Khazen

Lebanese Prime Minister Steps In to Overrule Ban on ‘The Post’

By Nick Vivarelli – ROME – A ban in Lebanon on Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” was overruled Wednesday by Prime Minister Saad Hariri in what appears to be the first time a film has surmounted a negative recommendation by Lebanese censors. Distributor Italia Film, which is handling “The Post” in Lebanon, called the reversal “a big victory” […]

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Kingdom Holding sells Beirut Four Seasons hotel stake

by reuters – Saudi Arabian investment firm Kingdom Holding has sold its stake in the Four Seasons Hotel in Beirut for around $100-115mn including debt, sources told Reuters. One source said the buyer is a Saudi businessman of Lebanese origin and the deal was done in December. Sources have told Reuters the hotel had been […]

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Lebanese businesses eye opportunities in Syria

by David Enders – The NATIONAL Even before the guns fall silent, Lebanese businesses are eyeing a potential gold rush in Syria, a country badly in need of rebuilding after nearly seven years of war. “Lebanese contractors are preparing themselves,” said Maroun Helou, the general manager of Abnieh Engineering and Contracting. “The president of the Syrian […]

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Lebanon bans new film ‘The Post,’ citing Spielberg’s ties to Israel

Article represents opinion of the author  By Liz Sly and Suzan Haidamous – washingtonpost.com/  BEIRUT — Lebanon’s authorities have ordered a ban on the movie “The Post” because of director Steven Spielberg’s associations with Israel, amid an intensifying climate of censorship in what has historically been one of the Arab world’s freest countries. The General Security Directorate’s censorship committee decided […]

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Lebanese PM calls for privatization of IT sectors

BEIRUT, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) — Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Monday called for privatization of information and technology sectors. The government must “take its hands off this sector and let the private sector take over,” Hariri said during a Q&A session with businessmen and women held at the Beirut Chamber of Commerce. The prime […]

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Beirut civil war museum is haunting, but few Lebanese want to disturb the ghosts

By Louisa Loveluck — Beirut WashingtonPost — Viewed from some angles, the yellow house appears a restatement of Ottoman elegance, its high arches and elevated terraces overlooking a district of tower blocks. From others, it is an eyesore, its crumbling sandstone walls riddled with bullets and saved from collapse by gray steel girders. It is supposed to be […]

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Ziad Doueiri‘s latest controversial film, ‘The Insult,‘ is on Oscar‘s shortlist

by luxoraleader.com — Ziad Doueiri has no problem with controversy. The Lebanese-born American citizen — a former camera assistant for Quentin Tarantino — has directed a number of films telling fraught stories set in the Middle East. His award-winning, semi-autobiographical “West Beirut” depicted the partitioning of the Lebanese capital through the eyes of kids. His 2012 […]

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Ibrahim: Lebanon safer than the U.S

DailyStar.com.lb BEIRUT: General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim said Friday that Lebanon was safer than the United States, after meeting with a delegation of the Lebanese Press Syndicate. “The security situation is under control and much better than security in countries around Lebanon, even – in some cases – in the U.S.,” Ibrahim said. […]

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Ibrahim: Lebanon safer than the U.S

DailyStar.com.lb BEIRUT: General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim said Friday that Lebanon was safer than the United States, after meeting with a delegation of the Lebanese Press Syndicate. “The security situation is under control and much better than security in countries around Lebanon, even – in some cases – in the U.S.,” Ibrahim said. […]

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Is Lebanon Set for an Oil Bonanza?

by Dr Valérie Marcel – and Jessica Obeid – chathamhouse.org “Congratulations to the Lebanese people (…) on Lebanon entering the club of oil countries,’ tweeted the country’s energy minister, Cesar Khalil, after Lebanon’s first petroleum licensing round finally took place last fall. On 14 December 2017, the Lebanese government approved the bid by a consortium of three companies – […]

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