by Saeed Saeed

There are delicate-sound­­ing­ Arab pop-stars – and then you have Assi El Helani. Nicknamed
“The Knight of the Arab Song”, the Lebanese singer is a powerful
presence – both on stage and television screens as a mentor on MBC’s
­reality-singing contest, The Voice. Speaking
of voice, his is a full-bodied husky tenor that captures the drama and
heartache of the original and classic Levantine folk songs that have
become his calling card.

When
we caught up with the 45-year-old at this summer’s Mawazine Festival
in Rabat, Morocco, El Helani said he is proud that he has helped to
revive the once-­neglected Arab folk music genre. More so than
talent, however, he credits his success to hard work – something he
repeatedly reiterates to the youngsters he guides on The Voice.

by middleeastmonitor.com

Lebanon’s foreign minister has asked his country’s diplomats at the
UN to file a complaint “urgently” to the Security Council regarding the
latest Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty, Anadolu reported on Friday. Israel continues to occupy the southern Lebanese towns of Al-Ghajar and Shabaa Farms.

Jobran Bassil has sent a letter referring to Israel’s violation of UN
Security Council Resolution 1701 regarding the rights of the Lebanese
people and Lebanon’s sovereignty. “Since the Israeli occupation forces
persist in violating Lebanon’s sovereignty and fail to comply with
international resolutions, particularly 1701, we hereby ask you [the
diplomats] to inform the concerned authorities in the United Nations,
particularly the Security Council, of Israel’s offences in the occupied
Lebanese part of Al-Ghajar and Shebaa Farms.”

According to the Chinese Xinhua news agency, Israel has
imposed new rules, regulations and taxes in the occupied parts of
Al-Ghajar as well new illegal settlements. In addition, the construction
of new roads and other infrastructure has started in the occupied
Shebaa Farms area.

By middleeasteye.net Paul Iskandar, a 23-year-old fitness coach, has been crowned this year’s Mr Lebanon, squeezing out 15 other hopefuls for the chance to compete in the Mr International competition later this year. Following a gruelling night of events such as the swimsuit and general skills competition, Iskandar secured the top spot, with John Srour, […]

Biz Carson

Riding in a self-driving vehicle requires you to
suspend your belief that man is better than machine. You have to trust that the steering wheel moving below your
hovering hands is turning in the right direction and the right
amount.

You have to hope that the acceleration you feel will stop
when you reach the right speed and not careen out of control. You have to believe that this truck, a mashup of metal
and gears and circuit boards, is a better driver than you,
for you have given control of your life to a machine and are
blindly trusting that it actually sees the road better than
you. 

It’s a leap of faith, and one that I only realized how miraculous
it was after I saw how the self-driving truck I was riding in
knew the difference between an open lane and the open sky.

By Bassem Mroue, AP

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syria’s conflict
has caused hundreds of thousands of refugees to flee to Lebanon, putting
a huge strain on the Lebanese economy and its already-crumbling
infrastructure. But the five-year Syrian civil war has been a boon for at least one economic sector: the tobacco industry. At Lebanon’s main tobacco factory, located southeast of the capital,
Beirut, employees work round-the-clock but can barely cover the high
demand for locally-made cigarettes.

“We are lucky that there are
Syrians in Lebanon,” said George Hobeika, a senior official with the
state-owned factory, adding that consumption of some local brands in
Lebanon has more than tripled in five years. Lebanon is hosting
over a million registered Syrian refugees. Unofficially, the number of
Syrians who have fled to Lebanon is estimated to be closer to two
million. Many of them are unable to find work, and spend much of their
day smoking in tented encampments or makeshift accommodation around the
country.

In the months following the outbreak of war in March
2011, many of Syria’s cigarette factories closed down. Others were not
able to cover market demand after imports of tobacco stopped, leading to
a sharp rise in demand for Lebanese cigarettes – particularly Cedars, a
brand that is similar to Syria’s widely-smoked Hamra cigarettes.
Lebanon’s state-owned cigarette company sales peaked at US$1 billion in
2012.

by J.D. Durkin Eight television anchors in Egypt have been suspended by their network until they lose weight, an incident that has sparked wild controversy in the nation and the role of the state-run media outlet. The state broadcaster Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU) have given the women involved one month to pursue an […]

By Al Bawaba

Lebanon
and the Arab world have not forgotten about that famous feud between
Emirati singer Ahlam and Lebanese TV host Adel Karam. The flamboyant singer boiled Lebanese people’s blood when
she referred to them as “nothing more than falafel vendors
and beggars,” while instructing them to “deal with their ongoing trash
problem instead of talking about their “Queen Ahlam.” Yep, this actualy happened!

Since
then, the two haven’t seen eye to eye (shocker) and several trending
hashtags on Twitter urged Lebanon not to allow Ahlam on its soil. However, looks like their numerous attempts to keep the “Queen” out of Lebanon have gone down the drain. 

Miss
Controversy is set to return to Beirut in the near future to resume
filming the singing talent competition Arab Idol, where she sits (not
quietly of course) on the judging panel next to Lebanese stars Nancy
Ajram and Wael Kfoury, and Egyptian music producer Hassan el Shafei.