Latest news with #Abboud
CNN
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
The ‘destiny' hidden in Pope Francis' soccer club card
Pope Francis never returned to his native Argentina after he became head of the Roman Catholic Church. But some of the faithful here believe he sent a final message home, in the unlikeliest but perhaps most appropriate of ways. Francis was a lifelong soccer fan — and occasional youth goalkeeper — and a card-carrying member of his favorite club, San Lorenzo. And it's the number on that card that's become the talk of Buenos Aires. 'It has to be destiny,' said Ramiro Rodríguez, who arrived wearing a rosary over his team shirt at a small chapel that's the spiritual birthplace of the club, for a Mass to celebrate the life of Francis. The number that's causing the stir is assigned to 'regular member' Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Pope's birth name: 88235. And as person after person has pointed out, Francis was 88 when he died, at 2:35 a.m. Argentina time on Easter Monday. For Rodríguez, it was another otherworldly, even divine, connection. 'I went to the Vatican in 2019 and I wore my San Lorenzo (jersey), of course,' Rodríguez, 23, said. 'I didn't see him, but I knew he was there with all his energy and healing the world and that's very significant to me.' In a preface the late Pope contributed for an upcoming book by Cardinal Angelo Scola, he left an eloquent message about ageing and dying. 'Death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of something,' he wrote. Talking to those who knew him well, it seems likely he would also have appreciated the warmth and good nature of the desire to see a meaning in his soccer club membership number. Omar Abboud knew how quick-witted his friend he still knew as Jorge was and how much he enjoyed a joke, but never at anyone else's expense. 'He has a different kind of humor,' Abboud said of the Pope, 'a kind of joke that was with the people, not over the people. He has an intelligent, smart humor.' Abboud, a prominent Muslim leader in Argentina, formed The Institute of Interreligious Dialogue with then-Cardinal Bergoglio and Rabbi Daniel Goldman in 2002. They visited each other's communities and regularly held meetings and public exchanges to break down barriers between faith groups. Abboud said he last visited the Pope in January, when the two spoke of artificial intelligence and how it could be regulated. He said he learned much from his friend Jorge and their discussions about literature and sacred texts. And he's just beginning to talk about him in the past tense. 'He used to be a good friend, we need him. Really, words are not enough,' he said, his voice trailing off. Francis is on the minds of everyone we meet — from his friends to people who admired him from afar, to those to whom he had ministered. Flowers and messages are left in tribute at his childhood home, a square where he once played kickabout with other kids, and the church where he heard the call from God to join the priesthood. That church, the Basílica de San José de Flores, has an engraving marking the date when Francis received his vocation, while in the confessional — September 21, 1953. So many candles have been burned to honor Francis that the steps of the Metropolitan Cathedral are covered with wax. Seven days of official mourning were declared to honor Francis in Argentina, but they won't all be filled with sadness. The Mass held at San Lorenzo's chapel ended more as a pep rally and there will be another crowd for the soccer team's next match on Saturday, a few hours after Francis is laid to rest in Rome. The team will wear commemorative jerseys to honor the late pontiff, and there is talk a new stadium will bear the name 'Papa Francisco.' In a sign of his humility, Francis once wrote he didn't much like that idea. A Swiss Guardsman used to keep Francis updated on match scores and San Lorenzo's progress by leaving notes on his desk; the Pope has said he had not watched television — barring seismic events like 9/11 — since 1990. Francis said his love for sport was not only for the competition — and San Lorenzo is only one of several teams in soccer-mad Buenos Aires, the capital of soccer-mad Argentina, whose men are the current World Cup champions — but for the participation. He believed sports, especially team games, get young people away from their screens and shuttered virtual lives and teach them to be out in the world. The club may have lost Regular Member 88235 but Buenos Aires will remember him. A homemade flag at the cathedral linked Francis and San Lorenzo with a simple phrase that seems to apply to Buenos Aires today: 'Mis Dos Amores,' my two loves. Francis reciprocated that love, writing in his book 'Hope:' 'My homeland, for which I continue to feel just the same great, profound love. The people for whom I pray every day, who formed me, who trained and then offered me to others. My people.' In Flores, the working-class neighborhood where Francis lived and worked, a woman left a note outside his childhood home. It read: 'You were one of us — an Argentine — and a gift to the world.'
CNN
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
The ‘destiny' hidden in Pope Francis' soccer club card
Pope Francis never returned to his native Argentina after he became head of the Roman Catholic Church. But some of the faithful here believe he sent a final message home, in the unlikeliest but perhaps most appropriate of ways. Francis was a lifelong soccer fan — and occasional youth goalkeeper — and a card-carrying member of his favorite club, San Lorenzo. And it's the number on that card that's become the talk of Buenos Aires. 'It has to be destiny,' said Ramiro Rodríguez, who arrived wearing a rosary over his team shirt at a small chapel that's the spiritual birthplace of the club, for a Mass to celebrate the life of Francis. The number that's causing the stir is assigned to 'regular member' Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Pope's birth name: 88235. And as person after person has pointed out, Francis was 88 when he died, at 2:35 a.m. Argentina time on Easter Monday. For Rodríguez, it was another otherworldly, even divine, connection. 'I went to the Vatican in 2019 and I wore my San Lorenzo (jersey), of course,' Rodríguez, 23, said. 'I didn't see him, but I knew he was there with all his energy and healing the world and that's very significant to me.' In a preface the late Pope contributed for an upcoming book by Cardinal Angelo Scola, he left an eloquent message about ageing and dying. 'Death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of something,' he wrote. Talking to those who knew him well, it seems likely he would also have appreciated the warmth and good nature of the desire to see a meaning in his soccer club membership number. Omar Abboud knew how quick-witted his friend he still knew as Jorge was and how much he enjoyed a joke, but never at anyone else's expense. 'He has a different kind of humor,' Abboud said of the Pope, 'a kind of joke that was with the people, not over the people. He has an intelligent, smart humor.' Abboud, a prominent Muslim leader in Argentina, formed The Institute of Interreligious Dialogue with then-Cardinal Bergoglio and Rabbi Daniel Goldman in 2002. They visited each other's communities and regularly held meetings and public exchanges to break down barriers between faith groups. Abboud said he last visited the Pope in January, when the two spoke of artificial intelligence and how it could be regulated. He said he learned much from his friend Jorge and their discussions about literature and sacred texts. And he's just beginning to talk about him in the past tense. 'He used to be a good friend, we need him. Really, words are not enough,' he said, his voice trailing off. Francis is on the minds of everyone we meet — from his friends to people who admired him from afar, to those to whom he had ministered. Flowers and messages are left in tribute at his childhood home, a square where he once played kickabout with other kids, and the church where he heard the call from God to join the priesthood. That church, the Basílica de San José de Flores, has an engraving marking the date when Francis received his vocation, while in the confessional — September 21, 1953. So many candles have been burned to honor Francis that the steps of the Metropolitan Cathedral are covered with wax. Seven days of official mourning were declared to honor Francis in Argentina, but they won't all be filled with sadness. The Mass held at San Lorenzo's chapel ended more as a pep rally and there will be another crowd for the soccer team's next match on Saturday, a few hours after Francis is laid to rest in Rome. The team will wear commemorative jerseys to honor the late pontiff, and there is talk a new stadium will bear the name 'Papa Francisco.' In a sign of his humility, Francis once wrote he didn't much like that idea. A Swiss Guardsman used to keep Francis updated on match scores and San Lorenzo's progress by leaving notes on his desk; the Pope has said he had not watched television — barring seismic events like 9/11 — since 1990. Francis said his love for sport was not only for the competition — and San Lorenzo is only one of several teams in soccer-mad Buenos Aires, the capital of soccer-mad Argentina, whose men are the current World Cup champions — but for the participation. He believed sports, especially team games, get young people away from their screens and shuttered virtual lives and teach them to be out in the world. The club may have lost Regular Member 88235 but Buenos Aires will remember him. A homemade flag at the cathedral linked Francis and San Lorenzo with a simple phrase that seems to apply to Buenos Aires today: 'Mis Dos Amores,' my two loves. Francis reciprocated that love, writing in his book 'Hope:' 'My homeland, for which I continue to feel just the same great, profound love. The people for whom I pray every day, who formed me, who trained and then offered me to others. My people.' In Flores, the working-class neighborhood where Francis lived and worked, a woman left a note outside his childhood home. It read: 'You were one of us — an Argentine — and a gift to the world.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Lebanon Begins Clearing Beirut, Airport Road of Political Banners
Lebanese authorities have launched a sweeping campaign to remove political party flags, posters, and slogans from Beirut's streets and the main road to Rafic Hariri International Airport, in a move aimed at restoring the capital's image and promoting tourism. The cleanup, which began early Wednesday, was ordered by Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar and Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud, with municipal crews and Internal Security Forces overseeing its execution. The initiative is part of a broader government plan to improve public spaces and reflect state authority, especially in areas highly visible to visitors. 'This is about presenting a unified, civil image of Lebanon,' al-Hajjar told Asharq Al-Awsat, emphasizing that the effort aligns with the government's commitment to assert state sovereignty and support economic recovery. 'The President pledged to restore the state's authority, and that includes enhancing the appearance and functionality of our cities,' he added. Starting from central Beirut and stretching along the airport highway, the operation targets all political symbols — including those of powerful groups like Hezbollah and the Amal Movement — as well as commercial billboards installed on public property. Abboud confirmed that all major parties were informed of the decision and responded cooperatively. 'There's consensus that the capital and airport road should reflect the Lebanese state — not individual factions,' he said, adding that the airport zone must be safe and firmly under state control. The campaign is also part of preparations for the upcoming summer tourism season, with expectations of increased arrivals from Arab countries, expatriates, and international visitors. Authorities have prioritized street lighting and infrastructure upgrades as part of the broader revitalization. 'In just a few months, we've gone from pleading for diesel to keep the airport running, to relighting the entire route from the city center to the terminal,' said Abboud. 'We want Beirut to look like a city of joy and openness.' Party-related imagery placed on public property along Beirut's roads has long caused tension, often dividing neighborhoods along political lines. Security officials say the removal effort has proceeded smoothly and without resistance, marking a rare show of unity in a politically fractured country. 'The state respects everyone's right to political activity,' a security source said. 'But that no longer includes turning public space into partisan territory.'
Campaign ME
14-04-2025
- Business
- Campaign ME
The Network Communication Group appoints Claude Abboud as GM for KSA
The Network Communication Group has named Claude Abboud as General Manager for its Saudi Arabia operations, marking a strategic move as the agency group strengthens its presence in the Kingdom's advertising and communications landscape. Abboud brings more than 25 years of experience in strategic communications and media, with a significant portion of his career spent leading FP7 Riyadh, where he served as General Manager. His leadership background spans multiple sectors and geographies, with a track record of driving business transformation, building high-performing teams, and delivering creative work aligned with client growth. His appointment signals a renewed focus for the Network Communication Group in Saudi Arabia, where the market continues to evolve in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 ambitions and increasing demand for integrated marketing services. The Network Communication Group's Chairman Roger Sahyoun and Abboud share a belief in advertising as a people-first business—where talent, trust, and creativity are central to success. The agency sees Abboud's appointment not just as a leadership transition, but as a step towards building deeper and long-term roots in the Kingdom through sustainable partnerships and impactful work. Abboud's remit will include scaling the Group's Saudi operations across its agencies including AGA-ADK and Equation Media, strengthening client relationships, and contributing to the group's regional growth trajectory.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Deep ties to the CCP': Meet the vaping lobbyist ramping up pressure on Trump to save 'illicit' vape industry
FIRST ON FOX: A top vaping lobbyist, whose group worked closely with the Trump campaign last year and is now ramping up pressure on the Trump administration to "uphold their promise to save the flavored vaping industry," has extensive ties to the Chinese Communist Party, a Fox News Digital review found. Tony Abboud, the Illinois-based executive director of the Vapor Technology Association, made several smaller donations to pro-Trump GOP Senate candidates ahead of the 2024 election and met with then-candidate Donald Trump weeks before the election in a push to protect the vaping industry. However, his past ties to the Democratic Party and CCP are setting off alarm bells with a political operative close to the Trump administration and a top Republican Congressional leadership aide as Abboud's group ramps up pressure on the Trump administration and lobbies several states to oppose directory bills, which would crack down on Chinese vape companies. "Tony Abboud and Vapor Technology Association have deep ties to the CCP and Never-Trumpers," a person close to the Trump administration told Fox News Digital. "This goes against everything President Trump stands for, which is loyalty and reining in CCP influence, especially when it comes to illicit drugs pouring across the border." 21,000% Spike In Ma Vape Seizures Throws Cigarette Ban Into Question, Ex-atf Official Says Abboud, who previously donated thousands between Obama's Senate campaign and failed House campaign, among other Democrats, and his vaping group have a close relationship with the Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (ECCC), an entity of the CCP. Read On The Fox News App Abboud's VTA and the ECCC previously had an informal relationship but officially inked an official partnership together in late 2023, forming the Global Vape Alliance, which includes the UK Vaping Industry Association and the Independent European Vape Alliance. This alliance led to cooperation between the different entities, which entails sharing "information and strategies for best practices to educate and guide member companies on existing laws, regulations and industry standards." "The Alliance will share strategies for the promotion of the healthy development of the global vaping industry, and as a unified voice for the industry, will look to empower their member companies by promoting the sophistication, professionalism, and importance of the industry," the declaration continued. "VTA--like Temu, Shein, and TikTok--is well known for putting the interests of Chinese companies ahead of Americans," a top Republican Congressional leadership aide warned in a statement to Fox News Digital. "No Hill Republicans are take their lobbying seriously and they should be ashamed for lobbying for interests connected to the Chinese Communist Party. American kids deserve a lot better." However, a senior adviser to the 2024 Trump campaign dismissed criticism of the group and Abboud, telling Fox News Digital that the "idea that VTA is an anti-Trump group is downright dishonest and utterly laughable." "Not only did they support President Trump's re-election financially, but they also worked closely with the Trump campaign on a get-out-the-vote program targeting pro-vaping voters in support of the President in all the battleground states," the former senior adviser said. "Their GOTV operation was so robust that it didn't just extend to the President himself, but it was also used to support Trump-endorsed MAGA Senate candidates like Bernie Moreno in Ohio." The ECCC, which partners with Abboud's group, was established in Shenzhen, China, in January 2017 and operates under the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (CECC), which is registered with the CCP's Ministry of Civil Affairs of P. R. China. A Fox News Digital review found that some of the top leaders of the CECC are former high-ranking members of the CCP, which includes a former member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, a former Vice Premier of the State Council, and a former vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the "key mechanism for multi-party cooperation and political consultation" under the leadership of the CCP, according to the CPPCC website. Five-figure Ad Buy Urges States To Crack Down As China Floods Market With Illicit Vapes: 'Trump Was Right' As the executive director of VTA, Abboud has met with Ao Weinuo, the Secretary-General of the ECCC, several times over the years and is featured in several photos with Abboud. In a batch of photos from the 2023 InterTabac trade show in Germany, which is where the Global Vape Alliance was officially announced, Weinuo and Abboud posed together for several photographs, including one where the pair and a couple other guys from the GVA toasted each other with their drinks. During the meeting portion of the event, Weinuo and Abboud were also on the same panel that appeared to be going after the Biden administration's FDA for feeding a "false narrative." That same year, Weinuo and the ECCC members participated in a team-building outing with the theme of "Seeking Red Footprints and Drawing Strength for Progress." In the background of the photo, which included Abboud's business partner, the hammer and sickle CCP emblem was visible. In a promotional video that ECCC posted on Tencent in 2021, ECCC emphasized their goals for Chinese domination and price control in the vaping market, saying, "China has the pricing power" and "influence," according to English subtitles provided by ECCC. When pressed for comment on VTA's ties to China and the CCP, Abboud did not address them and instead talked about how he was a "former Democrat who became a Republican because of President Trump" and that "Joe Biden spent 4 years attempting to shut down and bankrupt American vape companies across the country and President Trump is the only person we trust to reverse Biden's anti-vaping policies and save our industry." The political operative close to the Trump administration pushed back, pointing to a Linkedin post from Abboud's group, which showed Abboud networking with Democrats, including then-DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, at the 2024 DNC Convention. The post said that VTA sponsored events for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Choose Atlanta and the Democratic Party of Virginia. "I'm even more proud that VTA mobilized 360,000 voters to help overwhelmingly return President Trump to the White House because we know that after years of failed Democratic leadership, he is the champion our industry desperately needs," continued Abboud, who along with VTA, also attended the RNC Convention and moderated a fireside chat. "The brazen attempts to distort our fight to save this industry are nothing more than coordinated attacks from competitors in the tobacco industry who are working with radical leftwingers like Letitia James and would stand to benefit financially from destroying American vape companies nationwide." "That would ultimately mean the loss of billions of U.S. tax revenue, hundreds of thousands of American jobs, and tens of thousands of small businesses across this great country," he concluded. In December 2023, Abboud traveled to China and participated in ECCC's first "International Key Buyers Exchange Meeting" in Shenzhen, which included Weinuo as one of the leaders, according to photos reviewed by Fox News Digital. According to a press release, "The special committee gave full play to its international influence and 'brought in' high-quality overseas wholesalers and brand owners, aiming to connect member companies with overseas resources and channels, and help Chinese e-cigarette products sell better in the international market." Abboud would then partner with Weinuo and ECCC a few months later in February 2024 at the Total Product Expo in Las Vegas. The expo was aimed at helping China gain greater access to the U.S. market and attracted more than 600 companies from around the world, including more than 100 exhibitors from China. A press release highlighting the event shows several photos of Abboud and Weinuo together as they hosted an after-party for the crowded event. A person familiar with the inner workings of Abboud's VTA downplayed concerns about the group's ties to China and the CCP, telling Fox News Digital that "Every tobacco company in the industry has their own manufacturing in China" and that the "biggest tobacco companies also have joint ventures directly with the Chinese tobacco monopoly." The person went on to emphasize that the Global Vape Alliance is engaged "against the black market" and is focusing "its joint efforts on combating the illegal trade in e-cigarettes," among other initiatives. In September 2024, Weinuo was invited to deliver remarks on behalf of ECCC at the New Tobacco (E-cigarette) Forum at the New Approaches Summit in New York City, which Abboud also attended. An ECCC press release on the event touts Weinuo as the "first representative of the Chinese e-cigarette industry to participate in the forum in history" and said the "ECCC delegation has attracted much attention at this forum." The press release went on to say that the "United States has the world's largest and most influential benchmark market" and that the "ECCC delegation's participation in this forum is of great significance." "It not only uses the international platform to send out a positive voice for the industry and establish a good image of Chinese e-cigarette products in the world, but also demonstrates the ECCC's far-reaching collaborative work ability and influence in the world as the organization of Chinese e-cigarette companies," the press release continued, highlighting that multiple current and former leaders from the World Health Organization were in attendance. "It is a concrete action to 'tell the Chinese story well to the outside world.'" In December 2024, Abboud visited ECCC in China for supplier and vendor conversations, where he received a "thank you prize for speaking," according to an individual familiar with the event. A press release highlights how "more than 30 internationally renowned wholesalers and channel dealers from 10 countries and regions, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia, France, Canada, Spain, Romania" visited ECCC as an international delegation to "accelerate the resource matching and docking of Chinese and foreign electronic cigarettes." In addition to Abboud, multiple people on the board of directors for his VTA have ties to China, including Magellan and Demand Vape owner Jon Glauser, who said in a 2023 deposition that he has a "good relationship with every manufacturer over" in China and that he has "spent quite a bit of time in Shenzhen, China, over the years," noting that this is "where 99 percent of e-cigarettes are made." "We form a relationship with them, buy it from them either as a master distributor or distributor," he added. Geoff Habicht is another member of VTA's board of directors and serves as the CEO of Mi-Pod, an Arizona-based company that imports numerous vape juices from China. Mi-Pod was recently the subject of a letter from the ranking Democratic member of the House Committee Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party for importing vape products that were banned for domestic sale in China and were the subject of safety concern in the United States. In addition to the board of directors, several vape companies that are included in VTA's membership, which range from $500 to $200,000 membership levels to join, are Chinese companies, including VooPoo, which has donated at least $100,000 to be a member of VTA, according to its website. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for article source: 'Deep ties to the CCP': Meet the vaping lobbyist ramping up pressure on Trump to save 'illicit' vape industry
