Sharjah: Lebanese intellectual and academic Dr Ghassan Salame was
named Cultural Personality of the Year of Sharjah International Book
Fair’s (SIBF) 35th edition. Dr Salame, who is a former Lebanese
minister of culture (2000-2003), will be recognised during the fair,
which will take place from November 2 to 12 at Expo Centre Sharjah.
Ahmad
Bin Rakkad Ameri, chairman of Sharjah Book Authourity, said, “Our
selection of Dr Salame was based on his long and distinguished career,
his invaluable contribution to the Arab cultural scene and his concern
for all issues relating to the Arab world.” The SIBF’s recognition
pays tribute to intellectual figures in the Arab world and celebrates
their achievements that inspire future generations. Dr Salame is highly regarded for his significant achievements in the history of the region over the past five decades.
An internationally recognised and influential personality, he was
appointed political adviser to the UN Mission in Iraq, served as senior
adviser at the United Nations and taught political science at the
University of Paris.
Daily Star BEIRUT: Family and friends filled the Saint Nicolas Church in Beirut’s Ashrafieh area Sunday as they said their final goodbyes to one of Lebanon’s most beloved singers and composers, Melhem Barakat, who passed away two days ago.
His coffin arrived from the nearby Hotel Dieu Hospital at around 10 a.m. to the Greek Orthodox church, where a funeral mass was held by Orthodox Archbishop of Beirut Elias Aoude at around 1 p.m. It arrived in a black hearse with a large picture of the late singer on top, as loudspeakers played his songs. His life-time friend and Lebanese poet Nizar Francis helped carry the coffin inside the church.
Many Lebanese singers and politicians were present at the funeral mass. “We are going to miss a lot of his songs, words and laughter…It’s not only a loss for his town, family and fans, but one for all music,” Lebanese singer, Ragheb Alama said. The renowned singer passed away Friday at the age of 71, after battling an illness.
The funeral convoy later departed to the Mount Lebanon town of Kfarshima, the home town of Barakat, where he will be buried. Hundreds of people joined in the funeral procession in the town, which took place around 3 p.m. Barakat was one of the few Arab singers to perform in colloquial Lebanese Arabic, a stylistic choice that he defended throughout his career.
The Lebanese musical icon also launched an acting career, appearing in several films in the 1980s and participating in many of the acclaimed Rahbani Brothers’ musicals. When the musical legend wasn’t singing, he was composing songs and collaborating with famed artists such as Ghassan Saliba, Majida Al-Roumi, Najwa Karam and Carol Sakr. He is survived by his three children from his first marriage Majd, Waed and Ghinwa, and a son named Melhem Junior from his second.
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state news agency says Lebanese singer and composer
Melham Barakat, who was highly esteemed and popular across the region,
has died. National News Agency said Barakat, 71, died Friday at a Beirut hospital where he was admitted weeks earlier.
Barakat rose to prominence more than three decades ago. He was
influenced by the late Egyptian composer Mohammed Abdul-Wahhab, who was
widely regarded as one of the Arab world’s best songwriters. Among Barakat’s most popular songs are “Two Moons at my Door,” and “Habibi Inta (You are my Love)”. He was married twice and is survived by four children.
By Daily Star: The esteemed singer and composer, who began his long career in the
1960s, was admitted to the Hotel Dieu Hospital in Beirut more than a
month ago, local media reported. Barakat was one of the few Arab
singers to perform in colloquial Lebanese Arabic, a stylistic choice
that he defended throughout his career. The Lebanese musical icon
also launched an acting career, appearing in several films in the 1980s
and participating in many of the acclaimed Rahbani Brothers’ musicals.
Lebanon’s
central bank chief said he was satisfied with the country’s foreign
currency reserves, which have been boosted to record highs by months of
financial engineering, and had no plan for further operations to boost
them.
“Today we
are at a historical, record high,” Bank of Lebanon Governor Riad Salameh
told the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit.
Foreign
currency reserves excluding gold rose to $41 billion by mid-October
from around $35 billion before the financial operations involving the
Ministry of Finance, central bank and local banks began in June.
We are at a satisfactory level which
will allow the country to fund its needs for the public and the private
sector,” Salameh said. “The engineering we are talking about has
achieved its purpose and has been now ended.”
Yesterday, I examined the ten most undereported stories about Donald Trump
during this campaign, which I believe would have done great damage to
his candidacy if they had been given appropriate attention by the
all-too-easily-distracted news media. Today, I have complied a similar
list of topics, in no particular order, to which the news media has
given short shrift regarding Hillary Clinton.
1) Benghazi. Before Donald Trump was a
serious threat to make this election all about him, it was assumed/hoped
by most conservatives that at least a significant portion of the
dialogue would be about how Hillary handled the loss of four Americans under her watch at Benghazi.
And yet, despite a major motion picture having focused attention on the
heart-breaking story, almost nothing has been made of it during this
election. I guess, as Hillary infamously said in one of her testimonies
about the episode, “what difference, at this point, does it make?!”
2) Bill’s Presidency. You would think that
if someone’s spouse had been President of the United States for eight
years that their record might come up if that person ran in a general
election for the very same job. However, you would think wrong. At least
based on the fact that about the only thing we ever hear about Bill’s
presidency these days is that the economy was good. Nothing about why he
was impeached (no, not the sex, it was the perjury and obstruction of
justice), his outrageous last-second pardons (specifically of Marc Rich), his unwillingness to kill Osama bin Laden, or how the Republican Congress was responsible for much that got done.
Rep.
Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Iran’s
ransom demand of $4 million to release a Lebanese-American permanent
resident was entirely predictable based on our payment of $1.7 billion
in cash for the release of other Americans in Iranian custody earlier
this year.
“Just as I feared, the Iranian regime now has more American hostages and wants more money,” Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., told the Washington Examiner Wednesday.
“The
Obama administration’s $1.7 billion cash payment to Iran wasn’t just
bad policy — it put additional lives at risk. … Iran should release
all American hostages immediately and unconditionally,” said Royce.
Royce also noted that President Obama threatened
to veto his bill to bar additional “ransom payments.” Obama argued at
the time that the measure is aimed at solving a problem, the “so-called
ransom payments, that does not exist.”
Nizar
Zakka, a Lebanese citizen and permanent resident of the United States,
has been imprisoned in Iran for more than a year and last month was
sentenced to 10 years in Iranian prison on charges of spying, which he
denies.
Reuters, (Reporting by Laila Bassam and Lisa Barrington; editing by Andrew Roche)
The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said on Sunday the door to electing a president was “wide open” and his members of parliament would vote for ally Michel Aoun at a parliamentary session at the end of October. Lebanon has been without a president for more than two years, part of a political crisis that has resulted in a breakdown in many basic services and concerns about the country’s stability. Lebanon’s former prime minister Saad al-Hariri said on Thursday he would back Christian leader Aoun to be president. Hariri stressed that his endorsement was a “political settlement” for the benefit of the whole country.
Gulf news reports- Joseph A. Kechichian: “Observers of Lebanese politics believe classic pro-Syrian
March 8 and anti-Syrian March 14 groups are no longer relevant following
the political fallout surrounding Sa’ad Hariri’s recent decision to
back Michel Aoun for president. No one knows what the next parliament session, scheduled for October 31, will hold and who will back who. But
one clear effect of Hariri’s shock decision are growing divisions
within both alliances. Splits have already emerged between members of
the March 14 alliance with some members supporting Hariri’s decision and
others staunchly rejecting it. The same goes for March 8, an
alliance made up of Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement and two principal
Shiite parties, Amal and Hezbollah, with the latter fighting side by
side with Bashar Al Assad’s forces in Syria.” Druze leader Walid Junblatt, whose Progressive Socialist Party is part
of the March 14 alliance, said he “understood” Berri’s reservation on
the way in which Aoun’s name was put forward.
“The past few days saw an important
development: a declaration by the Future Movement leader (Hariri) of his
support for the nomination of General Michel Aoun for the presidency.
The door is now realistically wide open for a successful presidential
election,” Nasrallah said.
Parliament
will convene on Oct. 31 for a session to elect the president, the 46th
such sitting since the term of the last president, Michel Suleiman,
expired in 2014. Each of the previous sittings failed to gain the
two-thirds quorum needed for a vote.
The position of president must be filled by a Maronite Christian.
Nasrallah
spoke at a commemoration event for a Hezbollah military commander
recently killed fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo. Iran-backed
Hezbollah is fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the
country’s conflict
If Michel Aoun is elected president of Lebanon He will be the 5th oldest reigning president in the world. Here is the list of oldest presidents in the World: 1- Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe born in 1924 2- Beji Caid Essebsi, Tunisia born in 1926 3- Raúl Castro, Cuba born in born in 1931 4- Paul […]
Contestants of the Miss Lebanon 2016 beauty pageant show themselves in
swimsuits during the beauty pageant at Casino Du Liban in Jounieh, north
of Beirut, Lebanon, late Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016
Lebanese Sandy Tabet, 22, wears swimsuit during the Miss Lebanon 2016
contest at Casino Du Liban in Jounieh, north of Beirut, Lebanon, late
Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016. Tabet won the Miss Lebanon 2016
Sandy Tabet defeated 13 other contestants to bag the crown of Miss Lebanon 2016. Valerie Abou Chacra,Miss
Lebanon 2015 crowned Sandy as her successor. Grand Finale of Miss
Lebanon 2016 took place on 22nd of October 2016 at Casino du Liban in
Beirut. Sandy might represent Lebanon at the upcoming Miss World 2016 pageant which will take place in Washington D.C in the month of December or she might represent Lebanon at Miss Universe 2016 pageant. Maribelle
Tarabay bagged the first runner-up crown where as Andrea Haykal was
crowned as second-runner up. Tracy Rizkallah & Hala Merheb bagged
third and fourth runner-up crown respectively. Aimée Sayah hosted the
pageant alongside Wael Kfoury. The contestants looked stunning in Zuhair
Murad gowns. The show opened with a Bollywood dance routine. Designer
Zuhair Murad, Talk Show host Marcel Ghanem, Super Model Adriana
Karembeu, Business man Richard Pharaoh, media personality Marcelle Nadim
, Actress Razane Jammal were part of the jury.
Full Results:
Miss Lebanon 2016:Sandy Tabet
First runner-up:Maribelle Tarabay
Second runner-up:Andrea Haykal
Third runner-up:Tracy Rizkallah
Fourth runner-up:Hala Merheb
Highest placement for Lebanon at Miss
World was in 2015 when Valerie Abou Chacra bagged the third runner-up
crown. Lebanon has one Miss Universe title to it’s credit courtesy
of Georgina Rizk who won the title in 1971.
By AFP The United States is cautiously optimistic that Lebanon is on the point of breaking a political deadlock and appointing its first president in two years. “This stalemate on the issue of the presidency is hurting Lebanon and hurts the region and we hope it will move forward,” Secretary of State John Kerry said […]
Maybe it’s because I live in Lebanon, and return to Beirut from Aleppo and Damascus, that the place seems so “normal”. While all around this little jewel, the Middle East burns – Syria, the occupied West Bank, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, increasingly Egypt and, alas, Turkish Kurdistan
– Lebanon glistens brightly in the darkness, largely untarnished by the
horrors on the other side of its borders. Or so it seems.
We might be forgiven for believing that this little paradise still
exists in the Arab world. True, Lebanon has no president, no functioning
government and constant power cuts (I currently have three electricity
outages a day, sometimes totalling six hours, without a generator).
Reading by candlelight might seem as romantic as Milton – preferably
without its physical effect on him – but it gets a little boring after a
while.
True, the Syrian war has stained Lebanon. Mosque bombings, the
attempted destruction of the Iranian embassy by suicide killers, the
brief capture of the Lebanese town of Ersal by Isis and the beheading of
Lebanese soldiers who were seized there, seemed to foreshadow a replay
of the country’s old civil war. Hezbollah fighters from southern Lebanon receive military funerals when they are driven home by the dozen from the Syrian battlefields. Sunni and Alawite (Shia) gunmen have fought in the northern city of Tripoli.
