by middleeastmonitor.com — Israel and Lebanon are holding indirect talks using the US as a messenger, Israeli media has reported. During a …

by dailystar.com.lb –– My Tailors & Co., an online design platform based in Paris, has launched a virtual space for Lebanese designers …

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.