By Paul Astih - english.aawsat.com

Beirut – The newly formed Lebanese Cabinet is expected to convene on Wednesday at the Baabda Palace, while Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri has officially moved to Beirut’s Grand Serail, the premiership’s headquarters. Wednesday’s Cabinet session, chaired by President Michel Aoun, will have only one item on its agenda – that is the formation of a ministerial committee that would be entrusted with drafting the ministerial statement, based on which Parliament will give the Cabinet the confidence vote.

Well-informed sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that there was a “quasi-agreement” on the content of the ministerial statement, which would be mainly based on President Michel Aoun’s oath-taking speech. The sources added that none of the political parties would have objections over the ministerial statement, especially that the current Cabinet was regarded as a transitional government and would only focus on drafting a new electoral law and holding parliamentary elections in May.

Information Minister Melhem Riachi said that no complications would hamper the drafting of the ministerial statement, stressing that all political parties have expressed their support to stances announced by Aoun during the oath-taking ceremony. In comments to Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, Riachi said that the presence of March 14 and March 8 figures in the government would bolster government’s work and make it more efficient.

ibda design has revealed its proposal for the beirut museum of art (BeMA), which will be the city’s first museum of its …

By the daily Star

The Lebanese ICT sector holds a lot of economic potential given its fast-growing pace and its vast reach to the different aspects of consumers’ daily life, health, transport, etc. In fact, the sector’s added value amounted to $1.3 billion in 2013 and is estimated to have reached $1.7 billion in 2016, hence contributing to more than 3 percent of gross domestic product. The ICT sector is considered the fastest-growing sector of the economy after recording a 7 percent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in the last two years alone.

According to Business Monitor International, the market size of information technology, which is an expanding segment of the ICT sector, registered a 12.6 percent CAGR in the last 10 years and is expected to hit $436 million in 2016 and $466 million in 2017.

The wave in favor of data usage seems to be modifying the ICT market’s dynamics in Lebanon. Between 2013 and 2015, according to the Telecommunications Ministry, the number of subscribers for broadband internet more than doubled, going from 480,000 to 1.24 million. Similarly, mobile data subscriptions hit 2.92 million in 2016 as compared to 2.02 million in 2015.

In the same context, low-cost Voice over Internet Protocol services through mobile devices boosted demand for data services at the expense of the standard calling services. Considered as the most successful technology of the last decade, VoIP services such as Skype, Viber and recently WhatsApp are becoming more popular among the Lebanese population as they provide a cheaper alternative for communication services. In fact, revenues deriving from voice calls are witnessing a double-digit decline simultaneously with data usage growing at a double-digit pace. “In fact, more than 50 percent of Alfa’s revenues are derived nowadays from data services rather than voice” said Marwan Hayek, chairman and CEO of Alfa.

by Monty Munford 

Steve Wozniak is a legend, rather better known as one of the co-founders of Apple, rather than the less-of-dapple contestant in a recent series of Dancing With The Stars. While never as charismatic as Jobs and who never made the fortune that Jobs amassed.  According to many sources, Wozniak is still worth $100 million, who travels widely and attracts a loyal audience wherever he goes.

Wozniak, however, was certainly cool in Beirut. Out of a total audience of 24,000 people, he was speaking on the main stage, where people were literally crawling other each other to be one of the lucky 8.00o who got to see him live and in person. He remains relevant without being constantly involved in investing in technology or Silicon Valley. While some of the Beirut audience were there to hear Steve Jobs stories by Wozniak-osmosis, others were emerging entrepreneurs working out of garages (nowadays known as accelerators) who just wanted to know how to scale their own

Moreover, Wozniak had stories and good ones. His collectors' piece business card is made out of metal and looks like something Captain Kirk may have  assembled on the Starship Enterprise 3D metal printer. He told the audience that after 9/11, even on private jets, diners would have to use plastic cutlery.