Operation Benin
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Operation Benin
Operation Benin, also known as ''Operation Cotonou'', was a rescue mission carried out by the Lebanese Navy SEALs Regiment in Cotonou, Benin between December 26, 2003 and December 30, 2003 This operation is considered to be the first mission carried out by Lebanese Armed Forces units abroad. Its task was to recover bodies and two black boxes from UTA Flight 141. Background A UTA Boeing 727-223 heading to Beirut carrying 161 people, mainly Lebanese going to spend the New Year vacation in Lebanon, crashed into the sea shortly after take off resulting in 139 dead on December 25, 2003. The crash is considered to be the worst accident in the Lebanese aviation history as per the number of Lebanese citizens affected. The plane was a private jet operated by a Libyan businessman, who was amongst the few survivors. Mission Details Receiving Orders At 12:20 a.m., night of December 25–26, 2003, commander of the Lebanese Navy SEALs Regiment General George Chraim receives a call from t ...
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Lebanese Navy SEALs Regiment
The Marine Commandos ( ar, مغاوير البحر, translit=Maghāwīr al Baħr) are an elite unit of the Lebanese Armed Forces. They are part of the Lebanese Special Operations Command. Established with assistance from the United States Navy SEALs and the British Royal Marines, they are tasked with conducting a variety of missions, particularly in a maritime environment, which include: sabotage, raids, beach landings and maritime counter-terrorism. The Marine Commandos were established in 1997, then got their administrative independence in July 2001. History Until 1997, the only Special Operations Force in Lebanon was the Commando Regiment. However, in 1997, as part of the reconstruction and the modernization of the Lebanese Army, the army command decided to establish a designated regiment for maritime special operations. Contacts to establish and train this new, multi-purpose special unit started by approaching the U.S.A and by contacting the British Ministry of Defence ...
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Michel Suleiman
Michel Suleiman ( ar, ميشال سليمان ; born 21 November 1948) is a Lebanese Maronite Christian politician who served as President of Lebanon from 2008 to 2014. Before becoming president, he served as commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces from 1998 to 2008. After Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) commander Émile Lahoud took office as president in November 1998, Suleiman succeeded him, taking his place in December. Suleiman was later elected President and was sworn into office on 25 May 2008. Early life and education Suleiman was born in Amsheet in a Maronite Christian family on 21 November 1948. He joined the Lebanese Armed Forces in 1967 and went on to graduate from the military academy as 2nd lieutenant in 1970. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in politics and administrative sciences from the Lebanese University. During his military career, he participated in several military training courses : * Officer course, Military school, Lebanon, 1970 * Advanced training course, 7 Janu ...
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French People
The French people (french: Français) are an ethnic group and nation primarily located in Western Europe that share a common French culture, history, and language, identified with the country of France. The French people, especially the native speakers of langues d'oïl from northern and central France, are primarily the descendants of Gauls (including the Belgae) and Romans (or Gallo-Romans, western European Celtic and Italic peoples), as well as Germanic peoples such as the Franks, the Visigoths, the Suebi and the Burgundians who settled in Gaul from east of the Rhine after the fall of the Roman Empire, as well as various later waves of lower-level irregular migration that have continued to the present day. The Norse also settled in Normandy in the 10th century and contributed significantly to the ancestry of the Normans. Furthermore, regional ethnic minorities also exist within France that have distinct lineages, languages and cultures such as Bretons in Brittany, Occi ...
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Rigid-hulled Inflatable Boat
A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull bottom joined to side-forming air tubes that are inflated with air to a high pressure so as to give the sides resilient rigidity along the boat's topsides. The design is stable, light, fast and seaworthy. The inflated collar acts as a life jacket, ensuring that the vessel retains its buoyancy, even if the boat is taking on water. The RIB is an evolutionary development of the inflatable boat with a rubberized fabric bottom that is stiffened with flat boards within the collar to form the deck or floor of the boat. History Origins in Wales The combination of rigid hull and large inflatable buoyancy tubes had been conceived by a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) team working under Inspector of Lifeboats Dag Pike in 1964 as a means of reducing the wear and tear of the fabric botto ...
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Jet Fuel
Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial aviation are Jet A and Jet A-1, which are produced to a standardized international specification. The only other jet fuel commonly used in civilian turbine-engine powered aviation is Jet B, which is used for its enhanced cold-weather performance. Jet fuel is a mixture of a variety of hydrocarbons. Because the exact composition of jet fuel varies widely based on petroleum source, it is impossible to define jet fuel as a ratio of specific hydrocarbons. Jet fuel is therefore defined as a performance specification rather than a chemical compound. Furthermore, the range of molecular mass between hydrocarbons (or different carbon numbers) is defined by the requirements for the product, such as the freezing point or smoke point. Kerosene-type jet ...
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France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its Metropolitan France, metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Due to its several coastal territories, France has the largest exclusive economic zone in the world. France borders Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Andorra, and Spain in continental Europe, as well as the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Netherlands, Suriname, and Brazil in the Americas via its overseas territories in French Guiana and Saint Martin (island), ...
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Cadjehoun Airport
Cotonou Cadjehoun Airport is an airport in the Cadjehoun neighborhood of Cotonou, the largest city in Benin, in West Africa. The airport is the largest in the country, and as such, is the primary entry point into the country by air, with flights to Africa and Europe. The airport is named after cardinal Bernardin Gantin. Airlines and destinations Passenger Cargo Statistics Accidents and incidents * UTA Flight 141: On 25 December 2003, the airplane crashed in the Bight of Benin, killing 151 of the 163 occupants, most of them Lebanese. Replacement In 1974, it was decided to move the operations of the Cotonou international airport to a new facility in Glo-Djigbé. Lack of funding quickly stopped the project. Plans were revived in 2011 and President Yayi Boni Yayi may refer to * China-Taiwan Yayi Cup, a Go competition *Thomas Boni Yayi Thomas Boni Yayi (born 1 July 1951) is a Beninese banker and politician who was President of Benin from 2006 to 2016. He took office a ...
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Middle East Airlines
Middle East Airlines – Air Liban S.A.L. ( ar, طيران الشرق الأوسط ـ الخطوط الجوية اللبنانية ''Ṭayyarān al-Sharq al-Awsaṭ – al-Khuṭūṭ al-jawiyyah al-lubnāniyyah''), more commonly known as Middle East Airlines (MEA) ( ar, links=no, طيران الشرق الأوسط ''Ṭayyarān al-Sharq al-Awsaṭ''), is the national flag-carrier airline of Lebanon, with its head office in Beirut, near Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport. It operates scheduled international flights to Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa from its base at Rafic Hariri International Airport. Middle East Airlines (MEA) is a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. MEA expressed its interest in becoming a SkyTeam associate member in early 2006 at a press conference in New York. On 28 February 2011, the airline signed the partnership agreement with SkyTeam at a ceremony in Beirut, and officially joined the alliance on 28 June 2012, becoming its 17th memb ...
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Flight Recorder
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has become a misnomer—they are now required to be painted bright orange, to aid in their recovery after accidents. There are two types of flight recording devices: the flight data recorder (FDR) preserves the recent history of the flight through the recording of dozens of parameters collected several times per second; the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) preserves the recent history of the sounds in the cockpit, including the conversation of the pilots. The two devices may be combined into a single unit. Together, the FDR and CVR objectively document the aircraft's flight history, which may assist in any later investigation. The two flight recorders are required by international regulation, overseen by the International Civil Aviation Organizat ...
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Beirut International Airport
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast. Beirut has been inhabited for more than 5,000 years, and was one of Phoenicia's most prominent city states, making it one of the oldest cities in the world (see Berytus). The first historical mention of Beirut is found in the Amarna letters from the New Kingdom of Egypt, which date to the 14th century BC. Beirut is Lebanon's seat of government and plays a central role in the Lebanese economy, with many banks and corporations based in the city. Beirut is an important seaport for the country and region, and rated a Beta + World City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Beirut was severely damaged by the Lebanese Civil War, the 2006 Lebanon War, and the 2020 massive explosion in the Port o ...
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George Chraim
George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States * George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States * George V, King of Great Britain, Ireland, the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 1910-1936 * George VI, King of Great Britain, Ireland, the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 1936-1952 * Prince George of Wales * George Papagheorghe also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorgio Moroder * George Harrison, an English musician and singer-songwriter Places South Africa * George, Western Cape ** George Airport United States * George, Iowa * George, Missouri * George, Washington * George County, Mississippi * George Air Force Base, a former U.S. Air Force base located in California Characters * George (Peppa Pig), a 2-year-old pig ...
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Cotonou
Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The city lies in the southeast of the country, between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Nokoué. In addition to being Benin's largest city, it is the seat of government, although Porto-Novo is the official capital. History The name "Cotonou" means "by the river of death" in the Fon language.Butler, Stuart (2019) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Benin'', pgs. 74-91 At the beginning of the 19th century, Cotonou (then spelled "Kutonou") was a small fishing village, and is thought to have been formally founded by King Ghezo of Dahomey in 1830. It grew as a centre for the slave trade, and later palm oil and cotton. In 1851 the French Second Republic made a treaty with King Ghezo that allowed them to establish a trading post at Cotonou. During the reign of King ...
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