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Lebanese Suffer from Collective Depression, 'Held Prisoner in Own Country'

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by aawsat.com -- Inas Sherri -- The Lebanese people are leading the worst live on earth, concluded a recent Gallup poll. Only 4 percent of Lebanese people surveyed assessed their life positively enough to consider it “thriving”, it added, making it the worst result in the poll that covered 2018 and 2019. The results are in no way shocking to any Lebanese citizen, even if they do cover 2019, before the emergence of the novel coronavirus pandemic that upended lives across the globe. Lebanon’s crises began to emerge shortly before the pandemic, in October 2019 and deepened in 2020 in wake of the virus outbreak and after the August 4 blast at Beirut port. Given the strains of daily life, it is no surprise that antidepressants are flying off the shelves in Lebanon amid speculation that they will no longer be subsidized. People have therefore, resorted to stocking up on the medication, causing a shortage in the market.

Head of the Pharmacists Syndicate Ghassan al-Amin told Asharq Al-Awsat that there has been a noticeable 20 percent rise in the use of antidepressants in the country since 2015. The use of antidepressants is understandable, said clinical psychologist Rania al-Boubou. The Lebanese people “have grown tired of searching for solutions and they have lost all hope of finding them.” Antidepressants are the only way to deal with their stress, she told Asharq Al-Awsat. “Everyone in Lebanon is living in fear. They are constantly worried and wrapped in dark thoughts,” she added, saying society is suffering from “collective depression.” Such negative feelings often play out in relationships between the people and in their daily lives, she went on to say. In such cases, she said it was not unusual to witness a rise in domestic violence and crimes sparked by minor incidents, such a traffic dispute. Suicidal thoughts also emerge.

Jessica Kahawaty strikes a pose in Valentino campaign

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by arabnews.com -- DUBAI: Lebanese-Australian model Jessica Kahawaty has joined regional stars in promoting Valentino’s latest fragrance, Voce Viva, taking to social media as part of the #myvoicemystrength campaign. Kahawaty is featured alongside fashion gurus Laila Abdallah and Leena Al-Ghouti, who also took part in the campaign with their own posts and videos on Instagram. The Lebanese-Australian influencer posted a photo over the weekend in which she can be seen clutching the fragrance while sporting a peach sequined gown against the backdrop of a blue sky dotted with clouds. She captioned the post, “Voce Viva means to do something aloud for all to hear. Sometimes we think of our dreams, we write them down but what’s most important is saying them out loud for the universe to hear.”

Earlier in November, Kahawaty gave perfume lovers insight into the fragrance’s key notes, writing, “My voice takes on many forms: Serious, dreamy, funny... but most importantly, it always makes an impact. Meet Voce Viva fragrance with notes of orange blossom, mandarin and vanilla.” UAE-based Palestinian-Canadian influencer Al-Ghouti took to Instagram earlier in November with a video to promote the new scent. In it, she poses with the cubic bottle against a background of foliage and rocks while wearing a monochrome outfit, complete with a black hijab. “What does your voice mean to you?” Lebanese actress Abdallah asked in her caption, posted alongside a photo with an equally lush backdrop. In it, she poses in a sheer tulle top laid over an ochre slip.

Pope elevates 13 new cardinals then puts them in their place

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ROME (AP) — Pope Francis raised 13 new cardinals to the highest rank in the Catholic hierarchy Saturday and immediately warned them not to use their titles for corrupt, personal gain, presiding over a ceremony marked from beginning to end by the coronavirus pandemic. Two new “princes” of the church, from Brunei and the Philippines, didn’t make it to Rome because of COVID-19 travel restrictions, though they were shown on giant screens watching it from home in the nearly empty St. Peter’s Basilica. Throughout the socially distanced ceremony, which clocked in at an unusually quick 45 minutes, cardinals new and old wore protective masks. Most removed their masks when they approached a maskless Francis to receive their red hats, but Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the first African-American cardinal, kept his on. Gregory also was one of the only new cardinals who kept his mask on when the group paid a singing courtesy visit to retired Pope Benedict XVI.

During his homily, Francis warned the new cardinals against falling into corruption or using their new rank for personal advancement, saying that just because they have a new title, “Eminence,” doesn’t mean they should drift from their people. His comments reflected Francis’ constant complaint about the arrogance of the clerical class, as well as his current battles to fight corruption in the Vatican hierarchy. “Let’s think of so many types of corruption in the life of the priesthood,” Francis told the new cardinals, deviating from his prepared text. If they think of themselves so grandly, “you won’t be pastors close to the people, you’ll just be ‘Eminence.’ And if you feel this way, you’ll have strayed off the road,” the pope warned. The ceremony, known as a consistory, is the seventh of Francis’ pontificate and once again reflected the Argentine pope’s effort to name cardinals from places that have never had them before or whose service to the church he wants to highlight. Nine are under age 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope, further solidifying the majority of Francis-appointed, voting-age prelates in the College of Cardinals.

Lebanese Parliament recommends forensic audit of all state institutions

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By NAJIA HOUSSARI -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: The Lebanese Parliament discussed on Friday a letter from President Michel Aoun requesting assistance in the forensic audit of the Banque du Liban’s accounts. The request overthrew the contract that the Lebanese government signed with the restructuring consultancy Alvarez & Marsal to conduct an audit of the central bank’s accounts. This is because the Banque du Liban is reluctant to provide information to the firm as it contradicts the Monetary and Credit Law and banking secrecy law. At the end of the session, members of Parliament endorsed a recommendation that “the accounts of the Banque du Liban, ministries, independent interests, councils, financial institutions, municipalities and all funds undergo a forensic audit in parallel without any hindrances and without invoking banking secrecy or anything else.” The debate in the UNESCO hall reflected a division between the parliamentary blocs. The Progressive Socialist Party, the Amal Movement, and the Future blocs supported “a comprehensive audit of all institutions,” while the MPs of the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces insisted on “auditing the accounts of the Banque du Liban first.”

The division was reflected in two bills, one of which was submitted by the Lebanese Forces bloc, suspending the banking secrecy law for one year, to be effective from the date of publication of this law in all matters related to financial audits and/or criminal investigations decided by the government on the accounts of the Banque du Liban. The bill of the Amal Movement MPs expands the scope of the forensic audit to include “all ministries, institutions, departments, funds, and councils without exception, discretion, changeability or maliciousness.” The Hezbollah bloc appeared to be the most embarrassed bloc among its two allies, the Amal Movement and the Free Patriotic Movement. The head of the bloc, MP Mohammad Raad, said during the session: “We support the forensic audit of the Banque du Liban, and we agree that the audit will be conducted in all public institutions, and we propose to endorse the temporary suspension of banking secrecy.”

France to arrange aid conference for Lebanon by video on Dec. 2

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by reuters -- PARIS: France will host a video conference with international partners on Dec. 2 to discuss humanitarian aid for financially-strapped Lebanon, three sources aware of the matter said on Thursday. The meeting, in conjunction with the United Nations, will aim to have the highest-level representation possible with the objective of soliciting aid for Lebanon's debt-crushed economy. President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to push ahead with efforts to prevent Lebanon collapsing after a massive explosion in Beirut's port in August destroyed large areas of the city and compounded the country's political and financial crisis. However, a French initiative to stabilize Lebanon and enable the release of billions of dollars of international aid to fix the economy has yet to bear fruit. The sources said that given the worsening economic situation and the COVID-19 pandemic,

France had decided to press ahead with the humanitarian conference. "There isn’t huge appetite to help Lebanon from the international community, but relief should go directly to the people," said one person aware of the conference. The French presidency did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Conference details are still to be ironed out early next week, but it aims to attract as many senior government officials as possible. Earlier in the day, restructuring consultancy Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) confirmed it had withdrawn from a forensic audit of Lebanon's central bank as it had not received the information required to carry out the task. The decision, first announced by Lebanon's caretaker finance minister on Nov. 20, was a blow to Lebanon as the audit is a key demand of foreign donors to help it exit a financial meltdown, the country's worst crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war.

Lebanese presenter Nadim Koteich on the ‘intellectual battle’ for regional culture

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by ALI KHALED -- arabnews.com -- DUBAI: “The material that appeals to the younger generation is less related to geopolitics and more related to values and emotions: The videos that expose lying, hypocrisy and contradictions, and the filthiness of the political elite across the board, are basically the hits among this generation.” Sky News Arabia’s Nadim Koteich is talking about the radical shift in the Middle East’s media landscape in recent years. And the Lebanese presenter is well placed to do so, as a veteran journalist and broadcaster adapting to that shift. He is known for his biting satirical and political commentary which has proven hugely popular online. His new Monday-to-Friday show, “Tonight With Nadim,” is, he says, a natural progression of his previous work. “Even the most traditional giants in the market are adopting digital strategies in terms of distribution and channeling the message,” he tells Arab News. “My show airs at midnight, but we post it completely on digital before it hits the screen. Before, the (TV) screen was sacred. Now, whenever it’s ready, just put it up. So what kind of short format is reaching the audience becomes a question of content.” Koteich’s 25-minute show aims to tackle the issues of the day via three segments: ‘Fake News’ — two or three quick stories that look to “decode” events and statements; ‘3D’ — a satirical take on the news; and ‘Serious Talk,’ which Koteich calls a “visualized editorial” of the day. It’s a format tailored for modern audiences.

“(People under 30) don’t have the time, they don’t have the stamina, they don’t have the interest in just dry takes,” he says. “They have a love of skepticism when it comes to reading or following politics. They have so much more at their disposal than what conventional media is providing them.” Younger viewers may prefer these “media nuggets,” but Koteich is keen to ensure that older ones are not ignored. It is less about age and more about ideology, he suggests. “We are in an intellectual battle between two main projects in the region: Political Islam and national states,” Koteich, a fierce critic of Iran and Hezbollah, says. “The two audience camps are not divided not only by age groups, but also by communities. (Both have) young, old, and middle-aged groups. I think this dichotomy between age groups is a little misleading, because you need to talk about communities that are a hybrid of age groups.” Koteich, who has over 360,000 Twitter followers, has learned to tune out the background noise of social media over the years. “You grow very thick skin,” he says. “You shouldn’t take (things) personally, because there is a collapse of context when it comes to social media and it’s made the conversation very poisonous. Because people are basically talking to a screen and the emotions are edited out in a very fierce, very dehumanizing way.” This loss of context can lead to the rise of conspiracy theories, he adds.

Lebanon registers 1,636 new COVID-19 cases, 16 deaths

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The Daily Star -- BEIRUT: Lebanon registered 1,636 new coronavirus cases and 16 deaths Wednesday, as caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hasan said that the ministry was aiming to equally distribute a potential vaccine in a safe and secure manner to the population. Of the registered cases, 33 were found among incoming travelers from abroad, bringing the total number of registered cases in the country to 120,300. The Health Ministry reported that a total of 12,489 PCR tests had been administered in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate of the tests in the last two weeks stood at 14.7 percent.

An alarming 23 coronavirus-related deaths had been recorded Tuesday, bringing the total number of deaths since the virus was first detected in late February to 950. Meanwhile the Internal Security Forces Wednesday said that 578 coronavirus cases were detected at the Roumieh Prison and 28 cases at the Baabda Justice Palace detention center, with a smaller number of cases detected in other prisons around the country. Hasan said after a meeting with the national committee responsible for the COVID-19 vaccine that they are working on guaranteeing an equal distribution of the vaccine, as well as monitoring the side effects of the vaccine when it reaches Lebanon. The caretaker health minister had announced that Lebanon would receive COVID-19 shipments from Pfizer – one of the lead developers of the vaccine – by March.