Latest news with #OrderOfMerit
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
France's last newspaper hawker gets Order of Merit after 50 years
He is France's last newspaper hawker; maybe the last in Akbar has been pounding the pavement of Paris's Left Bank for more than 50 years, papers under the arm and on his lips the latest now he is to be officially recognised for his contribution to French culture. President Emmanuel Macron – who once as a student himself bought newspapers from Mr Akbar – is to decorate him next month with the Order of Merit, one of France's highest honours."When I began here in 1973 there were 35 or 40 of us hawkers in Paris," he says. "Now I am alone."It became too discouraging. Everything is digital now. People just want to consult their telephones."These days, on his rounds via the cafés of fashionable Saint-Germain, Mr Akbar can hope to sell around 30 copies of Le Monde. He keeps half the sale price, but gets no refund for before the Internet, he would sell 80 copies within the first hour of the newspaper's afternoon publication."In the old days people would crowd around me looking for the paper. Now I have to chase down clients to try to sell one," he says. Not that the decline in trade remotely bothers Mr Akbar, who says he keeps going for the sheer joy of the job."I am a joyous person. And I am free. With this job, I am completely independent. There is no-one giving me orders. That's why I do it."The sprightly 72-year-old is a familiar and much-loved figure in the neighbourhood. "I first came here in the 1960s and I've grown up with Ali. He is like a brother," says one woman."He knows everyone. And he is such fun," says Akbar was born in Rawalpindi and made his way to Europe in the late 1960s, arriving first at Amsterdam where he got work on board a cruise liner. In 1972 the ship docked in the French city of Rouen, and a year later he was in Paris. He got his residency papers in the 1980s. "Me, I wasn't a hippy back then, but I knew a lot of hippies," he says with his characteristic laugh."When I was in Afghanistan on my way to Europe I landed up with a group who tried to make me smoke hashish."I told them sorry, but I had a mission in life, and it wasn't to spend the next month sleeping in Kabul!"In the once intellectual hub of Saint-Germain he got to meet celebrities and writers. Elton John once bought him milky tea at Brasserie Lipp. And selling papers in front of the prestigious Sciences-Po university, he was acquainted with generations of future politicians – like President how has the legendary Left Bank neighbourhood changed since he first held aloft a copy of Le Monde and flogged it à la criée (with a shout)?"The atmosphere isn't the same," he laments. "Back then there were publishers and writers everywhere – and actors and musicians. The place had soul. But now it is just tourist-town."The soul has gone," he says – but he laughs as he does.
National Post
28-07-2025
- Automotive
- National Post
HGreg INFINITI Laval Receives the Order of Merit from INFINITI Canada for the Sixth Consecutive Year
Article content MONTRÉAL — HGreg INFINITI Laval has once again earned national recognition, receiving INFINITI Canada's 2024 Order of Merit—for the sixth consecutive year. This prestigious award recognizes dealerships that demonstrate an exceptional commitment to customer satisfaction, quality of service, and operational excellence. Article content 'Whether customers are purchasing a vehicle or visiting our service department, our top priority is always their utmost satisfaction,' stated Philippe Venne, General Manager of HGreg INFINITI Laval. 'Winning this award for the sixth time is a great source of pride for our entire team. It's a tangible acknowledgment of our thoroughness, professionalism and persistent drive to exceed our own standards.' Article content The Order of Merit is awarded by INFINITI Canada to dealerships that meet the highest performance standards across the country. It takes into account key indicators such as the quality of customer experience, operational performance and staff expertise. Article content 'HGreg INFINITI Laval continues to raise the bar year after year, and we're very proud to recognize their unwavering excellence,' said Catherine Plante, Director of Dealer Operations – Eastern Canada at INFINITI Canada. 'This recognition is a reflection of the sustained efforts of their entire team, and we extend our most heartfelt congratulations to them.' Article content This latest honour solidifies HGreg INFINITI Laval's reputation as one of the nation's top-performing dealerships, and renews its commitment to offering an unrivalled customer experience worthy of the highest standards in the automotive industry. Article content About HGreg Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content For more information Article content Article content
LBCI
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- LBCI
President Joseph Aoun awards Georges Khabbaz the Lebanese Silver Order of Merit
President Joseph Aoun has awarded Lebanese actor, writer, and director Georges Khabbaz the Lebanese Silver Order of Merit in recognition of his distinguished artistic contributions and creative works that reflect Lebanon's social reality with intellectual and historical depth. The official account of the Lebanese Presidency shared photos of the ceremony, showing President Aoun presenting the medal to Khabbaz. The accompanying caption read: "President Aoun awarded artist Georges Khabbaz the Lebanese Silver Order of Merit in appreciation of his outstanding artistic contributions and creative works that embodied Lebanon's social reality in its intellectual and historical dimensions."
RNZ News
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Dai Henwood: Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit
health arts 8:15 am today Dai Henwood has to be one of New Zealand's best-loved comedians. Being honoured today with Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, he's carrying on a family tradition joining BOTH of his parents, who have also had honours bestowed.
RNZ News
30-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Is the honours system still relevant for New Zealand?
A composite image of some of insignia from the New Zealand Order of Merit. Photo: Supplied/ Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet This long weekend, a new list of Kiwis will be crowned with titles under the New Zealand Honour's System, when a list is unveiled on Monday to celebrate the King's Birthday. Up to 400 Honours are granted annually across lists announced for the New Year and the King's Birthday holiday, with Special Lists occasionally released at other times too. The titles bestow a smorgasbord of letters after names, like CNZM, Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit; or ONZM, Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, all recognising service to the Crown and to the nation. Some become dames and knights. But is the honours system still relevant? Are the right number given out to the right people? And are the right people making decisions about who should be recognised? Anyone can nominate a person they think is worthy of a New Zealand royal honour, though at least two other people must submit letters in support of the nomination. The form is online . About 800 to 1000 nominations are considered each year, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet says. While those nominated are usually New Zealand citizens, people who are not citizens can also be nominated if they have benefited New Zealand or helped New Zealanders overseas. The applications are considered by the Cabinet Appointments and Honours Committee; which is a group of government ministers and chaired by the prime minister. The prime minister then makes the final recommendation to the King. Reporter Victor Waters took to the streets of Auckland to get people's views. "I guess it is kind of less valid of a title than it used to be," one man said. "It is good to recognise people's achievements, ... but I couldn't say whether we're giving them out for the right or wrong reasons." While, a woman said: "I don't really care, they're just titles - as long as it's not like a grant of a million dollars of the taxpayers money, I don't really mind. It really depends on who's nominated and if they deserve it or not. I think people deserve recognition for their work, as long as it's deserved." Another woman said: "I still think it's cool to like give knighthoods and stuff, but to those deserving and that have really earned it." While another man said: "In terms of New Zealand's indigenous perspective - whether Māoridom or Pasifika, they have [honours], and I think we can investigate that too, or perhaps weigh those up. The knighthoods and such, they are honours, but I think they have lost some of their relevance in the times that we live in. "At the same time, do we throw them out? And I'm not convinced throwing [them] out is the answer." However, he said it may be helpful for a process to be undertaken examining what the honours mean now, the values and ideas behind them, and how New Zealanders want them to evolve: "[That] is something I think might be a valuable or worthwhile offering". Twenty five years ago, then- Prime Minister Helen Clark got rid of 'sir' and 'dame' titles, in 2000 . At that time, those receiving a titular honour were appointed Principal and Distinguished Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Helen Clark was prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008. Photo: AFP In 2009, the National government led by John Key brought them back . In 2010, Clark was appointed a Member of the Order of New Zealand, Aotearoa's most senior honour, and says she was "honoured" to accept it. She believes the honours should be purely New Zealand focused, and not royal honours, though recognises that many people may feel the knighthoods sound posher. "In this day and age, in New Zealand, 12,000 miles from the United Kingdom, why are we parading the titles like that - I just don't really get it.. We've inherited them from an aristocratic English system, and I just don't think that's consistent with a more egalitarian outlook in New Zealand. "The ONZ shows the bipartisanship of the system at its best. That came to me as an offer from the Key government." Former All Blacks coach Sir Steve Hansen, receiving his KNZM for services to rugby from The Governor-General, the Rt Hon Dame Patsy Reddy. He was named in the 2020 New Year's Honours list. Photo: PHOTOSPORT She also believes people being honoured should have lived a life of service, and done exemplary work, beyond their paid role. "It is good to recognise people who have given good service to New Zealand," she says. During her time as prime minister, Clark chaired the committee who considered who would be put forward for the honours. The process to decide who to recommend for honours was seriously considered, and was hard work, she says, partly because there were so many deserving people nominated. "Your numbers: 400 a year, it sounds a lot, but believe me, when you're sitting at the Cabinet Honours and Appointments Committee and you've got 200 slots for New Year, and six months later 200 for the King's Birthday weekend - Queen's as it was in my time - it's actually quite hard getting the numbers of good applicants down into those 200 slots. "And sometimes you have to postpone recognising someone, because there's just not the room - but you say we'll come back to that in six months time'. "I'd like to think that we were fair, we looked to have honours which were broadly representative of New Zealand: geographically, across our different ethnic communities, across men and women, and then across the kinds of service that you would recognise. "And certainly we didn't just discount recommendations that came from opposition members of Parliament. We felt that these needed to be genuinely nation-wide and bipartisan, so we did our best I think to get a good spread of people." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
