by arabnews.com DUBAI: As Haute Couture Fashion Week in Paris winds down, we are still daydreaming about the dazzling display designers from the region showcased in the culture capital. Lebanese designer Rabih Kayrouz put on a vibrant show on Monday, sending models down the catwalk in Dorothy-inspired ginghams and daring pop art-style primary colors. Over exaggerated, […]

by middleeastmonitor.com — Israel and Lebanon are holding indirect talks using the US as a messenger, Israeli media has reported. During a meeting in Washington a few days ago, US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford conveyed a messaged from Lebanon to his Israeli counterpart, Lt. General Gadi Eisenkot. This came after a similar […]

by dailystar.com.lb –– My Tailors & Co., an online design platform based in Paris, has launched a virtual space for Lebanese designers to promote their work. The company’s expansion to the Middle East, beginning with Lebanon was launched during Beirut Design Week. My Tailors & Co. was established in 2017 by Benedicte Charmes and began […]

by aawsat.com — Thaer Abbas —  Last month, Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, accompanied by the Director of Military Intelligence, Brigadier General Antoine Mansour, conducted separate visits to President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. In the three visits, the two military officials entered with a black book of about 15 cm in thickness and left without it. The book represents, in fact, the summary of the security work of the Directorate of Army Intelligence and contains thousands of pages detailing terrorist networks that were stopped and dismantled during 2017. The “black book” of terrorism in Lebanon is full of details and facts. Each cell is documented by the number of its members, its missions and objectives, the confessions of the detainees, their photographs, and often the pictures of the confiscated items, including weapons, military equipment and drugs. Lebanese security sources confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Lebanon has completely cut the roots of terrorism. These figures only represent the work achieved by the military intelligence directorate, the sources said, emphasizing efforts undertaken by other partners in counter-terrorism operations, especially by the General Directorate of General Security and the Information Division of the Internal Security Forces.

The sources, however, admit the possibility of sporadic terrorist acts that might erupt here or there, but stress that the foundation that the terrorists used to rely on to acquire their weapons, explosives and logistical support, was hit hard by the country’s competent institutions. “They will try, and we will remain vigilant to prevent any breach of Lebanese security,” the sources said. “I can assure you that Lebanon is among the safest countries in the world today,” they added. The Syrian refugee crisis has put great pressure on the Lebanese security, according to the sources, which expressed regret that more than 90 percent of detainees were of Syrian nationality, “which necessitates more work on this file.” While the sources acknowledged that political stability was not a basic condition in the security process, they indicated that incitement should not be part of the political rhetoric, pointing out that the Lebanese Army and other security forces were able to control the situation, but politicians should also contribute to reducing the tensions between the Lebanese people.

by npr.org — ALLISON AUBREY — Coffee is far from a vice. There’s now lots of evidence pointing to its health benefits, including a possible longevity boost for those of us with a daily coffee habit. The latest findings come from a study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine that included about a half-million people in England, Scotland and Wales. Participants ranged in age from 38 to 73. “We found that people who drank two to three cups per day had about a 12 percent lower risk of death compared to non-coffee drinkers” during the decade-long study, says Erikka Loftfield, a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute. This was true among all coffee drinkers — even those who were determined to be slow metabolizers of caffeine. (These are people who tend to be more sensitive to the effects of caffeine.) And the association held up among drinkers of decaffeinated coffee, too. In the U.S., there are similar findings linking higher consumption of coffee to a lower risk of early death in African-Americans, Japanese-Americans, Latinos and white adults, both men and women. A daily coffee habit is also linked to a decreased risk of stroke and Type 2 diabetes. What is it about coffee that may be protective? It’s not likely to be the caffeine. While studies don’t prove that coffee extends life, several studies have suggested a longevity boost among drinkers of decaf as well as regular coffee.

So, researchers have turned their attention to the bean. “The coffee bean itself is loaded with many different nutrients and phyto-chemicals,” nutrition researcher Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health told us in 2015. These compounds include lignans, quinides and magnesium, some of which may help reduce insulin resistance and inflammation. “My guess is that they’re working together to have some of these benefits,” Willett said. (He’s the author of a study that points to a 15 percent lower risk of early death among men and women who drink coffee, compared with those who do not consume it.) “Coffee, with its thousand chemicals, includes a number of polyphenol-like, antioxidant-rich compounds,” says Christopher Gardner, who directs nutrition studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center. He says there’s so much evidence supporting the idea that coffee can be a healthy part of your diet, it’s now included in the U.S. Dietary Guidelines. In 2015, the experts behind the guidelines concluded that a daily coffee habit may help protect against Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

by forbesmiddleeast.com — Lebanon’s first UX and design conference drew international crowds and big names Lebanon’s first user experience conference took place on May 10-11, 2018 in the historic American University of Beirut. The new event ​puts ​Beirut ​on ​the ​map ​as ​a ​hub ​of digital ​innovation ​and ​entrepreneurship. UX and digital innovation experts from […]

Education Minister Marwan Hamadeh announced Monday that 92 percent of students passed the General Sciences Baccalaureate, 83 percent the Life and Sciences Baccalaureate, 83 percent the Socio-Economic Baccalaureate, and 80 percent the Arts and Humanities Baccalaureate.

by lebaneseexaminer.com — Rabih K — Forbes Middle East recently released a list of the top 10 women entrepreneurs in the Middle East that “have championed the most innovative ideas and received the most external funding” in 2017. Two women from Lebanon made the list at numbers 6 and 9! The list included women of […]

by thenational.ae–  David Enders — The beaches of Jounieh, a popular Lebanese coastal city 10 miles north of Beirut, are typically reserved for laying in the sun, family days out, and watersports in the bay. But the bacteria levels in the waters around this former fishing village are more than 100 times the amount that would prompt the closure of a public beach in the US state of New York. Further south at Ouzai, a seaside neighbourhood of the Lebanese capital, a grey coat of raw sewage in the Mediterranean sea is clearly visible on Google Maps. “The smell can kill you,” says a 10-year-old boy from the neighbourhood. “We swim over there, instead of here,” he continues, pointing to an inlet adjacent to the one where the sewage enters the sea. The toxic waters of Ouzai and Jounieh are both grim examples of Lebanon’s waste disposal problem, which has left the coastline with ever-worsening pollution.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Lebanon’s beaches were a destination for vacationers. But the issue of water safety in Lebanon has descended into such a crisis that authorities now advise against swimming in the sea anywhere along the country’s coastline. “The government must declare a state of emergency for water quality in Lebanon,” Michel Afram, head of the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI), told The National. The environmental body says high concentrations of heavy metals have been found off the coast and it is now conducting an assessment of fish caught in the country’s waters. The sewage flow at Ouzai is unique only in that it is readily visible – submarine pipes do most of the direct dumping. “Ninety percent of Lebanon’s wastewater goes untreated to the sea,” says Ziad Abichaker, an environmental engineer specialising in waste management. An inlet at Ouzai is murky brown and opaque. Just metres away, men fish for their catch. The sand on the beach, strewn with garbage, has turned black in places. “It’s been like this for years,” says one resident.

Lebanese Environment Minister Tarek Khatib has previously denied the country is experiencing a waste crisis. He could not be reached for comment. While some newly-elected members of parliament have drawn attention to the waste disposal issue in the last week, Mr Abichaker said he was not optimistic. “It seems this political class is unable to manage the country,” he says. “This is not rocket science, wastewater, treatment – it’s pretty basic. It just needs some integrity and some political willingness.” The mismanagement of Lebanon’s solid waste is an ongoing affliction that has only made the problem worse. Seaside landfills leach directly into the water around Beirut, and a recent ban on burning garbage has placed greater pressure on the government to find ways to dispose of the trash. Dumping has turned most of Lebanon’s rivers into ecological disasters, far more polluted than the sea into which they flow.

by cnbc.com — Jeff Bezos is the richest person in the world, thanks to Amazon’s growing success — most recently the e-commerce giant’s billion-dollar acquisition of online pharmacy PillPack on Thursday helped boost Amazon’s stock. On Friday, Bezos, Amazon’s founder and CEO, was worth $141 billion, according to Bloomberg. That success is inspiring to many, especially other entrepreneurs. But sometimes even the richest guy in the world needs some motivation. So what does Bezos do? He recently revealed his source of daily inspo: a quote tacked on to his fridge. In May, Bezos tweeted a photo of a printed out poem, captioning it, “Love this quote. It’s been on my fridge for years, and I see it every time I open the door. #Emerson.”

The quote reads: “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

Bezos gives credit for the poem to Ralph Waldo Emerson, and it has been widely attributed to Emerson. But the poem’s origin has been debated (it’s also been attributed to Bessie Anderson Stanley and Robert Louis Stevenson, according to the executive director of Poets.org). Whoever the author, the poem is about success, and Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon and the richest man in the world, is certainly successful by conventional means — his company has a $807 billion market cap.

But the quote gives a glimpse into the things Bezos values beyond money. While he might be best known for Amazon, Bezos also knows a thing or two about doing what you love, while still making a positive impact on the world, which are also common threads throughout the poem. He’s described outer space as a passion of his, and is the founder of the space company Blue Origin, on which he’s said he spends a billion dollars a year of his own money. He recently called his efforts with Blue Origin the most important work he’s doing, which he not only says is imperative, but also a passion of his. “You don’t choose your passions, your passions choose you,” Bezos recently said of his commitment to space exploration during a forum on leadership. “All of us are gifted with certain passions, and the people who are lucky are the ones who get to follow those things.” “[I]f I’m 80 years old, looking back on my life and the one thing I have done is make it so that there is this gigantic entrepreneurial explosion in space for the next generation,” Bezos also said in a 2016 interview. “I will be a happy, happy man.” In the past, he’s also fleshed out the fun he has had building Amazon, and has been reported saying he “loves his job” and that “he tap dances into work.”