US President-elect Donald Trump on Dec 1 said Lebanese American businessman Massad Boulos would serve as his senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.
Trump made the announcement on his platform Truth Social. Mr Boulos, the father-in-law of Trump's daughter Tiffany, repeatedly met Arab American and Muslim leaders during the election campaign.
It was the second time in recent days that Trump chose the father-in-law of one of his children to serve in his administration.
On Nov 30, Trump said that he had picked his son-in-law Jared Kushner's father, real estate mogul Charles Kushner, to serve as US ambassador to France.
In recent months, Mr Boulos campaigned for Trump to drum up Lebanese and Arab American support, even amid the US-backed Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Mr Boulos has powerful roots in both countries. His father and grandfather were both figures in Lebanese politics and his father-in-law was a key funder of the Free Patriotic Movement, a Christian party aligned with Hezbollah.
His son Michael and Tiffany Trump were married in an elaborate ceremony at Trump's Florida Mar-a-Lago Club in November 2022, after getting engaged in the White House Rose Garden during Trump's first term.
Mr Boulos has been in touch with interlocutors across Lebanon's multipolar political world, three sources who spoke to him in recent months say - a rare feat in Lebanon, where decades-old rivalries between factions run deep.
Particularly notable is his ability to maintain ties with Hezbollah, they say. The Iranian-backed Shi'ite Muslim party has a large number of seats in Lebanon's Parliament and ministers in the government.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 03, 2024-Ausgabe von The Straits Times.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 03, 2024-Ausgabe von The Straits Times.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
FIRING UP OLD TRADITIONS
In his seaside workshop on the Greek island of Lesbos, Mr Dimitris Kouvdis uses ancient techniques to create pottery pieces that have recently been honoured with inclusion in Unesco's National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Megan Fox, Machine Gun Kelly may have split
American actress Megan Fox has reportedly split with American rapper Machine Gun Kelly (MGK), just weeks after the couple announced they are expecting.
Shares linked to Squid Game star soar after Golden Globe nomination
SEOUL - Shares linked to South Korean actor Lee Jung-jae are soaring after the announcement that hit Netflix K-drama Squid Game 2, in which the star will reprise his leading role, has been nominated for Best Television Series in the drama category at the Golden Globes, ahead of its premiere on Dec 26.
Actor Dick Van Dyke, approaching 99, dances in Coldplay's latest music video
LOS ANGELES - American actor Dick Van Dyke, the lithe and witty nonagenarian whose career spans more than seven decades, has added yet another role to his lengthy resume: music video star.
High website traffic on Disney cruise booking launch day causes delays
Bookings for Disney Adventure – Asia's first Disney Cruise which will be homeporting in Singapore for at least five years – opened on Dec 10 to overwhelming demand, with its inaugural sailing selling out within the day.
Pharrell Williams' exuberant biopic Piece By Piece, Hellboy's faithful reboot
The life and career of American rapper-songwriter-producer-entrepreneur Pharrell Williams are reconstructed in Lego animation.
At The Movies In horror film Heretic, Hugh Grant makes niceness feel nightmarish
Two Mormon missionaries, Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher) and Sister Paxton (Chloe East), call at the home of Mr Reed (Hugh Grant), who claims to be interested in their religion. The women, to their horror, discover that they have walked into a carefully laid trap.
Hugh Grant Is enjoying the 'freak show era' of his career
The seemingly droll, breezy star is utterly serious about his work, including his villainous turn in the horror film Heretic
A bewitching tale of power
Set 10,000 years before the events of the two Dune films (2021 and 2024), this six-episode series streaming on Max chronicles the goings-on at the Bene Gesserit, a religious order whose sisters serve as advisers to the aristocrats leading the Great Houses of the galactic empire.
Villain with a moral compass
That is the take of British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who plays Kraven The Hunter in a film on the antagonist from the Spider-Man comic books
