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Who is behind Lebanon's bank-raid phenomenon?

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by Nada Homsi -- .thenationalnews.com -- Armed with bottles of petrol, two depositors held up a bank in Beirut on Thursday, attempting to forcibly recover about $30,000 of their own money. In a rare failure, the two did not manage to recover their savings. It was at least the fourth such bank raid this week as the nationwide phenomenon of angry depositors, desperate to access their own savings, continues. The depositors are often aided and abetted by a network calling themselves the Depositors’ Outcry and a legal coalition called Moutahidoun that in most cases act as the legal council of the depositors. “Depositors should not have to go to the banks and demand their own money,” Alaa Khourchid, president and founder of the Depositors' Outcry Association that helps people reclaim their savings – often by force – told The National. “But every action has a reaction.”

Inside the planning of a Beirut citizen bank heist

Man recovers $15,000 of savings in Lebanon bank holdup For two decades, Mr Khourchid lived in the West African country of Guinea, working and placing his savings in a Lebanese bank account. But his money became trapped, along with hundreds of thousands of other people’s, in 2019 at the onset of Lebanon’s prolonged and severe financial crisis. With the nation’s foreign reserves severely depleted and dollars scarce, its banks swiftly imposed illegal capital controls to avoid folding – preventing the outflow of money from the country and severely restricting the public’s access to their savings.

Army intervenes after brawl erupts on Lebanese talk show

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By Najia Houssari -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: The brawl that erupted on air Thursday night between a former minister and a journalist sparked widespread condemnation on Friday across Lebanon. The talk show, “Sar El-Wa’et” (It’s About Time) on MTV hosted by Marcel Ghanem, brought together former government minister Wiam Wahab, known for his close ties to Hezbollah and its allies, and journalist Simon Abou Fadel, whose stances are often aligned with the Lebanese Forces party. The dispute began when the discussion turned to US sanctions imposed on Wahab, and escalated when Abou Fadel remarked that “the US disciplines the Lebanese.” Wahab then assaulted Abou Fadel, and Wahab’s bodyguards also intervened. Abou Fadel fell to the ground, being continuously hit until the broadcast was cut off.

Lebanese Armed Forces personnel arrived at the station’s premises to take control of the situation. The broadcast later resumed, and Wahab apologized on air before he was asked to leave by Ghanem. Abou Fadel reappeared with bruises on his face and mouth, and said into a camera: “What happened to me just a while ago is nothing but a part of what has happened to some honorable people who paid the price for their stances.” He then mentioned political figures including the Lebanese Forces party leader, Samir Geagea, “who was imprisoned because of his stances.”

Asia Cup MVP Wael Arakji leads Lebanon into first World Cup since 2010

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BEIRUT (Lebanon) -- By FIBA -- One of the best and most exciting players in Asia for the past several years, Lebanon's Wael Arakji, is poised to make his FIBA Basketball World Cup debut as well as several other veterans. The Cedars' 1.93m (6'4") point guard led the country to the FIBA Asia Cup 2022 Final in Jakarta and was named MVP of the tournament. Among his top performances was a 32-point effort against China in the Quarter-Finals. He averaged a team-high 26.0 points per game for the Lebanese.

Arakji is joined by several other leading players from that team: veteran center Ali Haidar, explosive guard Sergio El Darwich and power forward Hayk Gyokchian. Amir Saoud, the 32-year-old shooting guard who missed last summer's Asia Cup but played at the previous two editions, is in the squad. He featured in eight games in the Asian Qualifiers for the World Cup and excelled in several. He was especially good against other teams that clinched spots in the World Cup. In two games against the Philippines, Saoud averaged 22.0 points per game, and in one of the two games against Jordan, he poured in 24 points. In his one appearance against New Zealand, Saoud erupted for 28 points. In all, he was a solid 19 of 50 (38.0 percent) from behind the arc, and he made 22 of 24 (91.7 percent) of his free-throws.

OpenAI launches customized instructions for ChatGPT

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by Ivan Mehta -- TechCrunch -- OpenAI just launched custom instructions for ChatGPT users, so they don’t have to write the same instruction prompts to the chatbot every time they interact with it — inputs like “Write the answer under 1,000 words” or “Keep the tone of response formal.” The company said this feature lets you “share anything you’d like ChatGPT to consider in its response.” For example, a teacher can say they are teaching fourth-grade math or a developer can specify the code language they prefer when asking for suggestions. A person can also specify their family size, so ChatGPT can give responses about meals, grocery and vacation planning accordingly. While users can already specify these things while chatting with the bot, custom instructions are helpful if users need to set the same context frequently. The instructions also work with plug-ins, making it easier for them to suggest restaurants or flights based on your location.

OpenAI noted that the feature is available for Plus plan users, but it won’t be available for people based out of the EU and the U.K. It is a beta feature for now. Users can try out this feature on the web by clicking on their name and going to Settings > Beta features > Opt into Custom instructions. On iOS, users can access this through Settings > New Features > Turn on Custom Instructions.

Notably, OpenAI says that the information given to the customize responses will be used to train its API models to adapt to different instructions. “Information from your use of custom instructions will also be used to improve model performance — like teaching the model how to adapt its responses to your instructions without overdoing it,” the company said. However, users can opt out of this setting through their data control settings. OpenAI has been testing this feature with some users for a while now, as consultant Gavriel Cohen noted on Twitter. ChatGPT provides users with two boxes to specify their chat preferences where users can write about themselves and about the way they want to tune the chatbot’s responses.

Some bosses oppose return to office

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By Emma W. Thorne, Editor at LinkedIn News -- The workers most opposed to returning to the office full-time? Senior-level executives making over $150,000 a year, finds new research from McKinsey. In the sizable survey — which included 13,000 people in six countries — those senior employees say they’d quit if forced to come back to the office every day, and would take a 20% salary hit to keep a more flexible schedule. Recruiters say that’s proof flexibility continues to be a big draw for talent. “People see it now as an expectation and not as a perk,” explains Zoom’s chief people officer, Matthew Saxon.

US, France, Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other countries urge Lebanon to elect a president

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by Willy Lowry Washington --- The US on Monday joined Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France and Qatar in calling on Lebanon to end its political impasse and elect a new president. The Mediterranean nation has been without a president since Michel Aoun’s term ended on October 31. In the months since, Lebanon’s political leaders have been unable to agree upon a suitable candidate. Lebanon’s complex political make-up centres on a fragile confessional power-sharing scheme in which the presidency is traditionally held by a Maronite Christian, while the office of prime minister is held by a Sunni Muslim. Several prominent Lebanese Christians have been listed as possible options, including Jihad Azour, a former finance minister and regional director at the International Monetary Fund, and Suleiman Frangieh, who has received support from Hezbollah, the highly influential Iran-backed political party.

But in a dozen sessions spanning nearly nine months, the country’s 128 parliamentarians have failed to provide any candidate with the two-thirds majority required to win election on the first vote. “It is crucial for Lebanese members of Parliament to abide by their constitutional responsibility and proceed with the election of a president,” the US State Department said in a joint statement released on Monday by Washington, Saudi Arabia, France, Egypt and Qatar. “In order to meet the aspirations of the Lebanese people and address their pressing needs, it is imperative that Lebanon elects a president who embodies integrity, unites the nation, puts the interests of the country first, prioritises the well-being of its citizens, and forms a broad and inclusive coalition to implement essential economic reforms, particularly those recommended by the International Monetary Fund.”

Lebanese journalist sentenced to a year in prison for defamation

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By Mohammad Ayesh - middleeasteye.net -- Journalist Dima Sadek sentenced to a year in prison A Lebanese court sentenced prominent Lebanese journalist Dima Sadek to one year in prison following a lawsuit by the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement party (FPM) Gebran Bassil, Lebanese newspaper L’Orient Today reported on Tuesday. In the lawsuit filed in 2020, the former foreign minister accused the journalist of "defamation and libel" after she denounced the party for "incitement" and "racism". In a video posted on Twitter, Sadek said she was being accused of "slander, defamation and inciting sectarian strife" for comments she made in February 2020 regarding two young men who were attacked in the northern city of Tripoli by men linked to the FPM.

The journalist had described the attack on one of the men, who was assaulted by the bodyguards of a former FPM lawmaker, as "racist and Nazi". "Gebran Bassil is suing me in the case of Zakaria al-Masri," Sadek said in the video. Sadek was also ordered to pay 110 million Lebanese pounds (about $1,200) in compensation to the FPM, according to court documents. The journalist plans to appeal the decision. "Instead of arresting the attackers who 'incite sectarian strife', a verdict was issued against me," she said. Sadek added that the verdict against her sets "a very, very dangerous precedent on the freedom of journalism, media and expression in Lebanon".

Over two million visit Qatar in six months

Qatar has announced that it has received more than two million visitors in the first half of this year, reflecting a good performance of the tourism sector in the country, according to Al-Khaleej Online news website. The Qatar Tourism Authority said the total number of visitors in the first half of 2023 nearly doubled its level before the coronavirus pandemic. It added that during this period, 51 percent of visitors flew into Qatar, while 37 percent came in by land, and 12 percent by sea.