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"Let the light of Christ shine, not one's own light"

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vaticannews.va -- By Andrea Tornielli -- Benedict XVI died emeritus but was buried as pontiff. An ocean of prayers accompanied the funeral rite presided over by Pope Francis on the parvis of St. Peter's Basilica. Prayers of gratitude rose up from all over the world, in the certainty that Joseph Ratzinger can finally enjoy the face of the Lord he loved and followed all his life, and to whom he addressed his last words before his final hours: "Lord, I love you!"

There is a distinctive trait that unites Benedict XVI to his successor, and we can find it in the words that the Pope Emeritus spoke in his first Urbi et Orbi message, on the morning the day after his election: "In undertaking his ministry, the new Pope knows that his task is to bring the light of Christ to shine before the men and women of today: not his own light but that of Christ". Not his own light, his own protagonism, his own ideas, his own tastes, but the light of Christ. Because, as Benedict XVI said, the Church is not our Church but His Church, the Church of God. The servant must account for how he has managed the good that has been entrusted to him. We do not bind people to us; we do not seek power, prestige or esteem for ourselves. It is interesting to note that already as a cardinal, for years, Joseph Ratzinger had warned the Church against a pathology that afflicted it and still afflicts it: that of relying on structures, on the organisation. That of wanting to 'count' on the world stage in order to be 'relevant'.

In May 2010 in Fatima, Benedict XVI told the Portuguese bishops: "When, in the feeling of many, the Catholic faith is no longer the common patrimony of society and is often seen as a seed undermined and obfuscated by 'divinities' and lords of this world, it is very difficult for it to touch hearts through simple speeches or moral appeals, and even less through generic reminders of Christian values". Because "the mere utterance of the message does not reach deep into the heart of the person, does not touch his freedom, does not change his life. What fascinates above all is the encounter with believing people who, through their faith, draw people towards the grace of Christ, bearing witness to Him'. It is not speeches, grand reasoning or vibrant reminders of moral values that touch the hearts of today's women and men. Religious and proselytising marketing strategies are not needed for the mission. Nor can today's Church think of living in nostalgia for the relevance and power it had in the past. Quite the contrary: both Benedict XVI and his successor Francis have preached and witnessed to the importance of returning to the essential, to a Church rich only in the light it freely receives from its Lord.

Minister Sejaan Azzi: انقسامُ الأممِ يُنشِئُ حروبًا لا أممًا

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سجعان قزي

@AzziSejean

يَترُك لبنانُ، الذي لم يَعُد يَجدُ حلًّا لأيِّ مشكلةٍ صغيرةٍ أو كبيرة، انطباعًا أنَّ حلَّ قضيَّتِه هو بـــــ"حَلِّ البلد"، أو بانتصارِ فريقٍ على فريقٍ آخَر. لكن هذا الأمرَ مُستَهجَنٌ ميثاقــيًّا حتّى لو توفَّرت ظروفُه سياسيًّا وعسكريًّا مع تطوّرِ موازينِ القِوى وانقلابٍ في المحاورِ الإقليميّةِ والدُوَليّة. غيرَ أنَّ مفاعيلَ انتصارِ أيِّ فريقٍ في لبنان لا يَعني تطبيقَ مشروعِ المنتصِر، ولا يُلزِمُ طويلًا الفريقَ الآخَر المنهزِمَ لأنَّ الانتصاراتِ بين أبناءِ الوطنِ تتلاشى تدريجًا بفعلِ سوءِ التطبيقِ (اتّفاقُ الطائف مثلًا) والأحداثِ اليوميّةِ والاستحقاقاتِ الدستوريّة، ولأنَّ كلَّ فريقٍ في لبنان هو مُكوِّنٌ لبنانيٌّ أصيلٌ لا تليقُ الشراكةُ الوطنيّةُ معه في ظلِّ معادلاتِ الانتصارِ والهزيمة. لكنْ، ومنذ استعادةِ دولةِ لبنانَ الكبير، غالبًا ما حَصل غَالِبٌ ومغلوبٌ ومنتصِرٌ ومهزومٌ في معظمِ المنعطفاتِ الأساسيّة:

إعلانُ دولةِ لبنانَ الكبير 1920. انتزاعُ الاستقلالِ 1943. "ثورةُ" 1958. انتهاءُ حربِ السنتين 1976. حربُ المئةِ يوم 1978. تحطيمُ الآلةِ العسكريّة الفِلسطينيّةِ واليساريّةِ، وانتصارُ المقاومةِ اللبنانيّةِ بقيادة بشير الجميّل 1982. التراجعُ عن اتفاقِ 17 أيار مع إسرائيل، وانتصارُ الحزبِ الجنبلاطيِّ وحلفائِه في حربِ الشوف 1983. سقوطُ بيروت الغربيّةِ والضاحيةِ الجنوبيّةِ 1984. تَشبّثُ الجنرالِ ميشال عون بالسلطةِ، وانعقادُ "اتفاقِ الطائف" وسْطَ معارضةٍ مسيحيّةٍ شعبيّةٍ واسعةٍ 1989. انتصارُ سوريا مع حلفائها اللبنانيّين عسكريًّا على الحكومةِ الدستوريّةِ في بعبدا 1990. قيامُ مجلسٍ نيابيٍّ جديدٍ رغمَ مقاطعةِ المسيحيّين شبهِ الشاملةِ، وبَدءُ تغييرِ وجهِ لبنان وهُويّتِه ونظامِه وديمغرافيّتِه 1992. انتصارُ حزبِ الله وحلفائِه على إسرائيل 2000. اغتيالُ الرئيسِ رفيق الحريري وسائرِ شخصيّاتِ تَجمُّعِ 14 آذار بين 2005 و 2006. صمودُ حزبِ الله في وجهِ إسرائيل وتدميرُ لبنان 2006. اجتياحُ قِوى 08 آذار وَسَطَ العاصمةِ بيروت وإغلاقُ المجلسِ النيابيِّ 2007. انعقادُ مؤتمرِ الدَوّحة في قطر وجاءت نتائجُه لمصلحةِ قِوى 08 آذار عمومًا 2008. خُضوع أكثريّةِ قِوى 14 آذار لشروطِ الثنائيِّ حزبِ الله/التيّارِ الوطنيِّ الحرِّ وانتخابُ ميشال عون رئيسًا للجُمهوريّةِ تحت ستارِ تسويةٍ متخاذِلةٍ 2016. فشلُ انتفاضةِ 17 تشرين الأول 2019، إلخ...

طَوال المئةِ سنةٍ الماضيةِ تَداولت الأطرافُ اللبنانيّةُ جميعًا على الانتصارِ والهزيمة. وقلّما كانت هذه الأطرافُ تَنتصِرُ أو تَنهزمُ بفضلِ قوَّتِها الذاتيّة، بل بحُكمِ تحالفاتٍ أو تبعيّاتٍ خارجيّةٍ عربيّةٍ أو إقليميّةٍ أو دُوَليّة. والغريبُ أنَّ غالِبيّةَ "الحلفاءِ" الخارجيّين، لاسيّما سوريا وإسرائيل، كانوا مع طرفٍ لبنانيٍّ ومع خصمِه في آن معًا. وحدَها إيران ظَلّت صادقةً في علاقتِها مع حزبِ الله.

Al Habtoor-owned Beirut hotel reopens after suffering port blast damage

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by thenationalnews.com -- A major Beirut hotel, owned by the UAE-based Al Habtoor Group, has reopened. It closed after suffering severe damage in Beirut's port blast that killed more than 215 people on August 4, 2020. Group chairman Khalaf Al Habtoor, a prominent UAE businessman, said he was hopeful that the nearby Le Mall Sin El Fil in Beirut could also reopen soon, after closing in March 2020 amid Lebanon’s economic downturn. The five-star Hilton Beirut Metropolitan Palace welcomed visitors back on December 30 in the Beirut suburb of Sin El Fil. Writing on Twitter, Mr Al Habtoor said he loved Lebanon and was “very disturbed by the deteriorating economic conditions”. He added that part of his desire to get the hotel running again was to support hundreds of families.

Al Habtoor Group also owns the adjacent Hilton Beirut Habtoor Grand, which only briefly closed after the 2020 explosion. Le Mall Sin El Fil, part of a wider chain in the country, had closed in the months after Lebanon’s economic collapse had first become apparent. The building was owned by Al Habtoor, but leased and operated by Acres Development, itself a subsidiary of retail group Azadea. Acres Devlopment still operates two Le Mall branches in Dbayeh, just north of Beirut, and in the southern city of Saida. “The decision comes amid deteriorating economic conditions in Lebanon which have negatively impacted household spending in a wide range of sectors, coupled with a difficulty importing from abroad, in light of the financial crisis, and a lack of bank facilitations,” Acres had said in 2020 when it announced the closures.

10 Most Dangerous Cities in The World

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By Dime Saved -- There are endless sources of inspiration for travelers nowadays, and with pandemic travel restrictions having been largely lifted, you can explore nearly every corner of the world. There are still places rarely anyone would like to visit, and for a very good reason – they are the most dangerous countries and cities on Earth. While destinations ruled by highly repressive regimes such as North Korea or war-torn states like Ukraine and Afghanistan are obviously unsafe for locals and tourists alike, many cities in otherwise conflict-free countries might be even more dangerous.

Mexico, the leading destination for international tourists in Latin America in 2019 and 2020, has five entries in the list of the world's ten deadliest cities in 2022. It was visited by 24 million people in 2020, far more than the number of arrivals recorded by the second country, Puerto Rico, which attracted only 2.5 million international tourists. Moreover, Mexico's Tourism Ministry reported the arrival of nearly 10.27 million international tourists in the first half of 2022, an 83% compared to the same period last year and up 1.5% compared to pre-pandemic numbers in 2019. Yet, data published earlier this year by the World Population Review and analyzed by BonusInsider shows that Mexico is an extremely unsafe country both as a place to live in and a tourist destination. The Mexican city of Tijuana is named the world's most dangerous city in 2022, with the highest murder rate per capita.

The latest ranking of the most dangerous cities in the world includes 50 cities, with all entries in the Top 10 being in Latin America. The list ranks the cities based on homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, a standard statistical measurement that is used to compare cities, nations, etc., with different population sizes.

These are the ten most dangerous cities in the world to live in (or visit, for that matter) in 2022 based on the most recent murder rates per 100,000 inhabitants.

President Michel Sleiman: Paying hommage to the Pope Benedict VXI

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President Michel Sleiman: Paying homage to his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and the important post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Medio Oriente that he presented. Remembering his visit to Lebanon in 2012 the faith, joy and hope that he has brought the Lebanese people.

Twitter sued for missing rent

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Twitter is in breach of contract and owes $136,260 of rent on an office space, according to a lawsuit filed by a San Francisco landlord. The social media company has allegedly failed to pay rent on the building, located near its headquarters in the city, and was told in December that it would be breaching its contract if it didn’t pay up within five business days, per the lawsuit. Twitter has faced several similar lawsuits since CEO Elon Musk's $44 billion takeover late last year.

How the Arab world's celebrities marked New Year's Eve, from Mohamed Ramadan to Elissa

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by Katy Gillett -- thenationalnews.com -- While stars from the West headed to St Barts, Maldives and the Bahamas for New Year's Eve, the Arab world's celebrities spread out across the region to usher in 2023. Many performed concerts in major cities, while others spent it with loved ones or headed out to glamorous parties. Egyptian singer Amr Diab spent the evening tracking his new single's success, as Emirati star Balqees Fathi appeared on Lebanese channel LBC International in a special episode with Rodolph Hilal. Here's where the biggest regional names spent the last evening of 2022.

Dubai

Some of the most famous international stars performed on Saturday night in Dubai, from Kylie Minogue at Atlantis, The Palm to Armin van Buuren at Dubai Media City Amphitheatre. Taking in Enrique Iglesias's gig at Nammos Dubai was Egyptian superstar Mohamed Ramadan, who partied the night away with friends at the beachside restaurant in Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach. He's starting the new year with a bang by also releasing a new single on Sunday.

Khor Fakkan

Also in the UAE were Emirati megastar Hussain Al Jassmi and Iraqi singer Aseel Hameem, who both put on a spectacular performance at the amphitheatre in Al Jassmi's home town of Khor Fakkan, Sharjah. Al Jassmi is one of the Middle East’s top-selling artists. He released his first single Bawadaak in 2002, followed by Walla Ma Yeswa and Bassbor Al Fourgakom. However, it was 2014’s Egyptian shaabi tune Boshret Kheir that he is most known for. Hameem's song Ser Al Hayat was the most streamed track by a female Arab artist on YouTube in 2020, now with more than 255 million views.