by thenational.ae--  David Enders -- The beaches of Jounieh, a popular Lebanese coastal city 10 miles north of Beirut, are typically reserved for laying in the sun, family days out, and watersports in the bay. But the bacteria levels in the waters around this former fishing village are more than 100 times the amount that would prompt the closure of a public beach in the US state of New York. Further south at Ouzai, a seaside neighbourhood of the Lebanese capital, a grey coat of raw sewage in the Mediterranean sea is clearly visible on Google Maps. “The smell can kill you,” says a 10-year-old boy from the neighbourhood. “We swim over there, instead of here,” he continues, pointing to an inlet adjacent to the one where the sewage enters the sea. The toxic waters of Ouzai and Jounieh are both grim examples of Lebanon's waste disposal problem, which has left the coastline with ever-worsening pollution.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Lebanon’s beaches were a destination for vacationers. But the issue of water safety in Lebanon has descended into such a crisis that authorities now advise against swimming in the sea anywhere along the country’s coastline. “The government must declare a state of emergency for water quality in Lebanon,” Michel Afram, head of the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI), told The National. The environmental body says high concentrations of heavy metals have been found off the coast and it is now conducting an assessment of fish caught in the country’s waters. The sewage flow at Ouzai is unique only in that it is readily visible – submarine pipes do most of the direct dumping. “Ninety percent of Lebanon’s wastewater goes untreated to the sea,” says Ziad Abichaker, an environmental engineer specialising in waste management. An inlet at Ouzai is murky brown and opaque. Just metres away, men fish for their catch. The sand on the beach, strewn with garbage, has turned black in places. “It’s been like this for years,” says one resident.

Lebanese Environment Minister Tarek Khatib has previously denied the country is experiencing a waste crisis. He could not be reached for comment. While some newly-elected members of parliament have drawn attention to the waste disposal issue in the last week, Mr Abichaker said he was not optimistic. “It seems this political class is unable to manage the country,” he says. “This is not rocket science, wastewater, treatment – it’s pretty basic. It just needs some integrity and some political willingness.” The mismanagement of Lebanon’s solid waste is an ongoing affliction that has only made the problem worse. Seaside landfills leach directly into the water around Beirut, and a recent ban on burning garbage has placed greater pressure on the government to find ways to dispose of the trash. Dumping has turned most of Lebanon’s rivers into ecological disasters, far more polluted than the sea into which they flow.

by cnbc.com -- Jeff Bezos is the richest person in the world, thanks to Amazon's growing success — most recently the e-commerce giant's billion-dollar acquisition of online pharmacy PillPack on Thursday helped boost Amazon's stock. On Friday, Bezos, Amazon's founder and CEO, was worth $141 billion, according to Bloomberg. That success is inspiring to many, especially other entrepreneurs. But sometimes even the richest guy in the world needs some motivation. So what does Bezos do? He recently revealed his source of daily inspo: a quote tacked on to his fridge. In May, Bezos tweeted a photo of a printed out poem, captioning it, "Love this quote. It's been on my fridge for years, and I see it every time I open the door. #Emerson."

The quote reads: "To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

Bezos gives credit for the poem to Ralph Waldo Emerson, and it has been widely attributed to Emerson. But the poem's origin has been debated (it's also been attributed to Bessie Anderson Stanley and Robert Louis Stevenson, according to the executive director of Poets.org). Whoever the author, the poem is about success, and Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon and the richest man in the world, is certainly successful by conventional means — his company has a $807 billion market cap.

But the quote gives a glimpse into the things Bezos values beyond money. While he might be best known for Amazon, Bezos also knows a thing or two about doing what you love, while still making a positive impact on the world, which are also common threads throughout the poem. He's described outer space as a passion of his, and is the founder of the space company Blue Origin, on which he's said he spends a billion dollars a year of his own money. He recently called his efforts with Blue Origin the most important work he's doing, which he not only says is imperative, but also a passion of his. "You don't choose your passions, your passions choose you," Bezos recently said of his commitment to space exploration during a forum on leadership. "All of us are gifted with certain passions, and the people who are lucky are the ones who get to follow those things." "[I]f I'm 80 years old, looking back on my life and the one thing I have done is make it so that there is this gigantic entrepreneurial explosion in space for the next generation," Bezos also said in a 2016 interview. "I will be a happy, happy man." In the past, he's also fleshed out the fun he has had building Amazon, and has been reported saying he "loves his job" and that "he tap dances into work."

by cnbc.com -- Jeff Bezos is the richest person in the world, thanks to Amazon's growing success — most recently the e-commerce giant's billion-dollar acquisition of online pharmacy PillPack on Thursday helped boost Amazon's stock. On Friday, Bezos, Amazon's founder and CEO, was worth $141 billion, according to Bloomberg. That success is inspiring to many, especially other entrepreneurs. But sometimes even the richest guy in the world needs some motivation. So what does Bezos do? He recently revealed his source of daily inspo: a quote tacked on to his fridge. In May, Bezos tweeted a photo of a printed out poem, captioning it, "Love this quote. It's been on my fridge for years, and I see it every time I open the door. #Emerson."

The quote reads: "To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

Bezos gives credit for the poem to Ralph Waldo Emerson, and it has been widely attributed to Emerson. But the poem's origin has been debated (it's also been attributed to Bessie Anderson Stanley and Robert Louis Stevenson, according to the executive director of Poets.org). Whoever the author, the poem is about success, and Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon and the richest man in the world, is certainly successful by conventional means — his company has a $807 billion market cap.

But the quote gives a glimpse into the things Bezos values beyond money. While he might be best known for Amazon, Bezos also knows a thing or two about doing what you love, while still making a positive impact on the world, which are also common threads throughout the poem. He's described outer space as a passion of his, and is the founder of the space company Blue Origin, on which he's said he spends a billion dollars a year of his own money. He recently called his efforts with Blue Origin the most important work he's doing, which he not only says is imperative, but also a passion of his. "You don't choose your passions, your passions choose you," Bezos recently said of his commitment to space exploration during a forum on leadership. "All of us are gifted with certain passions, and the people who are lucky are the ones who get to follow those things." "[I]f I'm 80 years old, looking back on my life and the one thing I have done is make it so that there is this gigantic entrepreneurial explosion in space for the next generation," Bezos also said in a 2016 interview. "I will be a happy, happy man." In the past, he's also fleshed out the fun he has had building Amazon, and has been reported saying he "loves his job" and that "he tap dances into work."

BEIRUT, (Xinhua) — Lebanon’s construction material industries are struggling to cope with up to the 40 percent lower demand for their products, …