Lebanese authorities have decided to ban football fans in Lebanon from attending the first game of the last World Cup Qualifying round that will be held in Beirut and will oppose Lebanon to Qatar.
The reason for the ban is that local authorities are worried that some fans might insult Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad Ben Khalifa, which might damage the relationship between the two countries. [Link]
It looks like the last Qatari threat wasn’t a rumor after all.
ZWZ Kaslik closed down its old location and moved to the next building down the street. The old place is for rent now.
The new branch is bigger and more spacious than the old one and doesn’t look anything like the traditional ZWZ branches. The tables and chairs are different, and there’s a small lounge area where you can sit down and do your work or study.
The menu is still the same and prices haven’t changed, except for the Jebneh wou Jambon man2oushe which is now more expensive and has more cheese in it. As for the service, it was good and relatively fast.
All in all, I like the new branch but I wish ZWZ would consider opening a branch with a nice sea view or mountain view, as it fits more a typical Lebanese breakfast (Labneh, Man2oushe, Eggs etc ..).
I thought at first the girl was running for some beauty pageant competition or some talent show. I didn’t even think for a second she died. Why would anyone write such a message to commemorate a dead person?
I was on my way out on Sunday morning when I took a look from the balcony only to see my car and 5 others blocked by at least 2 cars.
I have no idea what those people were thinking to park like that, but I had to wait over an hour before they cleared the way. They did apologize for the inconvenience though which is not so common among Lebanese drivers.
Thannks for your patience, below is the explanation as to why there was a number plate on the car.
“In response to the query, the GTE is a special race car that was still subject to homologation when ordered and provided to Lebanon.
As a consequence this vehicle was registered prior to going to “Mansory†(who is a LOTUS partner for Special Modifications) to have the GTE enhancements made to the car. The car went to Germany for the modifications.
The registration would then have allowed it to be used when returned to the UK in GTE guise should it have been passed to another dealer,As it transpired, we took the car prior to it being allocated elsewhere.
The car is definitely new, and was registered in the UK (without being used) for the following reasons:
- At that time they did not know we are bringing the car to Lebanon
- For Homologation reasons as is based on a race car
- For modification reasons since that car was transferred to Germany for the modifications
EDL contractual employees have been demonstrating in front of the EDL and blocking the highway on the way back from Beirut since the early morning. They want to become permanent workers, have insurance and a decent retirement plan. Some of them have been working on a contractual basis for over 20 years.
Whenever I am going to Sheile or Ajaltoun or towards Faraya, I look at this sign and laugh. It basically translates to “My God the sons of Sassine Sfeir”.
This Sassine guy must have been Keserwan’s Brad Pitt.
Charbel Rahme was shot dead on Sunday at the Madfoun checkpoint after having failed to stop. Early rumors said he had guns and drugs in his car and that he shot at the army but they were denied. The last thing I heard was that there was an arrest warrant in his name but his family denied it as well.
Added to that, his brother is in the army and Charbel was planning on joining the Internal Security forces.
Having said that, I hope that the army will end its investigation soon and explain what happened because there’s something weird and worrying about this incident.
Update: Anthony just informed me that the land that got sold is not actually the one displayed but rather to the side in a town called Dlebta which lies very close to Harissa. Regardless the location, this land is very precious in its biodiversity and its flora and fauna. Thank you Anthony!
GOAL – BEIRUT, Concerns over safety may lead to Lebanon’s World Cup qualifiers being moved to neutral venues after the country’s Football Association received a letter from Fifa asking for clarification regarding its security procedures. [Link]
That’s definitely not good news for the Lebanese National Football team as they need all the support they can get in the final round of World Cup Qualifying. Added to that, our one-of-a-kind grass-free and bumpy football fields will be missed.
Lebanon is scheduled to play against Qatar on June 3 and Uzbekistan on June 8.
Chahe sent me this picture ten days ago from the Beirut Airport asking me why there’s a plate number on the car. For those who don’t know, lottery draws on new cars and bikes are held at the airport on a regular basis.
While checking the Scuderia Phoenicia post by Mark, I spotted the same car with an identical plate number on display in a showroom on the Dora highway. I think this is Antypas’ showroom and the picture was taken in April.
That doesn’t look right, especially that once you win the car, you still have to pay the customs duty.
Update: The Beirut Duty Free have clarified the situation by stating the following:
Dear All, Thank you for highlighting the promotion. We can assure you that the Car you mentione dand all other prizes on offer in the Duty Free are brand new and has never been previously owned or registered in any country. The below is a staement form Lotus company on the issue:
“Regarding your expressed concern on the subject of the Lotus Evora GTE edition that has been photographed at Ste. J. Antypas showroom in Dora, please note the following. Ste. J. Antypas are sub-agents for Lotus cars in Lebanon and the mentioned car, among others, was on display in their showroom as part of the launch events related to Lotus Cars Lebanon. Ste. J. Antypas are eligible to display our new Lotus cars on consignment by Lotus Cars Lebanon. We confirm that the same car that is now on display in Rafic Hariri Airport – Duty Free Zone is NOT pre-owned.â€
I hope that this clreas up any concern that you may have.
The law is clear when it comes to failing to stop at an army checkpoint. The soldiers must fire in the air at first as a warning, then at the car and the tires and LAST if the car fails to stop they can fire at the driver. If it happens that the driver fired at the soldiers at first, then they are allowed to fire back and kill him.
Having said that, the killing of Charbel Rahme at the Madfoun army checkpoint yesterday seems reckless to me as it is impossible to get past this checkpoint. in fact, you have to zigzag between concrete blocks before and after it and there’s a soldier at the end of the checkpoint with spikes ready to deploy if someone is trying to run away.
I will not draw any conclusions before the official report is out, but according to most media reports, the driver did not shoot at the army and his car hit a concrete block and stopped. The question remains whether he was killed before his car crashed or after. He was 38 and died immediately as the gunshot struck his head.
I am not trying to defend the guy by any means, as he definitely was hiding guns or drugs or whatever in his car to flee the checkpoint, but the army can’t just go around and shoot people dead, especially after what happened with Sheikh Abdel Wahed and his companion in Halba. I mean imagine you are going fast and your brakes fail when nearing the checkpoint, you get a bullet in the head?
I sure do not envy army men these days as they are facing a lot of pressure given how tense the situation is, but the solution is quite simple: Set up decent checkpoints and train the soldiers and officers to stop vehicles without having to kill the driver. After all, what good is this guy if he’s dead? You can’t investigate with a dead man now can you?
