By Samar Marwan – Struggling to find the words to inspire the graduating class of 2016 at American University of Beirut, critically …

by Joseph A. Kechichian

Beirut: The pro-Hezbollah Lebanese daily Al Akhbar reported in its Wednesday edition that several Lebanese banks started implementing the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act, which the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of Treasury introduced in December 2015, as a condition to doing business with the Lebanon.

Al Akhbar claimed that unnamed sources confirmed that the banking accounts of Hezbollah institutions, including the “Imdad Committee for Islamic Charity,” the “Martyrs’ Foundation” and the “St. George Hospital,” were suspended along with “hundreds or maybe thousands of other accounts.”

These same sources anticipated additional closures in the weeks ahead, although it was unclear why organisations, schools, and hospitals were targeted for retribution. The newspaper did not provide any details on links between the groups that saw accounts closed or suspended, with Hezbollah, although it identified the affected charities

American actress Milla Jovovich, Lebanese designer Elie Saab and Tunisian actress Afef Jnifen pose as the arrive for the amfAR’s 23rd Cinema Against AIDS Gala on May 19, 2016 at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d’Antibes, France (Photo Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images)

Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle

OK, so we all know Elie Saab as the couturier of choice to Tinseltown’s stars ever since Halle Berry walked the red carpet in one of his burgundy dresses at the 2002 Oscars and won Best Actress. An overnight success after he became the first Lebanese designer to dress an Academy Award winner, A-list celebrities, including Catherine Zeta-Jones, Emmanuelle Béart, Beyoncé, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, Aishwarya Rai, Marillon Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Kruger, Dita Von Teese and Sophie Marceau, figure among his clients clamoring to get their hands on his modern, elegant apparel showcasing his great attention to detail, intricate finishes and fastidiously-selected fabrics. He has today established himself as one of the most respected names in the fashion industry globally, known for dressing royalty like Queen Rania of Jordan and Middle Eastern princesses, and is present regularly at large media events, displaying his personal touch and developing close relationships over time.

By Joseph A. Kechichian, gulfnews

Beirut: Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) and Druze leader Waleed Junblatt noted on Sunday that the presidential chances of the Marada Movement’s pro-Syrian Sulaiman Franjieh have “started to collapse” and he was now willing to endorse Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Michael Aoun for the post.Franjieh’s chances probably ended after the Minister of the Interior, Nouhad Mashnouq, revealed that the UK, the US and Saudi Arabia played key roles in his nomination.

“Franjieh went too far during his trip to Paris and his chances to reach the presidency have started to collapse,” Junblatt said in an interview with the LBCI television station, referring to Franjieh’s Paris meeting with Future Movement leader Sa‘ad Hariri, though he added that the real roadblock was in Damascus because “Syria cannot accept a Lebanese president whose policies are not guaranteed”.

Junblatt was highly critical of Ashraf Rifi, who stunned all establishment parties with an unprecedented victory in last month’s municipal election in Tripoli, concluding that the Hariri machine’s failure — even when backed by former Prime Minister Najeeb Mikati and such figures as Mohammad Safadi and Faisal Karami — was “the beginning of Sulaiman Franjieh’s fall in the presidential race”.