Khazen

Spanish king visits peacekeepers in south Lebanon

  BEIRUT: Spain’s King Felipe VI met with his country’s peacekeepers stationed in Lebanon’s volatile south Wednesday, where a Spanish soldier was killed in Israeli shelling earlier this year. Felipe arrived at the Spanish peacekeeping force’s headquarters in Marjayoun before midday to pay tribute to Cpl. Francisco Javier Soria Toledo, who was killed Jan. 28 […]

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Kanaan Denies Crack in Ties with Bkirki

  Change and Reform bloc lawmaker Ibrahim Kanaan stressed on Wednesday that ties with the seat of the Maronite church are still intact despite differences over political matters. “The national partnership with Bkirki is ongoing and comprehensive,” Kanaan said in comments to Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5). He noted that “only a unanimous national decision” […]

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Spanish king says committed to UNIFIL presence despite peacekeeper death

  BEIRUT: Spain remains committed to keeping its UNIFIL troops in southern Lebanon despite the recent death of a peacekeeper, King Felipe VI said Tuesday, calling for "peace and harmony." "Spain’s commitment to this (peacekeeping) aim is firm and decided," Felipe said in a speech in Beirut, according to a text in Spanish released by […]

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Several Terrorists Dead as Lebanese Troops Raid Jihadist Post Near Syria Border

  The Lebanese Army raided on Tuesday a jihadist post on the outskirts of the northeastern town of Ras Baalbek, attacking gunmen and causing casualties among their ranks, the military and the state-run National News Agency said. The Airborne Regiment controlled the strategic post at al-Mukhairmeh hill at dawn, leaving three of them dead and […]

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The Arab world is Iran’s new ‘Great Satan’: Future bloc

  BEIRUT: Tehran’s animosity towards the United States has been replaced with hostility towards Arabs, the Future bloc said Tuesday. “[Iran] used to consider the U.S. to be the Great Satan and [considered] a deal with America to be a great betrayal," read a statement released by the bloc after their weekly meeting. “Today [Iran] […]

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Rai: Lebanon has reached the ‘peak’ of suffering

  BEIRUT: The lack of a president and the sharp divide across the political spectrum has caused Lebanon to reach the peak of suffering, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai said Sunday. Distress in Lebanon has reached its higgest point as a result of the 11-month long presidential vacuum, the sharp rifts that have divided the country […]

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6 Truckers Enter Lebanon after Syria-Jordan Border Ordeal, Others Stranded in Saudi

  Several Lebanese truck drivers were able to cross to Lebanon on Sunday after being stranded for four days along the Syrian-Jordanian border. According to Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3), six truck drivers, who were trapped at the Jordanian Nasib crossing, were able to cross the al-MAsnaa border crossing in the eastern Bekaa Valley. Later […]

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US official, Lebanon FM tackle terrorism

  BEIRUT: U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil in Beirut Monday to address local and regional issues, including terrorism, a statement from Bassil’s media office said. It said the two men discussed the presidential election crisis and ways to maintain political stability in Lebanon. Talks also tackled the […]

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Beirut’s Bright Future As A Tech Hub For MENA, If Its Politicians Will Allow It

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As my flight out of Beirut reached cruising altitude, and the seat buckle lights flickered off, I leant back in my chair and wondered if I had, in fact left the country just in time. Admittedly, it wasn’t quite an ‘Argo-esue’ escape from another Middle Eastern country, but labelling a controversial government minister on a conference stage as an “idiot” maybe wasn’t the wisest of moves. Beirut is not a town known for its placid history, after all. Furthermore, my comment had made the front page of the Beirut Daily Star the next day. Perhaps it was just as well that I left the next day.

But the trip was worth it. Beirut is rapidly shaping up to be a powerhouse for startups in the Middle East. It has many of the key elements: a highly entrepreneurial culture; incubators and accelerators; venture capital; some gradually favourable government policy and access to growth funding. The exits and the ‘PayPal mafias’ may be a ways off but its a beginning. In part because it is the most liberal state in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa)region, and has a western-style banking system bequeathed to it by the French a long time ago, Lebanon is uniquely poised to generate startups which aim both at the Arab world and the wider world at large.

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