by middleeasteye.net — Cannabis and avocados are among the exports which could help open up Lebanon’s ailing economy, a firm hired by the world’s most indebted nation has reportedly suggested. US-based McKinsey & Co. propose the country legalise production of the drug already widely grown in eastern Lebanon and open its produce to new markets. […]

By Paula Astih — albawaba.com — With the start of the tourism season in Lebanon, a rise in the number of European tourists was registered against a decline in the number of Gulf visitors, who seem to be waiting for a decision by their countries to lift the ban on travelling to Lebanon, which is apparently linked […]

by alaraby.co.uk — The father of Lebanese tourist jailed in Cairo for insulting Egyptians in an online rant has slammed the “silence” from authorities and human rights groups regarding the case. Ali al-Mazbouh told The New Arab’s Arabic-language service on Monday that Lebanese authorities have failed to take action to secure the release of his […]

by theweek.co.uk — Once known as the ‘Paris of the Middle East’, Beirut offers everything for a perfect weekend break Described as the “wild child of the Middle East” by Time Out, Lebanon’s capital city Beirut certainly has a varied history – both culturally and politically. Located on the eastern Mediterranean, Beirut is most definitely an “east-meets-west” metropolis that combines a broad spectrum of cultures and influences. Historically Beirut is one of the world’s oldest cities where inhabitants first settled more than 5,000 years ago. In the downtown area of the city there are remains from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Crusader and Ottoman eras. Lebanon was also a French colony after the First World War. However, Beirut is mostly known for its Phoenician history. The city’s name is said to have been derived from the Canaanite-Phoenician word for wells – be’erot – while another theory is that it’s named after Beroe, the Phoenician daughter of Adonis and Aphrodite, says the Lebanon-based website The961.com. This mixed history, the inspiration of past civilisations and the use of three languages – Arabic, French and English – makes modern-day Beirut the ultimate melting pot. Add in the food, wine, music, fashion, sun and ski, it’s a perfect weekend destination for any time of the year.

Head downtown

Beirut’s Central District, or Centre Ville, was all but destroyed during the Lebanese civil war between 1975 and 1990. But less than 30 years later it’s been regenerated with a plush new shopping and entertainment district. There’s also high-rise offices, residential towers and the Zaitunay Bay marina featuring a host of restaurants, nightlife and moored yachts. The Beirut Souks district is home to more than 200 shops and 25 restaurants as well as attractions such as Cinemacity, Planet Discovery – the first permanent children’s museum in Lebanon – and Cosmocity – a “futuristic entertainment centre” filled with games and activities. Besides the hip souks you will also find the remains of Beirut’s past civilisations including the 9th Century wall and moat, Byzantine mosaics and the Zawiyat Ibn Iraq Mosque built in 1517 by Mohammed Ibn Iraq ad-Dimashqi. Beirut Central District is also home to Martyrs Square and the Mohammed Al-Amine Mosque. Downtown Beirut really is the “phoenix from the flames”.

Phoenician-inspired stay

One of the most recognisable landmarks within walking distance of downtown is the Phoenicia Hotel Beirut. Inspired by the Phoenician culture and art, the 446-room hotel has a range of restaurants and bars that are used by guests, locals and businessmen and women. Views, bites and pool-side relaxation Lebanon is famous for its food, so it would be wrong not to over-indulge at the hotel’s bars and restaurants. Guests can enjoy sea views, cocktails, bites and single malt whiskies on the rooftop Eau De Vie Lounge Bar and Grill. The Mosaic restaurant offers international and Lebanese menus while the Cascade Lounge Bar is open all day for coffee, tea and cocktails. During the daytime guests can relax at the Amethyste Pool Bar and Lounge for drinks, shisha, bites and entrees. Then at night, you can enjoy a cocktail and, on the weekends, dance the night away to music from a rotating roster of local and international DJs.

by middleeasteye.net — Belen Fernandez — During the noisy aftermath of a basketball game in Beirut a couple of years ago, I asked my Lebanese companion when the sport had become popular in Lebanon. “When we discovered we could make it sectarian,” he joked. Now, the occasion has again arisen to contemplate themes of sectarianism and athletics in the context of a short documentary film titled Lebanon Wins the World Cup, originally released in 2015 but currently available for free streaming on Vimeo for the duration of this year’s World Cup competition.

Football and war The title is indeed fitting; after all, if you’ve ever experienced a World Cup in Lebanon, you’re likely to have assumed the Lebanese won the whole darn thing based on the amount of horn-honking, flag-waving, and general ruckus that transpires. This is particularly the case following a win by Germany or Brazil, both of which play host to sizable Lebanese populations. The film’s synopsis reads: “On the eve of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, two former enemies from the Lebanese civil war prepare to support their favourite team Brazil. Can the tournament unite them despite everything that’s gone wrong?”

The title is indeed fitting; after all, if you’ve ever experienced a World Cup in Lebanon, you’re likely to have assumed the Lebanese won the whole darn thing based on the amount of horn-honking, flag-waving, and general ruckus that transpires. This is particularly the case following a win by Germany or Brazil, both of which play host to sizable Lebanese populations. The film’s synopsis reads: “On the eve of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, two former enemies from the Lebanese civil war prepare to support their favourite team Brazil. Can the tournament unite them despite everything that’s gone wrong?” The duo consists of Edward Chamoun, a former fighter with the right-wing Christian Lebanese Forces, and Hassan Berri, a Shia Muslim who fought with the Lebanese Communist Party for several years of the conflict, which lasted from 1975-1990. The film spotlights their individual reflections on life and war, and then follows them as they meet in Beirut to root for Brazil. The answer to the question of whether or not the tournament can unite them isn’t difficult to predict. Both men, it turns out, had supported Brazil in the 1982 World Cup, which took place in the middle of the Lebanese civil war and overlapped with Israel’s summer invasion of Lebanon, a devastating affair that killed some 20,000 people, the majority of them civilians. Recalls Berri: “Your country is being invaded, it’s under attack. And imagine, all I could think about was a game.” Hooking up a car battery to a small television, he and his comrades tuned into the Italy-Brazil match, at which point the bombing suddenly stopped: “It was as if the Israeli Army wanted to watch the match too.” Lebanon clearly didn’t win that World Cup, and neither did Brazil, with victory instead going to the Italians – who incidentally also won the 2006 World Cup, which concluded a few days prior to the launch of Israel’s bloody 34-day assault on Lebanon. Some might therefore view Italy’s failure to qualify this year as reassuring.

BEIRUT,  (Xinhua) — Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri warned on Monday that the country’s economy will deteriorate if the new government is not formed soon. “The situation in the country is not alright and I have previously warned that the economy will be deteriorating if the government formation is further delayed and I am saying again […]

By Elise Harris Vatican City (CNA/EWTN News).- Joined by heads of Christian Churches in the Middle East, Pope Francis Saturday condemned the “complicit silence” and indifference of the world to the conflicts tearing the region apart, and urged Christians to pray for peace. “Indifference kills, and we desire to lift up our voices in opposition to this murderous indifference,” the pope said July 7. As Christians, “we want to give a voice to those who have none, to those who can only wipe away their tears,” he said. “For the Middle East today is weeping, suffering and silent as others trample upon those lands in search of power or riches.” “On behalf of the little ones, the simple ones, the wounded, and all those at whose side God stands, let us beg, ‘Let there be peace!’” Pope Francis spoke at the opening of a prayer encounter during his July 7 daytrip to Bari for an ecumenical gathering of patriarchs and heads of Christian churches in the Middle East, which holds the theme “Peace be upon you! Christians together for the Middle East.” Located in the southern Italian region of Puglia, Bari is known as the “porta d’Oriente,” or the “Eastern Gate,” because of its connection to both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches through the relics of St. Nicholas, who is highly venerated in both traditions. The ecumenical gathering in Bari drew the participation of some 19 leaders of Eastern Catholic Churches and Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, as well as ecclesial communities. Upon his arrival, the pope was greeted by local authorities before heading to the Basilica of St. Nicholas, where he personally greeted the 19 patriarchs who came to the event and venerated the relics of the saint alongside them in the basilica’s crypt.

After the prayer gathering, the pope and ecumenical leaders will return to the Basilica of St. Nicholas for a closed-door meeting opened by Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The group will then have lunch before Francis heads back to Rome. In his address during the prayer gathering, Pope Francis said veneration of St. Nicholas “crosses seas and bridges boundaries between Churches,” and prayed that the saint would intercede “to heal the wounds that so many people bear within them.” The Middle East, he said, is the place where Jesus lived and died, and is therefore the place where “the light of faith spread throughout the world.” However, despite the rich monastic and cultural traditions in the region, the Middle East has been overshadowed by “dark clouds of war, violence and destruction, instances of occupation and varieties of fundamentalism, forced migration and neglect,” Francis said, noting that all this has taken place “amid the complicit silence of many.” The Middle East, he said, “has become a land of people who leave their own lands behind. There is also the danger that the presence of our brothers and sisters in the faith will disappear, disfiguring the very face of the region. For a Middle East without Christians would not be the Middle East.” Francis recalled how at the beginning of the day, while the heads of churches were praying in front of the relics of St. Nicholas, he lit an oil lamp with a single flame as a symbol of unity. As Christians, “we want to kindle a “flame of hope” in the Middle East, he said, and prayed that light from this and additional lamps lit during the prayer gathering would be a sign of the light that continues to shine in darkness. “Christians are the light of the world not only when everything is bright around them, but also when, in dark moments of history, they refuse to be resigned to the encircling gloom but instead feed the wick of hope with the oil of prayer and love,” he said.

by newsweek.com – TOM O’CONNOR —  Lebanon’s economic minister has endorsed a plan to revitalize the country’s struggling economy—and it includes capitalizing on one of Lebanon’s best known, yet entirely illegal products. In an interview with Bloomberg News, Lebanese Caretaker Economy and Trade Minister Raed Khoury discussed Friday a plan devised by New York-based global consulting firm McKinsey & Company to diversify the country’s economy as it faces a deepening financial crisis. The plan reportedly included potential “quick wins” such as getting involved in reconstruction efforts for conflict-ridden Iraq and Syria, investing in the tourism sector and legalizing Lebanon’s illicit cannabis farms for medicinal exports. “The quality we have is one of the best in the world,” Khoury told the outlet, adding that the cannabis had the potential to bring in up to a billion dollars.

The Lebanese government has long struggled to crack down on the cannabis growers in the Bekaa Valley, an eastern territory bordering Syria and largely under the influence of the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah movement. The powerful Iran-backed political and paramilitary group has routinely denied any ties to the region’s booming drug industry, but independent farmers are still well armed and the region’s lawlessness has only increased with the outbreak of conflict in neighboring Syria. In March 2017, hashish farm operator Ali Nasri Shamas openly discussed his business with BBC News. “Just like Europe and the U.S. export terrorism to us, we sell them drugs,” Shamas told the station as he showed off large supplies of weapons and drugs. Local outlets such as Stepfeed and the 961 soon reported raids on his properties by Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces, turning up a generous amount of loot.

The Daily Star BEIRUT: An Egyptian court Saturday sentenced a Lebanese woman accused of “insulting Egypt and attacking religion” to eight years in prison, according to local media reports. The court decided Saturday afternoon to amend the initial 11-year sentence that was reported earlier in the day, but it remained unclear why the sentence was […]