By Naharnet – The upcoming parliamentary elections will apparently be held under a new law based on proportional representation, media reports said …

by AFP

For star trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf, famed for his award-winning film soundtracks and jazz-inspired mixing of eastern and western sounds, improvisation is "a way of life". "Improvisation is a discipline that people don't understand well," the Franco-Lebanese musician, who has played with Sting and Elvis Costello among others, told AFP. "For me it symbolises and sums up perfectly the best way to live, alongside each other," he said during a trip to Lebanon to prepare for a July concert at a festival in Baalbek. "To succeed in communicating with each other we must listen to each other and have empathy with others, despite the differences."

The 36-year-old, born in Lebanon, fled with his parents -- both musicians -- during the country's 15-year-civil war and settled in France. He plays a four-pistoned instrument invented by his trumpeter father in the 1960s, as well playing the piano, composing and teaching.He won French cinema's highest award, a Cesar, in February for the music to "In the Forests of Siberia". He also wrote the score for Japanese director Naomi Kawase's "Radiance" which was nominated for a Palme d'Or at this month's Cannes film festival. Composition aside, Maalouf has a passion for the spontaneous. He is the artistic director of m'IMPROvise, a June festival in Etampes near Paris, with Quincy Jones' protege, pianist Alfredo Rodriguez, topping the line-up. He has gathered hundreds of people for joint improvisations, including at the 2015 Fete de la Musique in Paris. "To improvise with others is to share a unique moment that will never happen twice," he said. Nephew of leading Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf, a member of the Academie Francaise, the trumpeter says he does not try to make his music popular.

by the daily star lebanon BEIRUT: The family of a Lebanese man detained in Iran since 2015 have held talks with several …

by news-medical.net UK Lebanon Tech Hub (UKLTH) announced today that it will fund the research and development of ediamond (Electromagnetic Diabetes Monitoring Device): a one of its kind non-invasive blood glucose-monitoring device, which is being developed by the Maroun Semaan faculty of Engineering and Architecture and the Faculty of Medicine at the American University of Beirut (AUB).

Mr. Nicolas Sehnaoui, Chairman of the UK Lebanon Tech Hub

The UK Lebanon Tech Hub (UKLTH) is a joint initiative by Banque du Liban, Lebanon’s Central Bank, and the UK Government through the British Embassy in Beirut.  It aims to support the growth of the Lebanese knowledge economy through an International Research Centre, which was recently given £2.5 million funding from the British Government. ediamond is a continuous glucose monitoring wearable device that will enable diabetic patients to check their glucose levels without needing to come into contact with their blood stream, i.e. through conventional methods such as repeatedly pricking their finger with a needle throughout the day. The lead investigators of ediamond are Dr. Joseph Costantine and Dr. Rouwaida Kanj from the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, and Dr. Assaad Eid from the Faculty of Medicine.