Khazen

Why Arabic students choose Beirut

  Despite Lebanon’s increasingly unstable political situation, students from around the globe seek its universities, eager to immerse themselves in Arab culture and the Arabic language.   The American University of Beirut and the Lebanese American University are among the schools that offer intensive Arabic language programs throughout the summer. Upon acceptance, students take an […]

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A CALL FOR HELP: Christians in war-torn Iraq face murder, rape

 

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) – "The situation was already bleak but now it has got a whole deal worse. For the first time the ever, the bishops have raised the doomsday scenario of an Iraq emptied of Christians" John Pontifex, spokesperson for the UK branch of the organization says
Church In Need has been in close contact with the bishops of Iraq. Bishops there have watched their people flee from the cities. Their churches have been torn to the ground and innocent men, women and even children, Christian and Muslim, being brutally killed.
Let’s all pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in Iraq —
Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako of Baghdad described the Christians exodus and went on to suggest that Christianity in Iraq was coming "to an end," the Vatican Radio reported.
"This is very serious. We are losing our community. If Christian life in Iraq comes to an end, this will be a hiatus in our history," he said. The head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, which is in full communion with Rome, said the future of Iraq’s Christians is under threat: "In 10 years there will perhaps be 50,000 Christians left." Areas taken over by ISIS have Christians being taxed for being non-Muslims. Many cannot afford to pay it. Horrifying reports arose last week of a man being forced to watch as ISIS militants raped his wife and daughter after the family was unable to pay the tax. He later committed suicide.

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Film history faces destruction again

  On June 20 1962, Baalbeck Studios was born, established by Palestinian bankers and businessmen Yousef Beidas and Badie Bulos. During the 1960s and ’70s the studio went on to become one of the region’s most-prominent audiovisual production hubs, working with famous writers, actors and directors and collaborating with international studios.   The outbreak of […]

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Al-Rahi Infuriated over Ongoing Presidential Vacuum

  Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi expressed anger on Sunday over the ongoing delay in electing a new head of state as reports said that he intends to propose the names of new candidates to fill the vacant post. “The Patriarch’s anger is increasing over the ongoing presidential vacuum,” al-Rahi’s visitors quoted him as saying in comments […]

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U.S. blacklists Hezbollah agents buying drone components

  The United States moved Thursday to blacklist a group of companies it said covertly helped Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah militia acquire components for surveillance drones. The U.S. Treasury placed sanctions on Beirut-based Stars Group Holding, which it said purchased electronics and other technology via offices in China and Dubai to support Hezbollah’s military operations.   That […]

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Lebanese scientist finds consciousness switch

  BEIRUT: When MohammadKoubeissi readied his epileptic patient for a routine exam, he did not know he was about to discover the on-off switch for consciousness. As the director of George Washington University’s Epilepsy Center zapped a region called the “claustrum” deep in the patient’s brain with a mild electric current, a blank stare took hold […]

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John Kerry Still Has a Chance in the Middle East

  The security situations in Iraq and Gaza continue to deteriorate, the war in Syria shows no signs of abating, and Libya slips nearer and nearer to civil conflict—but Secretary of State John Kerry has trained his eye on two separate crises in the region. Resolving an elections dispute in Afghanistan and reaching a landmark […]

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U.S. Sanctions Amhaz Electronics Firm for Allegedly Helping Hizbullah Buy Material Used in Drones

  The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday sanctioned a network of firms and individuals in Lebanon, the UAE and China for allegedly procuring sophisticated military equipment for Hizbullah, including materials for aerial drones. “As the Treasury Department announced today, the United States targeted a key Hizbullah procurement network by designating brothers Kamel Mohamad Amhaz and […]

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Saab’s translucent gowns light up Paris

  Elie Saab Wednesday seduced the crowd at his winter couture show with a romantic collection of old-time glamour set under the mood lighting of several enormous chandeliers.   Furs draped across gowns covered top to bottom in pearl embroidery. Transparent skirts revealed pairs of pale legs beneath, and lingerie bustiers peaked through sheer chiffon. […]

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Plans to naturalise Syrians in Lebanon unlikely

UN proposal to create permanent refugee camps in Lebanon likely to be rejected by Lebanon’s cabinet   Dubai The United Nations High Commmissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has announced plans to naturalise 100,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon, according to Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas, who says he obtainted the report. In comments published in the Al […]

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