Lebanese official slams clashes between political parties' supporters, civil society protesters

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BEIRUT,  (Xinhua) -- Lebanese House Speaker Nabih Berri slammed on Monday the clashes that started a day earlier in Beirut's downtown between civil society protesters and supporters of two Shiite political parties, the National News Agency reported. Around 10 people were injured due to the clashes between civil society protesters who blocked Beirut's Ring Bridge and supporters of two Shiite political parties Hezbollah and Amal Movement. "What happened is condemned by all standards," said Berri, who is head of Amal Movement. He also called on the Lebanese army and security agencies to ensure that all roads are opened to facilitate the transport of citizens throughout the country. "We call upon the Lebanese army and Internal Security Forces to make sure that all roads are opened at all times in a bid to avoid violence," he said. The clashes lasted until Monday early morning while security forces had to use tears gas to disperse the two groups. Lebanese authorities have so far failed to put an end to nationwide demonstrations which started on Oct. 17 in Lebanon aimed at toppling the current political ruling class.

Lebanon clashes threaten to crack open fault lines

By BASSEM MROUE and ZEINA KARAM Associated Press -- BEIRUT (AP) — Increasingly violent clashes between Lebanese protesters and supporters of the militant Hezbollah group are putting Lebanon’s military and security forces in a delicate position, threatening to crack open the country’s dangerous fault lines amid a political deadlock. For weeks, the Lebanese security forces have gone to great pains to protect anti-government protesters, in stark contrast to Iraq, where police have killed more than 340 people over the past month in a bloody response to similar protests. The overnight violence — some of the worst since protests against the country’s ruling elite began last month — gave a preview into a worst-case scenario for Lebanon’s crisis, with Lebanon’s U.S.-trained military increasingly in the middle between pro- and anti-Hezbollah factions. By attacking the protesters Sunday night, Hezbollah sent a frightening message that it is willing to resort to violence to protect its political power, increasing the likelihood of more violence if the protests persist. Confronting the powerful Iranian-backed Shiite Hezbollah, however, is out of the question for the military — doing so would wreck the neutral position it seeks to maintain and could split its ranks disastrously. "The army is in a difficult position facing multiple challenges and moving cautiously between the lines," said Fadia Kiwan, professor of political science at Saint Joseph University in Beirut. She said the military has sought to protect the protesters and freedom of expression but is increasingly grappling with how to deal with road closures and violence.

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Bernard Arnault could surpass Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates to become the world's richest person

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New York (CNN Business) By Paul R. La Monica-- Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates can clearly afford a lot of leather wallets from Louis Vuitton and little blue boxes from Tiffany. But the world's two richest people could soon find themselves worth less than the head of LVMH because of its takeover of Tiffany. Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH (LVMHF), is now worth more than $106 billion, according to real time wealth rankings tracked by Forbes. Arnault's net worth jumped more than 1% Monday along with LVMH's stock following his company's agreement to buy Tiffany (TIF) for more than $16 billion. Arnault and his family own more than 47% of the French luxury goods giant. The spike in LVMH shares puts Arnault within spitting distance of topping Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder Gates, who has a net worth of $107 billion, and Amazon (AMZN) CEO Bezos, who tops the Forbes list with a fortune of just under $110 billion. Arnault is trailing Bezos and Gates by a wider margin according to Bloomberg though, which has Arnault's net worth estimated at $100 billion while Gates and Bezos are listed at $109 billion. Bloomberg updates its tally only once a day at the end of the market close.

Arnault, Bezos and Gates are all comfortably ahead of other mega-billionaires as well. According to Forbes, Berkshire Hathaway's (BRKB) Warren Buffett is worth $86 billion while Facebook (FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg has a net worth of about $75 billion. Oracle's (ORCL) Larry Ellison and Spanish retail magnate Amancio Ortega, the co-founder of Inditex, which owns the Zara fast fashion chain, are each worth just under $70 billion.

Lebanese protesters clash with supporters of Hezbollah, Amal in downtown Beirut

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By Reuters -- BEIRUT– Clashes broke out between anti-government demonstrators and supporters of the Shi’ite movements Hezbollah and Amal in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, early on Monday, live footage on Lebanese television channels showed, as tensions escalated when demonstrators blocked a main bridge downtown. Protesters initially began to scuffle and their numbers quickly rose, footage on social media showed. Army soldiers and riot police formed a barrier between the dozens of protesters on opposite sides of the Ring bridge as they threw rocks at each other across the street.

Beirut (AFP) - Supporters of the Hezbollah and Amal movements attacked Lebanese anti-government protesters in Beirut on Monday, with army reinforcements intervening to diffuse tensions. Shortly before midnight on Sunday, men on foot and scooters arrived at a roadblock set up by anti-graft protesters across a key street in the capital, local television showed. They shouted insults and chanted in support of the chiefs of the Shiite movements Hezbollah and Amal, before briefly breaking through and attacking some demonstrators. Those at the roadblock chanted "peaceful, peaceful", as the security forces and army reinforcements deployed in a thick line between both sides in the early hours of Monday morning.

The counter-protesters also headed to a main nerve centre of protests nearby and destroyed tents there, a local television channel said. The tensions came after a peaceful day of demonstrations, more than a month into a spontaneous nationwide street movement against the political elite. On Saturday, Lebanese security forces briefly detained five youths, including three minors, for allegedly pulling down a sign for President Michel Aoun's political party in the town of Hammana east of Beirut, sparking outrage on social media. Security forces released them after midnight, the Committee of Lawyers for the Defence of Protesters said. The army said two of the children were 15 years old and the third was 12. "Down with the regime that arrests children," a Twitter user said. "When a 12-year-old child manages to shake the state's throne, you know the state is corrupt," another wrote. -

Hundreds of arrests -

During the first month of demonstrations, security forces arrested 300 people including 12 minors who were released within 24 to 48 hours, according to the lawyers' committee. But 11 people -- including two minors -- remain in detention accused of attacking a hotel in the southern city of Tyre during the first week of the uprising. The demonstrators managed to bring down the government less than two weeks into the protests, but it remains in a caretaker capacity and no new cabinet has since been formed. Late Sunday, protesters blocked major roads in several parts of the country and called for a general strike the following day in protest at the lack of progress in forming a fresh government. Earlier, hundreds had gathered in protest centres in Beirut, the northern city of Tripoli and in Tyre. In Beirut's Martyrs' Square, hundreds of women and men demanded their rights, some waving the national red and white flag or chanting "Revolution, Revolution!" Lebanon's protests have brought together people of all ages from across the political spectrum, tired of what they describe as sectarian politics three decades after a civil war. In the latest show of unity, a festive mood had reigned Sunday afternoon as Lebanese came together in public spaces across the country on the second day of the weekend. North of the capital women prepared traditional salads to share, while a group of men danced on a beach south of the city, state television footage showed. The Free Patriotic Movement party that Aoun founded is now led by his son-in-law, outgoing foreign minister Gibran Bassil, one of the most reviled figures in the protests. Hezbollah is the only party not to have disarmed after the 1975-1990 civil war and plays a key role in Lebanese politics.

Feature: Lebanese traders face shutdown amid dollar shortage, nationwide protests

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by Dana Halawi BEIRUT -- (Xinhua) -- Lebanese traders are experiencing the worst time ever with around 20 percent of them expected to be out of business by the year end amid the U.S dollar crisis in the market and the nationwide protests that have paralyzed the country for more than a month. "The trade sector is expected to witness the closure of around 20 percent of retail companies and the layoff of around 150,000 to 200,000 employees while others will be paid half of their salaries," Adnan Rammal, representative of the trade sector in the Economic and Social Council, told Xinhua. Rammal said the trade sector has been suffering since before the beginning of protests when banks resorted to higher interest rates to attract depositors, which, in turn, led to increased costs for bank's borrowers. "As a result, a lot of retailers suffered from staying in business because their work depends highly on loans from banks," he explained, adding protests have put an additional burden on the sector.

Protests caused a 60-percent drop in trade activity in Lebanon because people fear to spend their money on items other than food, said Rammal. Meanwhile, banks imposed harsh restrictions on the transfer of U.S. dollars by traders who import from outside Lebanon. "This has impacted business owners who ran out of products and hence saw a drop in their sales activity while employees can't get fully paid under such circumstances," the Lebanese official said. Lebanon has witnessed in the past few months a shortage in U.S. dollar because of the economic slowdown and the drop in cash injections from the Lebanese abroad, thus reducing the central bank's foreign currency reserves. The demand for dollar has created a parallel market in which one dollar is selling at up to 1,900 Lebanese pounds, much higher than the official exchange rate of 1,515 pounds. Merchants interviewed by Xinhua reported a steep decline in their sales with some of them being unable to cover their expenses.

Fouad Rizk, a shoe store owner in Beirut, said he has not been able to sell at all since the start of the protests because his business depends mainly on tourists who have been absent in the past couple of months. Rizk added that he did not import any new items for this new season because he cannot obtain enough U.S. dollars to pay for his imports. Abed, who owned a clothing shop in the capital, said he couldn't sell even one piece of clothing now. "Even if we sell any of our items, we will lose because we pay for our imports in U.S. dollars and clients pay in Lebanese pounds which now only worth almost 30 percent of its previous value," he noted. According to Rammal, around one third of the Lebanese work in the private sector while 250,000 people make their living out of trade business. "This is why there should be a strong cooperation between banks and merchants to avoid the social repercussions of laying off thousands of employees who have responsibilities to fulfil including their children's school fees and loans," he said. In an attempt to solve part of the problems facing traders of basic commodities such as fuel, medicine and wheat, Lebanon's Central Bank issued a circular to secure dollars for Lebanese banks at the official fixed exchange rate to allow the import of these items.

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The Unexpected Benefits of Pursuing a Passion Outside of Work

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by hbr.org -- Jon M. Jachimowicz --It seems like we’re constantly told to pursue work that we’re passionate about. At least in the United States, this advice follows people from school and into their careers. As billionaire investor Ray Dalio advises in his book Principles, “make your passion and your work the same thing.” Doing so is said to be the path to success. This is perhaps why a recent study found that young people rank achieving their career passion as their highest priority — above making money or getting married. Finding a fulfilling job was deemed nearly three times more important than having a family by the teenage respondents. But, for many people, this simply isn’t feasible. Not every job affords the possibility of pursuing a passion. And most people care deeply about many different things — not all of which will be how they want to earn a living. A growing body of research suggests that pursuing your passion does indeed improve your well-being but that where you do it is far less critical. In fact, several studies show that doing something you are passionate about outside of work rather than in it benefits both your career and your personal life.

Why we should pursue passion outside of work

While pursuing passion at work is known to increase work engagement and job performance, it’s both unrealistic and risky to rely on work as the only means through which to do so. Some jobs don’t allow employees to focus on their interests, and the jobs that do aren’t always financially viable. In some regards, following and finding passion at work could be seen as a luxury for the privileged few — those who can afford to choose exactly the right professions. Tying work to what you are passionate about can also be harmful over the long-term. When you stake your whole self-worth on your job, you become less resilient to adverse events, such as layoffs or negative performance reviews. It can also make it harder to switch off after working hours and get the respite necessary to regain energy for the next day. Plus, it deprives us of the many benefits that come with engaging in outside activities and hobbies — for example, stress reduction, higher energy, and increased levels of creativity, all of which may boost work engagement and retention. One recent study even showed that people accrued greater benefits when their personal passions and their actual work were very different. It’s important to realize that the desire to pursue passion at work is a modern phenomenon — and one relatively unique to the United States. In other countries, particularly European ones, people more commonly find fulfillment outside of work. For example, nearly half of Germans are members of at least one after-work club, which allows them to engage in favorite activities such as sports or gardening in their personal time. In the U.S., by contrast, only few Americans have hobbies or extracurriculars that they actively pursue.

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Lebanese Protesters Pack Streets to Mark Independence Day

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BEIRUT (REUTERS) - TENS of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Lebanon on Friday to mark independence day with a fresh wave of demonstrations against a ruling elite accused of rampant corruption and steering the country into deep crisis. The unprecedented wave of nationwide protests erupted five weeks ago, leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri on Oct. 29. Despite a worsening economic crisis, deeply divided politicians have yet to agree on a new government.

Protesters waving Lebanese flags packed central Beirut's Martyrs Square where music blasted into the night. Many protesters said they felt like they were celebrating independence for the first time. "This year independence day is different. Before, they marred it with their system of sharing power and corruption. Today, we are demanding a clean independence and a country where we can live in dignity and pride," said a protester who gave her name as Hind. "It's important to show up today of all days and be united as a country. Everyone is realizing what true independence looks like," said Lydia, 21, who was protesting in Beirut.

A military parade usually held on the seafront near Martyrs Square was relocated to the defense ministry where Hariri, still serving as prime minister in a caretaker capacity since his resignation, attended a low-key ceremony with President Michel Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. Hariri, who is aligned with Western and Gulf Arab states, is at odds with Aoun, Berri and the powerful Shi'ite group Hezbollah over the make-up of the next government. Broadcaster al-Jadeed noted an "unusual" silence between Hariri and Berri while other members of the government chatted to each other. Lebanon is facing its worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war, rooted in years of state corruption and waste. The crisis has spread to the financial system where the pegged Lebanese pound has weakened, dollars have become scarce and banks have imposed controls to prevent capital flight. Aoun, in a televised speech marking independence day on Thursday, said it was "not the time for speeches, words and celebrations". "It is time for work, serious and diligent work because we are in a race against time." (Reporting by Dala Osseiran and Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Tom Perry and Peter Graff) Copyright 2019 Thomson Reuters.

Lebanese hold 1st "civil parade" to celebrate Independence Day

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