brother of Assi and Mansour Rahbani, who rose to fame as the Rahbani brothers. Celebrities quickly took to social media to pay tribute to Rahbani.

Singer Carol Samaha wrote on Instagram: “We lost an important figure from my country, and he took with him the most beautiful musical era in the history of the Lebanese music. Goodbye, Elias Rahbani. Thank you for your generosity and loyalty to our country Lebanon. Your work is immortal in memory and conscience.” While Lebanese singer and actor Ramy Ayach wrote on Twitter: “A great loss… the one with a pure heart and the lover of art and homeland.” Rahbani composed over 2,500 songs, 1000 of them were for 25 movies and multiple series across the region. He wrote and composed some of Lebanese singer Fairouz’s most-famous songs, including “Qatalooni Aouna El-Soud,” “Kan Endna Tahoun,” and “Maak.” His songs for late legendary Lebanese singer Sabah included “Keif Halak Ya Asmar” and “Shoftoh Bel Anater.”

by AP -- The three brothers were pioneers of a Lebanese golden age of music and culture, before the country was plunged into a lengthy civil war in the mid- 1970s. Many Lebanese still start their day listening to their songs and see them as uniting figures, beloved across the country’s divided political spectrum. Born into a musical family in the town of Antelias, north of Beirut, Elias quickly forged a path for himself in the music industry. He often worked with his brothers but went on to compose his own songs for veteran Lebanese artists including Fairouz, Sabah, Melhem Barakat, Majida al-Roumi and others.

Elias Rahbani distinguished himself from his brothers, who were the industry's best known duo, with his more modern styles and mix of Middle Eastern and Western music that won him international awards. He wrote some of Fairouz’ best hits, as well as the music and lyrics for many patriotic songs. Rahbani composed hundreds of songs and music for the theater and the soundtracks to dozens of films and TV series, including “Habibati,” or my Love, “The Night Player.” Elias leaves behind a wife, Nina, two sons, Ghassan and Jad and a sister, Elham.

Joe Biden’s Creed

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by catholicherald.co.uk -- Matthew Schmitz -- On paper, Joe Biden will be the second Catholic to hold the office of US President. In reality, he will govern in accord with a very different faith. His policies and rhetoric will be based not on Roman dogma but on a creed which might be called “therapeutic technocracy”. This is the unacknowledged religion of much of America. It promises that by listening to science and the voices of the suffering we can ensure our nation’s physical and psychological health. Biden’s adherence to this faith was made clear in his victory speech. He declared that he would defeat coronavirus with a plan “built on a bedrock of science” and “constructed out of compassion, empathy and concern”. These are the quasi-religious pillars of his legitimacy. By invoking them he claims an authority that goes beyond the merely human, just as a king once might have claimed divine favour. Why does therapeutic belief (“compassion, empathy and concern”) go along with faith in technocratic expertise? Because it justifies the technocrats’ right to rule. This new class lacks the more traditional forms of legitimacy – sacred anointing, popular acclaim, or loyalty to a national history. Instead, they claim to be experts in soothing our pain. As Biden’s vice-president-elect Kamala Harris promised: “Know that Joe Biden and I will wake up every single day thinking about you and your families.”

The figure of the therapist exemplifies a particularly attractive form of expertise. He is not tasked with overcoming external technical problems, in which success or failure would be obvious. He is charged with the more ambiguous – and in some ways more ambitious – task of resolving all the problems of the psyche. If an engineer doesn’t know how to build a bridge, his incapacity will become disastrously clear. The competence of a therapist can never be tested in the same way. A ruling class incapable of increasing the median wage or restoring American industry can still vow that it is overcoming the internal darkness of hatred and bigotry. A soft, therapeutic technocracy can promise more and deliver less than a hard technocratic regime devoted to, say, cold fusion or the abolition of age.

Beirut port still has 52 containers of dangerous acids: director

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Beirut Port blasts rocked the Lebanese Capital

The new director of Beirut port said there are still 52 containers of dangerous acids at the port and a German company is working to ship them away, the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat reported Sunday. The German company Combi Lift is properly packaging the acids of eight different types and will ensure their shipping according to European standards, Asharq Al-Awsat quoted the new director Bassem Al-Kaissi as saying. The move comes after reports issued by the Lebanese and German environment ministries about the presence of acids at the port. Kaissi attributed the presence of acids at the port to negligence and the long administrative procedures needed to destroy or re-export them. He said the Lebanese army has checked 725 out of the 10,000 containers available at the port in about a week.

Two huge explosions ripped through the Port of Beirut on Aug. 4, 2020, killing about 200, injuring at least 6,000 and leaving 300,000 homeless. A big part of the Lebanese capital was destroyed in the disaster. Investigations pointed to the roughly 500 tons of ammonium nitrate left at Beirut port as the cause of the explosions, as stated by caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab last month.

Nasrallah: Iranian General's Remarks Distorted, Iran Itself to Avenge Soleimani

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Hassan Nasrallah - Wikipedia

by naharnet -- Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah noted Sunday that Lebanese media outlets have “distorted and falsified” remarks about Lebanon by a top Iranian general. “He did not say that we are a frontline for Iran but rather a frontline for confronting the Israeli occupation,” Nasrallah said in a televised address marking the first anniversary of the assassination of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi paramilitary leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. “Some excel in falsification and the distortion of statements,” Nasrallah lamented. The remarks by Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, the chief of the Aerospace Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, have stirred controversy in Lebanon, drawing several responses including from President Michel Aoun and the Free Patriotic Movement, who are key allies of Iran-backed Hizbullah. “All the missile capabilities that Gaza and Lebanon possess were achieved through Iran’s support. They are the frontline for the confrontation,” Hajizadeh said in remarks to al-Manar TV.

Remembering Soleimani, Nasrallah said that “in Lebanon, we are concerned with thanking and appreciating the person who stood by us ever since the Israeli invasion.” “I ask the Lebanese people who supported Lebanon in liberating its land? Who stood by the Lebanese and protected and defended them? Who supplied them with arms to achieve the 2000 liberation?” he added. “Since the year 2000, the resistance has been protecting Lebanon against the Israeli enemy through the golden equation,” Nasrallah went on to say. Stressing that “Iran's support for the resistance in Lebanon is not conditional,” Hizbullah’s leader pointed out that it is aimed at “defending Lebanon's land and sovereignty.” “We are among the must independent resistance movements in history,” he said. He added: “If there is a chance to benefit from the oil and gas, this will only happen through the blessings and missiles of the resistance.”

Lebanon: Rai Blames Government Deadlock on ‘Interests’ of Political Parties

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by aawsat.com -- Maronite Patriarch Beshara Al-Rai slammed political parties over the obstacles facing the government formation process “for the sake of immediate or future calculations and interests.” His comments came as the country faces a government deadlock since the designation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri to form the new cabinet more than two months ago. Speaking on Friday during New Year’s mass sermon, the patriarch stressed that no political party or group had the right “to hinder the formation of the government for the sake of current or future interests, while Lebanon is moving fast towards complete collapse and bankruptcy.” The patriarch is set to resume his initiative to bring the view of President Michel Aoun and Hariri closer on the cabinet formation.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative to resolve the government deadlock has faced internal obstacles. The international community linked its economic and financial support to the country with the formation of a cabinet that will begin implementing much needed reforms. “It is truly shameful that the New Year begins without a new government that is focused on its work. It is also disgraceful for those obstructing its formation to deal with the Lebanese problem as if it were one of the chess stones of the Middle East or the major countries,” Rai remarked. The patriarch stressed that any solution to Lebanon’s problems, whether it was the outcome of local efforts or of cooperation with the international community and the Arab world, should be in the interest of Lebanon and all the Lebanese.

Report: Lebanon Enters ‘Critical Stage’ as COVID-19 Cases Surge

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The country has been grappling with its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war [File: Joseph Eid/AFP]

By AFP -- Lebanon awaits the decision of the ministerial committee concerned with following up on the coronavirus file, with the country ending 2020 and setting a record of more than 3,000 daily cases for the first time since the outbreak of the virus in February 21, media reports said Saturday. The Prime Minister’s Public Health Adviser, Petra Khoury, said the number of coronavirus cases will “surpass all expectations,” necessitating “quick and drastic” decisions in 2021 to control the spread and face the challenges. Khoury said Lebanon is on the verge of a difficult phase in January and February, pointing to a significant shortage of ICU hospital beds for coronavirus patients. She said the “problem is very complex and Lebanon needs a change in the behavior of citizens,” explaining “the cruelty of the stage during the onset of winter season where people gather in indoor spaces, in addition to the start of the flu season.”

Authorities are expected to impose a new total lockdown in Lebanon after registering a record high of coronavirus cases after the Christmas and New Year Eve festivities. Lebanon recorded 2,385 new cases on Friday and 11 deaths. Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab had earlier said that Lebanon tends to go for a lockdown after the holidays if the cases continue to rise. They have a total of 850 beds, including 300 in intensive care units, Haroun said. “Patients are now waiting in line … waiting for a bed to be free,” he told AFP news agency. “Over the past three weeks, the occupancy rate of intensive care units has increased by 10 percent,” pushing the occupancy of hospital beds in Beirut to over 90 percent of capacity. “We have been asked by several hospitals not to transfer patients to them,” Lebanese Red Cross president Georges Kettaneh told AFP.The total number of coronavirus cases in Lebanon reached 181,500, and 1400 deaths since the first cases was detected in February.

Memorial for Qassem Soleimani Erected in Lebanon Depicts The Moment His SUV Was Hit By A Drone Missile

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By DAVID CENCIOTTI -- theaviationist.com -- One year ago, Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was killed in Baghdad. A somewhat weird memorial erected in Lebanon shows the moment a missile hit the SUV carrying the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force. On Jan. 3, 2020, at 12.47 AM LT, a U.S. drone strike killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force, along with members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iraq’s PMF militias. The attack occurred just outside Baghdad International Airport, in Iraq, where Soleimani had just arrived (from Lebanon or Syria) to bring Iran’s response to a letter that Iraq had sent out on behalf of Saudi Arabia in order to ease tensions between the two countries in the region, according to Iraqi prime minister Adil Abdul Mahdi. The air strike on the convoy made by a Toyota Avalon and Hyundai Starex caused 10 casualties

The details of the drone strike that assassinated Soleimani have never been disclosed and, one year later, there are still different narratives of the whole operation. According to one version, a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone, took off from Kuwait and carried out the raid. This version has never been confirmed; quite the contrary actually, as the Kuwaiti Armed Forces denied it. According to another version, as many as three MQ-9 drones took off from al-Asad airbase, the second largest airbase in Iraq, flew in the sky of Baghdad for 20 hours and then returned to al-Asad after the air strike. Serviced by two parallel paved runways and at least 33 hardened aircraft shelters along with secured weapons storage facilities, Al-Asad Airbase was captured from Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces by the coalition Australian Special Air Service Regiment on April 16, 2003 by a special operations raid during the second Persian Gulf War in Iraq. The airbase, along with Irbil, was targeted by more than a dozen ballistic missiles launched by Iran as part of of “Operation Martyr Soleimani”, a retaliatory strike for the assassination of the Iranian General.