By Payton Bruni — albawaba.com — Lebanese MMA fighter Sandra Succar has become a world champion in the women’s bantamweight division for …

by english.aawsat.com -- Lebanon’s political forces fear a low turnout in the upcoming parliamentary elections on May 15, as recent opinion polls published by statistics centers have pointed to a lack of public enthusiasm over the elections. The situation has prompted the country’s politicians to urge the voters to participate massively in order to achieve the required change. Religious clerics, including Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rai, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian, and other prominent figures, have been repeatedly calling for a wide participation in the elections, as a first step towards addressing the deteriorating economic and social crises.

In this regard, Lebanese Forces MP Pierre Bou Assi, said he hoped that the voter turnout in Baabda constituency would reach one hundred percent, stressing that boycotting the polls was “the worst option under these circumstances.” In turn, member of the Democratic Gathering bloc, MP Wael Abu Faour, said that the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) was facing a major electoral battle. “We are confident that the people of Rashaya and the Western Bekaa have understood this challenge,” he stated.

by AFP  -- Iraq, once synonymous with conflict and chaos, is becoming a land of opportunity for Lebanese job-seekers fleeing a deep economic crisis back home. Akram Johari is one of thousands who fled Lebanon's tumbling currency and skyrocketing poverty rates. Last year, he packed his bags and boarded a plane from Beirut to Baghdad, using social media to search for opportunities. "I didn't have enough time to look for a job in the Gulf," the 42-year-old said, explaining why he eschewed the more traditional path for those seeking economic opportunities in the region. With its relative proximity and visas on arrival for Lebanese, the Iraqi capital seemed a good option. "I had to take quick action, and so I came to Baghdad and began searching for work on Instagram," Johari said, speaking in a restaurant he has run for about a month.

Lebanon is grappling with an unprecedented financial crisis that the World Bank says is of a scale usually associated with war. Beirut's crisis, driven by years of endemic corruption, has seen Lebanon's currency lose more than 90 percent of its value against the dollar. Lebanon's 675,000-pound monthly minimum wage now fetches around $30 on the black market, and about 80 percent of the population now lives in poverty, according to the U.N. When he left Beirut, Johari was earning the equivalent of about $100 per month. In Iraq, he earns enough to support his family back home, he said.

by knews --The American University of Beirut is officially opening its doors beginning next year with a campus in Paphos, according to Paphos Mayor Phedonas Phedonos. In statements on Wednesday, Mr. Phaedon said that the new University will mark a new era for the city of Paphos. Construction of the new campus is expected to start in June or July of this year, with a cost of 29 million euros. New enrollments are expected to begin in September 2023. According to the Mayor, the Paphos campus of the American University of Beirut will accommodate approximately 2 thousand students and will offer three faculties, computer science, economics and business and the School of Civil Engineering. In his statements, the Mayor thanked the government for its support of the project while announcing that the agreement with AUB will be officially formalized in a ceremony this Friday in which the Mayor, the President of Cyprus and the US Deputy Secretary of State are expected to be present.

​​Founded in 1866, the American University of Beirut bases its educational philosophy, standards, and practices on the American liberal arts model of higher education. It was granted institutional accreditation in June 2004 by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools in the United States which was reaffirmed in 2016. AUB Beirut currently offers more than 130 programs for bachelor's, master's, MD, and Ph.D. degrees.