By Ian Sample – theguardian.com

A huddle of seven worlds, all close in size to Earth, and perhaps warm
enough for water and the life it can sustain, has been spotted around a
small, faint star in the constellation of Aquarius The discovery, which has thrilled astronomers, has raised hopes that
the hunt for alien life beyond the solar system could start much sooner
than previously thought, with the next generation of telescopes that are
due to switch on in the next decade.

It is the first time that so many Earth-sized planets have been found
in orbit around the same star, an unexpected haul that suggests the
Milky Way may be teeming with worlds that, in size and firmness
underfoot at least, resemble our own rocky home. The planets closely circle a dwarf star named Trappist-1,
which at 39 light years away makes the system a prime candidate to
search for signs of life. Only marginally larger than Jupiter, the star
shines with a feeble light about 2,000 times fainter than our sun.

“The star is so small and cold that the seven planets are temperate,
which means that they could have some liquid water and maybe life, by
extension, on the surface,” said Michaël Gillon, an astrophysicist at
the University of Liège in Belgium. Details of the work are reported in Nature. While the planets have Earth-like dimensions, their sizes ranging
from 25% smaller to 10% larger, they could not be more different in
other features. Most striking is how compact the planet’s orbits are.
Mercury, the innermost planet in the solar system, is six times farther
from the sun than the outermost seventh planet is from Trappist-1.

by Naharnet – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held talks Thursday with President Michel Aoun at the Baabda Palace at the beginning of a three-day visit to Lebanon. After a bilateral meeting between the two leaders, the members of the Palestinian and Lebanese delegations joined the talks, state-run National News Agency said. “We agreed to coordinate […]

By english.aawsat.com

Beirut-Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has said that endorsing
the state budget tops the list of government’s goals, adding any new tax
would take into consideration interests of both citizens and the
economic sectors. Hariri said that approving the ranks and salaries scale should be
linked to administrative reforms and ensuring financial resources to
finance them. Speaking to a delegation from the economic bodies headed by former
Minister Adnan Kassar, the Prime Minister said that a package of taxes
and fees made headlines in the past few days, as it is expected to
overwhelm citizens -mainly those with limited income-, and some sectors,
including the banking sector.

The PM clarified that ongoing discussions on new taxes and fees in
the cabinet, will secure the balance between interests of citizens and
different economic sectors, and will ensure additional resources to
finance the budget. Hariri also noted that the country is battling hard economy
conditions, and the government aims to hold a practical discussion to
define the taxes and fees that should be applied, with the least impact
on the economic growth and on the low-income class.

He added that discussions held in the cabinet are open to reach a
balance between the needs of the private sector, citizens and the state.
On the other hand, there is a package of incentives to motivate the
private sector, which will likely be included in the draft state budget. Hariri said that approving the ranks and salaries scale is being
studied by the cabinet; in case it is approved, it should be linked to
administrative reforms and suitable financial resources to finance them.
Without reforms and commitment to implement them, the ranks and
salaries scale cannot be approved, as it is not possible to increase
wages without improving productivity in the public sector and activating
public administration.

As for increasing the electricity tariff, Hariri said: “I personally
believe that it is not permissible to increase the tariff before
increasing and improving electricity hours.” The Prime Minister concluded by saying that the government works on
developing a new plan to deal with the Syrian refugee issue; it intends
to benefit from the international support to develop the infrastructure
used by the displaced Syrians especially roads, schools, universities,
hospitals, electricity and water sectors.

By Wassim Seifeddine Lebanese President Michel Aoun expressed hope Tuesday that U.S. support for the Lebanese army would continue “to allow Lebanon to defend itself”. While receiving U.S. Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the U.S. Senate’s foreign relations committee, Aoun stressed his keenness to maintain “strong Lebanese-American relations and cooperation” with a view to preserving […]

By Benjamin Zhang Nissan Motors has a new CEO. On February 22, the Japanese automaker announced that Hiroto Saikawa will become its new CEO on April 1, 2017. Saikawa, who currently serves as the company’s co-CEO, will take over for Nissan’s long-time chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn. “I am confident that the management team I […]

By Gulf News – Joseph A. Kechichian, Senior Writer Beirut: Notoriously undisciplined drivers in Lebanon loathe the many speed bumps on public roads, which various municipalities erected to cut down on accidents, many of which tend to be fatal. A recent memo from the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation ordered their removal, allegedly because […]

By Robert Cusack

Israeli aircraft reportedly bombed a number of Syrian airbases near Damascus for the second time this year on Wednesday night. The Israeli military has not officially commented on the reported airstrikes. The
Lebanese army has said Tel Aviv’s jets used Lebanese airspace at around
3:00am [0100GMT] to launch the strikes, reported Al-Jadeed Lebanon. One of the targets was a Hizballah arms convoy travelling with the Syrian army’s 3rd division, reported the Jerusalem Post.

Lebanese
media reported that the strike was launched from Lebanese airspace in
order to bypass the Russian-made air defence systems in southern Syria. Hizballah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, last week reiterated his organisation’s opposition to Israel. “Hizballah will have no red lines in the next war with Israel,” he said. “Israel should think a million times before it goes to war with Lebanon.”

Lebanon’s President Aoun spoke in support of Hizballah’s arms
stockpile in the country’s south, saying it was “essential” for the
country’s defence. “Hizballah weapons are not contradictory to the state, but are an essential part in defending the country,” he said. Syria
issued a warning when Israel last struck an arms convoy on January 13
near Damascus airport, a short distance from President Assad’s palatial
residence.

BEIRUT
— France’s Presidential candidate Marine Le Pen refused to
don a headscarf for a meeting with Lebanon’s top Sunni Muslim cleric on
Tuesday and walked away from the scheduled appointment after a brief
squabble at the entrance. Le Pen, who is on a three-day visit to
Lebanon this week and has met senior officials, was to meet with the
country’s grand mufti, Sheikh Abdel-Latif Derian. Shortly after
she arrived at his office, one of his aides handed her a white headscarf
to put on. Following a discussion with his aides that lasted few
minutes, she refused and returned to her car.

On Monday, she met with President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad
Hariri. She said Syrian President Bashar Assad was “the most reassuring
solution for France,” adding that the best way to protect minority
Christians is to “eradicate” the Islamic State group preying on them —
not turn them into refugees. Some Lebanese officials including,
including Hariri, a Sunni, have taken umbrage at what is widely seen as
her stigmatization of Muslims, who her followers claim are changing the
Christian face of France. There was also apparent displeasure at her
comments on Assad.

Lebanese Forces leader, Samir Geagea said after meeting with Le Pen on Tuesday that “terrorism
has no religion.” He described Assad as “the biggest terrorist in Syria
and the region.” PSP Leader Walid Jumblatt,  in
Lebanon, tweeted on Tuesday that Le Pen’s statements in Lebanon “were an
insult toward the Lebanese people and Syrian people.”

After
walking away from the meeting with the grand mufti, Le Pen said she had
previously told the cleric’s office that she would not wear a headscarf. “They didn’t cancel the meeting, so I thought they would accept the
fact that I wouldn’t wear one,” she said. “They tried to impose it upon
me.” The office of Lebanon’s mufti issued a statement saying that Le Pen
was told in advance through one of her aides that she would have to put
on a headscarf during the meeting with the mufti. “This is the
protocol” at the mufti’s office, the statement said. It said the mufti’s
aides tried to give her the headscarf and that Le Pen refused to take it

Prickly pears are displayed for sale at a stall in Beirut. A dozen prickly pears are sold for approximately $4 in the
Lebanese market.

by Jessica Berman  —  From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

In the future, chemicals from plants found in and around the
Mediterranean may be used to help treat people with brain diseases such
as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. These two diseases are age-related and neurodegenerative. Neurodegenerative relates to the degeneration of nervous tissue, especially the brain. People suffering from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s have deposits of sticky plaque in their brains. Over time, this plaque reduces brain function. Eventually, it causes death.

Scientists say plaque can be reduced

But scientists say the plaque deposits can be reduced with chemicals
from plants, including prickly pear and brown seaweed. Scientists say
the chemicals — or, extracts — appear to replace the harmful, sticky plaque with deposits that are less harmful. These scientists are researchers at the University of Malta and the
National Center of Scientific Research at the University of Bordeaux. They tested the chemical extracts of the plants on a substance called Brewer’s yeast.
This yeast had plaque deposits similar to those seen in Alzheimer’s
disease. Scientists say the health of the yeast improved greatly after exposure to the chemical extracts. Researchers then tested the extracts in fruit flies that were genetically changed to develop symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

by Michael Karam

The Lebanese have a wonderful ability to adapt. I guess it
comes from having to fend for themselves under various occupiers down
the millennia. But even today, 74 years after winning independence from
France, the average Lebanese knows that he cannot rely on the state for
health care, education, electricity and water. It is a situation that
has allowed sectarian politics to flourish to the extent that allegiance
to a political party is often greater than that to the government, but
it has also prompted the private sector to take matters into its own
hands. Lebanon is, after all, arguably the purest expression of a
mercantile culture.

I
was thinking about this last week when the British media was once again
in a fit of angst over the National Health Service (NHS). Now I happen
to think, having lived full-time in the UK for over two decades, that
the NHS, along with that of the Sécurité Sociale in France, is not only
one of the best healthcare systems in the world, but also one of the
greatest expressions of the welfare state anywhere on the planet. Even if it appears to be in terminal crisis: staff shortages,
overcrowding (often attributed to so-called health tourists and EU
immigration) and underfunding (the austerity measures implemented by the
Conservative government have been blamed). Accident and Emergency
departments across the country are the regular focus of “NHS in turmoil”
stories, with tales of patients lying on stretchers in corridors for
hours waiting for treatment. It’s a sorry situation all round. Part of the problem lies with the fact that many people will pop into
A&E with non-life- threatening conditions such as a sprained ankle
or a bad cold, either because their GP is not available or they are
simply lazy and selfish, or both, and there have been calls to give
pharmacists greater powers to treat conditions that do not really
require a hospital visit. This would in theory free up hospitals to deal
with more deserving cases.

The
Lebanese have been doing this for decades. The local pharmacy is not
just a place to buy Panadol and lozenges. Pharmacists in Lebanon are
almost as highly regarded as physicians and play an integral role in
coordinating with the ministry of health to ensure what healthcare
system there is can function.