The President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, stressed the role of the media in conveying the message faithfully, considering that the media is a weapon that can be durable or destructive. He reaffirmed that the goal we are working on is to stop the war, achieve Israeli withdrawal, save and rebuild the south, return the prisoners and return the displaced, and prevent the war from expanding to affect all Lebanese lands, pointing out that the negotiations may have slowed down, but this does not mean that they have stopped. President Aoun’s positions came during his reception this afternoon at Baabda Palace, a delegation of third-year and master’s students in media at Holy Spirit University - Kaslik, headed by university professor Danny Haddad, who thanked President Aoun for receiving him and the delegation, indicating that his positions give hope to the young generation to cling to and remain in their land. President Aoun responded by welcoming the delegation and said: “When I say the media and the University of the Holy Spirit, I remember Pope Saint John Paul II. He used to say, “The media professionals are the messengers of this age,” and it is the duty of the messenger to announce the truth and bear witness to it as a means of achieving the common good of mankind. This is the message of the true media. As I said once and I repeat, unfortunately we live in a time about which one thinker said: The truth has become boring while the lie has become exciting. Therefore, some people have begun to prefer the lie even if they realize that it is a lie. They evade the truth even if they know it is true, and the examples in our world and in our daily lives are countless.” President Aoun stressed the role of the media in conveying the message honestly at a time when some people are using their profession to blackmail people or selling their pen for personal and sometimes financial goals. He recalled the most prominent things that were said about the media and its role in society, considering that the media is a weapon that can be durable or destructive, taking, for example, the arrest of the explosives shipment on the Dahr al-Baydar road and how the media dealt with it in a way that anticipated the investigation that was moving away from everything that was being discussed, pointing out that “everything that has nothing to do with the truth harms the country and its reputation.” The President of the Republic addressed the delegation by saying: “Your duties are to convey the truth, no matter how difficult it is, so be its messengers, because the interest of Lebanon and its future lies in what you write. Therefore, do not sell your pen and work according to your conscience.” He stressed the need for the journalist to have morals, which are the basis of all professions, pointing out that “criticism in politics is a right, but let it be constructive, and harming personal dignity is unacceptable,” noting in this context that the goal of some media outlets is material profit and blackmail, not the national interest. He stressed freedom of expression and media, but said, "There is no absolute freedom, because it turns into chaos." He stressed that "national security constitutes the ceiling of freedom, as happens in the most prestigious democracies in the world, and some of what is said in the media has nothing to do with the truth and its goal is to destabilize for the sake of external interests and agendas, or to destabilize security for personal interests." Then a dialogue took place between President Aoun and the students. In response to a question about the lack of judicial intervention when the ceiling of freedom is exceeded, he said that under the new media law, the Public Prosecution is preparing for how to prosecute, indicating that he had previously refused, when he was army commander, to file a lawsuit against those who attack him, “but there must always be limits.” The President of the Republic spoke about the news presented against the Lebanese Ambassador to Washington, Nada Moawad, for not denying the news of contacting the Israeli ambassador after his son was targeted, which was reported by one of the Israeli news channels. He asked on what basis did the media begin to highlight this issue and harm her personal dignity and the state’s foreign policy in an event that did not happen and began to address it away from the truth and reality? He said, “If the goal of whoever is doing this is to target the path we took to end the state of war and save Lebanon, then he is a criminal against the country.” President Aoun stressed, in response to a question, that the goal we are working on is to stop the war, achieve Israeli withdrawal, save the south and rebuild it, return the prisoners and return the displaced, and prevent the war from expanding to affect all Lebanese lands, noting that “if we had not resorted to negotiation, the Israeli aggression would have affected Beirut and various public facilities.” Regarding the negotiation path, President Aoun did not deny that there were difficulties facing it, but he gave examples of many negotiation paths that took years to reach the desired solutions, pointing out that regional and international developments and the Israeli elections may have slowed down the pace of negotiations, but this does not mean that they have stopped in light of the continued contacts led by Ambassador Moawad with the American administration to push them forward. He reiterated that there is no third option between war and negotiations, “and if some people have any other option, let them tell me,” noting that wars usually end either with one party achieving a crushing victory over the other, which surrenders, or through negotiation. He said: "I am responsible for what I do. Anyone who cannot bear responsibility for his position should not hold it." President Aoun addressed the delegation by saying: “You, like all Lebanese students and youth, are a trust in me and I will do the impossible to keep you in Lebanon,” speaking about the presence of a Lebanese team that constitutes the antithesis of the state because its role ends immediately upon its establishment. Speaking about the political system in Lebanon, he called on everyone to put the public interest above all considerations. He said: There are difficulties, but there are no impossibilities, and the evidence for this is the number of achievements that have been achieved, which are not adequately highlighted, while only the negatives are highlighted, pointing out, for example but not limited to, Lebanon’s entry into membership of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) Ports Club in the ports of Tripoli and Beirut, while a number of countries signed it in one port, in addition to the American President signing a presidential decision that stipulated the cancellation of previous presidential restrictions and decisions imposed on air transport with Lebanon, and the demarcation of maritime borders with Lebanon. Cyprus. He also talked about the Dahr El-Baydar Highway, which the Minister of Public Works had to work on at a lower cost than previously reported, and the Klayaat Airport, the Rachid Karami Exhibition, the ports, and the economic zone in the north, wondering: Aren’t they all achievements that should be highlighted? President Aoun also pointed to the growth Lebanon achieved in the previous year by 4%, with a surplus achieved by the Ministry of Finance worth $1.3 billion, and the increase in the Bank of Lebanon’s assets in hard currencies by $2 billion, “and we expected a rate of 6% this year, but the war prevented that.” While he called on the members of the delegation to be positive, he addressed the rumors about movements due to the rise in oil prices, noting that the rise is due to the ongoing war in the Gulf, whose effects affect the entire world. He said that what also affects this is the ongoing war in addition to the greed of merchants, stressing that the state is working to alleviate the impact of the economic situation as much as possible. After the meeting, the members of the student delegation toured the halls of the Republican Palace, the Council of Ministers Hall, and the departments of the Information Office, where the Director of Information at the Presidency, Mr. Rafik Shalala, gave them a detailed explanation of the office’s tasks, its method of work, and how it covers the activities of the President of the Republic, the First Lebanese Republic, and the General Directorate of the Presidency of the Republic. Minister Shehadeh and the Lebanese Consul in San Francisco In addition, President Aoun, in the presence of the Minister of Displaced Persons and Minister of State for Technology and Artificial Intelligence Kamal Shehadeh, received the Honorary Consul of Lebanon in San Francisco, Mr. George Chammas, and the President of the BeryTech Association, Mr. Maroun Chammas. During the meeting, Consul Shammas briefed the President on the work to create a communication bridge between Lebanon and the members of the Lebanese community in San Francisco to launch projects concerned with digital transformation and artificial intelligence in Lebanon. Mr. Maroun Chammas also informed President Aoun that the BeryTech Association is organizing a competition in the field of artificial intelligence programs in which students from universities in Lebanon and startup companies participate, which will constitute an incentive for the development of digital transformation projects in Lebanon. Canadian Ambassador to Lebanon Diplomatically, President Aoun received Canada's Ambassador to Lebanon, Gregory Galligan, and held a horizon tour with him that addressed the current situation in Lebanon and the region in light of recent developments and Lebanese-Canadian relations and ways to develop them in various fields. The discussion also touched on the possibility of Canadian aviation returning to Lebanon. President of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police At Baabda Palace, the President of the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs, Mr. Fadi Philippe Dagher, with a family delegation that included Messrs. Nassif Dagher, Asaad Dagher and Walid Dagher. President Aoun congratulated Mr. Dagher on assuming the duties of chief of police chiefs in Canada, noting the responsibilities he assumed in Canada leading up to the new position, expressing Lebanon's pride in its children spread throughout the world and of Lebanese descent, "who wherever they go carry Lebanon in their hearts and raise its name high." Mr. Dagher indicated his attachment to Lebanon, expressing his readiness to assist from his new position in everything that could enhance the work of the Lebanese security forces. Mufti Ali Al-Ghazawi On the other hand, President Aoun received the Mufti of Zahle and the Bekaa, Dr. Ali Al-Ghazawi, with a delegation from the family, who thanked him for his condolences and the first Lebanese woman, Mrs. Neamat Aoun, on the death of his father. During the meeting, the Mufti of Ghazawi gave a speech in which he praised the courageous stances of the President of the Republic and his determination to revive the country and put it on the right track. For his part, President Aoun welcomed the Mufti of Gaza and the accompanying delegation, praising his comprehensive national stances and his keenness to carry out his spiritual and humanitarian mission with honesty and sincerity. A delegation of sports federations in Lebanon In sports, President Aoun received a delegation from sports federations in Lebanon, whose name was spoken by Mr. Hassanein Muqlad, who delivered a speech at the beginning of the meeting in which he said: “Your Excellency the President, you said in your oath speech: “No matter how different we are, in times of hardship we embrace each other, because if one of us breaks, we all break.” And we meet today with this meaning: to work together and make sport a space for meeting and cooperation. We are the heads of sports federations, gathered from all Lebanese governorates: from Beirut, Mount Lebanon, the North, Akkar, the Bekaa, Baalbek-Hermel, the South, and Nabatieh. We work together to organize our championships and competitions in the heart of Lebanon. The capital, under the umbrella of the Lebanese state, and wrapped around the Lebanese flag. Fitness Power Expo is based on a joint effort between more than twenty sports federations. Each federation has a role in organizing its championships and competitions, with its administrative, technical and refereeing staff, coaches and players. Lebanese championships are held in a number of games, and the Universities Sports Federation athletes participate in the actual competitions.” He added: “Despite the wounds and difficult circumstances that Lebanon is going through, we choose to meet in the language of sports: the language of civilization, high sportsmanship, tolerance and fair competition. It is an opportunity to highlight the talents of our athletes, and to honor them in front of their families. Understand the foundation and spirit of the event. Fitness Power Expo will be held at the Forum de Beirut on the 7th and 8th of November 2026, and brings together about four thousand athletes from all age groups, with international participation from more than fifteen countries in a number of tournaments. We are working to equip the place with the latest technical equipment, giant screens with a total area exceeding eight hundred square metres, and stands for the public, in accordance with international standards. We look forward to your generous sponsorship of this event, which we all provide with our cooperation and effort, and we hope that it will be an opportunity for meeting and fair competition, and an image that brings together the Lebanese sports federations in the heart of the capital.” The delegation participating in the meeting included representatives of the Lebanese Gymnastics Federation, the Lebanese Table Tennis Federation, the Lebanese Kyokushinkai Federation, the Lebanese Boxing Federation, the Lebanese Kickboxing Federation, the Lebanese Mixed Martial Arts Federation, the Lebanese Wushu Kung Fu Federation, the Lebanese Badminton Federation, the Lebanese Federation for Heritage and Traditional Sports, the Lebanese Kumbo Federation, the Lebanese Universities Federation, the Lebanese Taekwondo Federation, the Lebanese Federation. For Muay Thai, the Lebanese Jiu-Jitsu Federation, the Lebanese Shooting Federation, the Lebanese Federation for Strength and Physical Education, the Lebanese Weightlifting Federation, the Lebanese Wrestling Federation, the Lebanese Committee for Calisthenics, the Lebanese Committee for Grappling and Amateur MMA, and the Lebanese Committee for Crossfit and Hyrox. President Aoun responded President Aoun responded by welcoming the delegation, stressing that “sport brings together, and the main goal remains to work together to serve Lebanon, for it alone protects everyone.” The President of the Republic pointed out that sport has a prominent place in society, because it is able to bring our youth together and protect them from the scourges that most societies know, such as drugs, which pose a danger greater than the danger of terrorism because they may enter every home and destroy entire families. President Aoun said: “The new generation is a trust in your hands as sports federations. You must awaken awareness in the consciences of our youth and the love of fair competition to win championships as an added value to winning themselves, despite the difficult circumstances and meager financial capabilities, but you are achieving achievements thanks to your determination and solid will. This is something that raises hope in the souls of the Lebanese. Keep your goal Lebanon, and do not invite sectarianism, denominationalism, and partisan matters.” Divide among yourselves.” He addressed the members of the delegation by saying: “Every cause in which there is no faith is not destined for success, and you succeed despite the difficult circumstances. This shows the steadfastness of the official in the face of difficult circumstances. The captain of the ship does not leave it in times of storms, but rather he is the one who stays at the helm in the midst of times of storms to bring it to safety.” The President of the Republic concluded by saying: “Lebanon deserves to give the world an honorable image of it, as this is its truth. Many of its people are achieving great achievements abroad. We are calling for your support, and the event you are preparing will send a positive message to Lebanon and abroad to confirm confidence in our country, and you are among the builders of this confidence. This is the responsibility of all of us towards our country, each in the sector within which he works.”