BySARAH EL DEEB, ASSOCIATED PRESS — Details of Baxter’s detention were not immediately available but Canadian media reported last December he was detained while in war-torn Syria, where he was traveling seeking an adventure. Canadian officials declined to provide further information, citing privacy provisions. Lebanon’s General Security Chief Abbas Ibrahim said Baxter was detained for what Syrian authorities considered a “major violation” of local laws, adding that authorities there may have considered the incident security related. He didn’t elaborate. Baxter appeared briefly on a podium, shared with Ibrahim and the Canadian ambassador to Lebanon, Emmanuelle Lamoureux. He was emotional and choked on his words as he tried to hold back tears. “I’d just like to thank the Canadian embassy for helping me,” Baxter said, reaching to hold the shoulder of the Canadian ambassador. “I would like to thank the Lebanese for helping me get free. I thought I would be there forever, honestly.” He added, wiping his eyes: “I didn’t know if anyone knew if I was alive.”

Baxter’s release marked the second time Lebanon has helped free a foreigner held in Syria. Last month, Ibrahim also mediated the release of an American traveler, Sam Goodwin, held in Syria for two months. The circumstances of Goodwin’s detention in northeastern Syria in May were unclear. “I think the work and effort we did shortened the period of (Baxter’s) detention and as you see he is on his way to Canada,” Ibrahim said Friday before Baxter spoke.

by AP — BEIRUT — Lebanon’s only English-language daily protested the country’s deteriorating economic and political conditions by publishing a blank edition Thursday, calling it an “alarm bell.” Each page of The Daily Star’s Thursday edition bore a single phrase referring to one of the country’s problems, including government deadlock, rising public debt, increasing sectarian rhetoric and unemployment. The back page had a photo of a cedar tree, a national symbol, with a caption reading: “Wake up before it’s too late!” “We are sounding the alarm bell over the many challenges the country is facing,” the paper’s editor-in-chief Nadim Ladki told The Associated Press. “It’s a call on everyone— politicians, activists, ordinary people — to pull together in the same direction to resolve the crises and challenges.”

Lebanon has been in the grip of an economic crisis for months, and the government has not met since a June 30 shooting in a mountain village that escalated tensions between the Christian and Druze communities. Rival groups in the Cabinet have been divided on how to proceed with the investigation of the shooting, which left two people dead. The U.S. Embassy issued a statement Wednesday saying it supports a fair and transparent investigation into the shooting in the village of Qabr Shamoun. “Any attempt to use the tragic June 30 event in Qabr Shamoun to advance political objectives should be rejected,” the embassy said in an apparent reference to the militant Hezbollah group and its allies, who are seen as pressuring Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.

by arabnews.com — QOZHAYA, Lebanon: The last time Samuel Botros stepped into the Lebanese monastery of Saint Anthony of Qozhaya was in 1978. He was 24, newly married, and the country was in the grip of an all-out war. Like many of his generation, he left. It took him 41 years to return. The 1975-90 civil war may be over in Lebanon but conflicts in nearby countries like Iraq and Syria have devastated entire communities where Christians once lived alongside Muslims. That has triggered an exodus among people of both faiths, especially among minority sects — like Botros’ Syriac Orthodox community whose roots are in early Christianity.

The monastery, which is nestled in a remote valley in the northern Lebanese mountains and dates from the fourth century, is a meeting place for Christians who have fled conflict. “It is the war that did this to us. It is the wars that continue to leave behind destruction and force people to leave,” said Botros, visiting the monastery as part of a gathering of his community’s scout group — their first in the region since the 1950s.The scout group’s roughly 150 members include people living in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Territories and further afield. Lebanon was the only country where they could all meet easily and safely, Botros said. In Iraq, years of conflict, most recently with Daesh, erased much of the Christian heritage in ancient cities like Mosul and Sinjar in the north. In Syria’s civil war, some of the oldest churches in Aleppo, Homs and other cities were damaged. Botros, now 65, is about to retire in Sweden where he made his home years ago. He is father and grandfather to children who know Lebanon only through photos.

by euronews.com —Fifteen-year-old George Bejjani became the youngest contestant to ever win the title in Lebanon’s arm-wrestling championship in the +90kgs category for men. The event crowned winners in different categories including men over 90kgs, men under 90kgs and women. The championship also brought Lebanon’s 2018 champions head-to-head with Ukrainian champions in two super matches, […]

It’s August, which for many Europeans means taking almost the entire month off. So why is it difficult to get Americans to take even the little vacation time they receive? A recent piece in The Economist states workers in the U.S. are doing it “all wrong” by taking short holidays — which can add even […]

foxbusiness.com — A 22-year-old has been arrested in an alleged scam of the largest internet retailer that totaled nearly $370,000 by sending return packages filled with dirt. James Gilbert Kwarteng, of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, allegedly swindled Amazon Opens a New Window. by filling up the ordered items’ boxes with dirt and registering with the […]

New York (CNN Business) — Jeff Bezos has sold more than $1.8 billion worth of stock, as the world’s richest person continues to sell his Amazon stake to fund his space venture. The Amazon CEO offloaded roughly 960,000 shares, each worth around $1,900 on Wednesday, according to the company’s regulatory filings. Bezos sold the stake […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, targeting the country’s top spokesman and potentially hurting chances of diplomatic talks amid rising tensions between the two countries. Zarif, a critical figure in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, dismissed the action and said it would not affect him. U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the deal last year and ramped up sanctions to put pressure on Iran’s economy. The move dismantled part of President Barack Obama’s legacy and upset U.S. allies who were party to the agreement, which was designed to restrict Tehran’s pathway to a nuclear bomb in exchange for sanctions relief. Strains between Washington and Tehran have risen more in recent months after attacks on tankers in the Gulf that the United States blames on Iran and Iran’s downing of a U.S. drone that prompted preparations for a U.S. retaliatory air strike that Trump called off at the last minute. “Javad Zarif implements the reckless agenda of Iran’s Supreme Leader, and is the regime’s primary spokesperson around the world. The United States is sending a clear message to the Iranian regime that its recent behavior is completely unacceptable,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

by cnn.com —By Evan Perez and Ryan Browne — The US believes late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza bin Laden is dead, a US official told CNN on Wednesday. The official said the US had a role in his death but did not provide details. The official added that the US government recently received evidence that it believes corroborates his death. The New York Times reported that Hamza bin Laden had been killed in an operation within the last two years. Earlier this year the US State Department called bin Laden, who is believed to be in his early 30s, an “emerging” leader in the terror group al Qaeda, offering a million-dollar reward for information leading to his capture. The New York Times, citing two US officials, said “the United States government had a role in the operation that killed the younger Mr. bin Laden, but it was not clear precisely what that role was.”

When it offered the reward the US government accused the Saudi Arabia-born Hamza bin Laden of seeking to encourage attacks against the US. While The New York Times said the operation that killed him took place prior to the State Department’s reward offer, his death had yet to be confirmed by the US government. Hamza bin Laden “has released audio and video messages on the Internet, calling on his followers to launch attacks against the United States and its Western allies, and he has threatened attacks against the United States in revenge for the May 2011 killing of his father by US military forces,” the State Department said in its announcement offering the reward.

by Sam Brennan— al-monitor.com — BEIRUT — Speaking about the new musical about the life of legendary Lebanese writer Khalil Gibran, Lebanese-British playwright Nadim Naaman told Al-Monitor, “Lebanon is extremely proud of him and extremely vocal about how he is one of their own. But what they aren’t so good at is looking at him in a new light.” In the musical he co-wrote, “Broken Wings,” Naaman wanted to show Middle Eastern audiences “this guy who was critiquing them massively 100 years ago.” The musical, adapted from Gibran’s novella of the same name, made its international debut at the Beiteddine Art Festival July 24-26. The poet, artist, writer and philosopher’s work preached love, challenged power and explored humanist themes at the turn of the century. Gibran is currently the third highest-selling poet of all time and a Lebanese national icon.