by bytheeast.com -Tina Abou Riz- Beit Beirut before the renovation. Lebanon represented the Arab world’s cultural hub, through its various “annual arts festivals and vibrant gallery scene”. However, in recent times, due to the country’s economic instability, coupled with political upheaval and a lack in state funds to support arts, Lebanon was left behind in this field. As Lebanese cultural heritage gathered dust behind closed doors while others like the UAE flourished with “state-funded museums” with the affiliation to “world-class institutions”, namely “Louvre Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi”. These architectural and arts centres have beckoned tourists from across the globe. However, changing times are upon Lebanon, as recently Beirut city has seen several museums being inaugurated, refurbished or re-opened, while the plans of building “four art and archaeological museums set” in the coming five years is signal towards a “new phase in Lebanon’s cultural development” to revive Lebanese cultural heritage. Lebanon has winessed significant excavation expeditions all over the country, whereby reinforcing its “archaeological richness”. The National Museum of the country, based in Beirut, complements the small ones present in the excavation sites. The former features “a large collection of priceless artefacts” obtained from all over the country which ranges from “prehistory to the end of the Ottoman Empire” time frame. After a spell of forty years, in 2016, the locked doors of the National Museum re-opened whereby leading the visitors to its basement. The government of Italy had provided a grant of “€1.2 million” for the refurbishing cost. Among the artefacts displayed in the basement are “funerary art that includes a human tooth dating back 250,000 years, unique 7,000-year-old Phoenician marble sarcophagi and 13th century mummies from the Qadisha Valley”.

Furthermore, there are plans of expanding the museum to house “temporary exhibitions and workshops” space besides a cafe area. With the expanding Lebanese cultural heritage drive through various projects, private and state initiatives are coming together in the country. The “Lebanese Heritage Foundation”, a charitable organisation has taken up the responsibility of “raising funds”. Taking the Lebanese cultural heritage revival drive forward, Beirut History Museum too is set to open in the coming five years. This museum also holds “major archaeological” assets which will be displayed in “a glass building designed by the Pritzker-prize winning Italian architect Renzo Piano”. Besides exhibiting the archaeological richness of Lebanon, the new museum will have the task of recounting “the history of Beirut across the centuries”. The building, thus designed by Piano, will be enclosed within an “archaeological garden”, while Khoury added: “It is glass so that it doesn’t close the view from Martyr’s Square to the Petit Serail, down to the sea”.

by hindustantimes.com — Lebanese environmentalists on Saturday sank 10 old tanks and armoured vehicles to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea in a novel attempt to attract divers and create new habitats for marine life. Three km off the coast of the city of Sidon, a huge crane on the back of a ship manoeuvred […]

By Gulfnews  Ali Al ShoukStaff Reporter Bassam Za’za’Legal and Court Correspondent — Dubai: The suspected killer of a Lebanese woman, whose body was found in her flat, was arrested by Dubai Police in less than 18 hours of the crime, Gulf News has learnt. The suspect, also Lebanese, is currently being interrogated by the Public Prosecution. The […]

BEIRUT (Reuters) – The main leader of the Druze sect in Lebanon on Friday attacked the Syrian government for failing to stop an Islamic State massacre of Druze in Syria, saying it should have noticed the militants gathering to attack. “No one can tell me that the squadrons of many American, Russian and foreign planes […]

BEIRUT, July 27 (Xinhua) — Russia and Lebanon signed Friday a cooperation agreement to boost collaboration in trade and investment between the two countries, according to a statement issued by Lebanon’s Chamber of Commerce, Agriculture and Industry. “The agreement aims at facilitating cooperation between Russia and Lebanon in trade, investment, technology and industry, in addition […]

by daily star.com.lb — More high-level talks on the government’s formation are scheduled for the next 48 hours, political sources said Thursday, following recent marked progress on the issue raised hopes that a new Cabinet could be announced before the end of the month. While no new details were announced Thursday, the country’s three top leaders discussed the latest developments in Cabinet formation negotiations, now in their third month, in a joint meeting at Baabda Palace. The meeting among President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and Speaker Nabih Berri took place after they had held talks with a Russian delegation on a Russian proposal on the return of Syrian refugees from Lebanon. A source close to Berri said that the speaker had stressed translating the prevailing positive atmosphere into forming a government as soon as possible, noting its necessity in preventing Lebanon’s economic crisis from being further exacerbated. The three leaders were in agreement on the need to accelerate the government’s formation and agreed that Hariri intensify his meetings during the next 48 hours to that end, a statement from Aoun’s office said. Cabinet formation had been discussed in light of communications made by Hariri following his meeting with Aoun Wednesday. Berri later withdrew from the meeting, leaving Aoun and Hariri alone.

Adding to the positive atmosphere, caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil, Berri’s key aide, said before heading into a joint session of parliamentary committees that a government was “closer than ever.” The major remaining knot is the bitter row between the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces over the ministerial share each party will have in the next Cabinet. Speaking about that disagreement in comments published Thursday, LF chief Samir Geagea said that his party maintained its right to appoint at least five ministers, and that the FPM, along with the president’s share of ministers, should have eight. Geagea told local daily Al-Joumhouria that the LF had secured 36 percent of the Christian vote in May’s elections, which he said translates into a third of the 15 ministries allocated to Christians. “In all cases, we are entitled to six ministries, according to the Maarab Understanding,” he added, referring to a landmark 2016 agreement between the LF and the FPM that detailed the division of the Christian share of political power in the country between the two parties.

by lebaneseexaminer.com — As a young girl growing up, actress Shannon Elizabeth always maintained close ties to Lebanese culture. After all, her parents belonged to a local Lebanese-Syrian club in Waco, Texas, and building a strong community bond was central to the family. “I was really proud of that side of my life,” Elizabeth told […]

by aawsat.com — Indications of an attempt by what was known as the March 8 coalition to keep the normalization of relations with Syria on the discussion table have raised objections by the so-called March 14 alliance, which mainly includes al-Mustaqbal Movement, the Lebanese Forces (LF) and the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP). This dispute has […]

by entrepreneur.com — TechCrunch, the global online publisher of technology news, is hosting its first ever startup competition for entrepreneurs across the MENA region. Partnering with Facebook, TechCrunch is bringing its flagship Startup Battlefield challenge to Beirut on October 3, 2018, to be hosted at the Beirut Digital District (BDD) in Beirut, a hub for […]

Source: Reuters BEIRUT: Lebanon’s prime minister-designate Saad al-Hariri said on Wednesday he was more optimistic than before that a new government would be formed. “In the coming days we will complete the positive consultations with the president … and God willing, matters are on the way to a solution,” he said in televised remarks after […]