Ice cream lovers in Lebanon will soon have a new confectionary option, as Cold Stone Creamery has announced plans to open multiple locations throughout the country over the next few years, beginning with the capital city of Beirut.    Kahala Brands, the parent company of Cold Stone Creamery, has granted MNM Investments Lebanon SAL, part […]

By: english.aawsat.com

Beirut-The families of nine Lebanese soldiers taken captive by ISIS
have hinted that they would take escalatory measures and resume
protests, which have led to road closures in the past, if the Lebanese
government did not reveal any new information on the fate of their loved
ones. “It is prohibited for the state from now on to say we have nothing new” on the case, the families said Sunday.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam saluted the servicemen taken hostage by terrorist organizations on the occasion of Army Day. He stressed that the Lebanese state, with all its institutions, will
exert all efforts to end the tragedy, the same way it succeeded in
setting free the first batch of soldiers, who had been taken captive by
terrorists.The troops were held by ISIS in August 2, 2014 when the group and
al-Nusra Front launched an attack on the town of Arsal that lies on the
eastern border with Syria.

The summer festival – which has been headlined by Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Joan Baez and other music giants – has historically been hosted in the ancient Roman ruins in the Beqaa Valley, only 40 kilometres from the Syrian border. The conflict forced organisers to cancel the event for two years, and then temporarily relocate […]

By Sam Bourgi – .economiccalendar.com/

Sluggish economic conditions are expected to weigh on the Lebanese
economy for the foreseeable future, as political instability and
spillovers from the war in Syria drag on the fragile Mediterranean
country.

Lebanon’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 1% in 2015. Real GDP
growth has weakened in each of the past four years to only a fraction of
the post-2006 boom period, where growth averaged more than 9% annually.

The Lebanese economy faces a myriad of challenges that mostly stem
from political instability and the ongoing war in neighbouring Syria.
This uncertainty has become a drag on foreign direct investment and
tourism, two key pillars of the economy.

Business conditions deteriorated sharply at the end of the second
quarter, according to the Markit/BLOM Lebanon purchasing managers’ index
(PMI). A sluggish tourism sector was cited by businesses as one of the
main factors undermining the economic outlook.