By: Egypt Today staff -- CAIRO – June 2020: Lebanese megastar Elissa shared her song "Zakaria" on her official Twitter account and dedicated it to her dad. "For the love of my dad," tweeted Elissa. The famed Lebanese singer previously announced via her official Twitter account that she will release her upcoming album very soon. Elissa's album was delayed because of the spread of coronavirus. Elissa gave a dazzling performance in her latest online concert which took place on June 4. During the successful concert, Elissa’s fans launched the hashtag "Mekamleen Ma’a Elissa" (We will Continue with Elissa) and the hashtag trended in number 4 in Egypt. The fans interacted with her during the performance dubbing her the Queen, the charming, the icon and the legend. The concert was organised by Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Entertainment.

Elissa's latest song "Ahwet El-Madi" (The Coffee of the Past) achieved huge success, amassing over 1 million views on YouTube. The song is written by Seham Sho'aa, composed by Mohamed Rahim and distributed by Kameel Khoury. The famed Lebanese star released her song "Hangany Kaman w Kaman" (We will sing again and again) on April 11. The heartthrob singer performed in Alexandria on December 12. This concert was Elissa's first in Egypt after her previous decision to quit singing. Later, she performed a massive concert in Dubai on February 14.

by arabnews.com -- NAJIA HOUSSARI -- BEIRUT: Lebanon’s hookah fans are returning to bars and restaurants amid warnings that the smoky pastime carries even greater health risks because of the coronavirus. A few days ago Tourism Minister Ramzi Msharrafieh allowed restaurants and coffee shops to serve hookah, although some cafes had started offering it weeks earlier to attract customers. “Hookah alone is totally damaging to the health, and its damage is much higher now with the spread of the new coronavirus,” chest and emergency specialist Dr. Wael Jaroush told Arab News. He was irritated by restaurant owners who claimed they were protecting their customers’ health by throwing away leftovers but at the same time also offered them hookah. “As if smoking hookah alone does not pose a threat to people’s health,” Jaroush added. “The latest statistics in Lebanon have shown that 33 percent of girls between the ages of 16 and 18, and 42 percent of young boys of the same age range smoke hookah and this is a real disaster.”

Tony Ramy, who is president of the Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Cafés, Night-Clubs & Pastries, said that a quarter of people went to restaurants and cafes to smoke hookah. “Nothing can save restaurants and cafes from their financial crisis, but hookah will restore a certain atmosphere to restaurants that will procure added value for Lebanese cuisine,” he told Arab News, referring to the months of economic turmoil and hardships the country has endured. He said there were 2,500 cafes in Lebanon and that allowing them to serve hookah again might boost their business. Msharrafieh, who is himself a doctor, stipulated that hookah must be served outdoors and warned people about the health risks of smoking and the damage it had on the respiratory system.

By Miriam Jackson– theunionjournal.com —  Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri has recently met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and admonished …

by thenational.ae -- Joyce Karam -- A Hezbollah financier who was convicted in a US court and designated a “global terrorist” by the Treasury Department is due to be released nearly two years before the end of his sentence following a judge's ruling, two Lebanese sources following the case told The National. Kassim Tajideen is a Lebanese-Belgian citizen and a multi-millionaire who was designated in 2009 for supporting Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant organisation labelled as a terrorist group by the US. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2019 but is now expected to be released by the US government on grounds of “goodwill”. Mr Tajideen, 64, was arrested in Morocco in 2017 and pleaded guilty in December 2018 for making nearly $1 billion (Dh3.7 billion) in illegal transactions and evading US sanctions. In August of 2019, following his extradition, he was ordered to pay $50 million alongside his prison sentence.

The director of hostage affairs at the Syrian emergency taskforce, Nizar Zakka, welcomed the news of his impending release. Mr Zakka, who was held hostage in Iran for four years, told The National the release is “gesture of good will” from the US. A US official at the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Mr Tajideen had left the federal prison where he had been held since August 2019. “Kassim Tajideen left the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons on June 11, 2020," the official said, adding that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may have more information.