Khazen

Half a percent of Lebanese adults own half the country’s wealth

 At least 48 percent of Lebanon’s privately-held wealth is concentrated in the hands of some 8,900 citizens — just 0.3 percent of the adult population — according to calculations based on a new report. The nation’s staggering wealth inequality is detailed in Credit Suisse’s Global Wealth Databook 2013, released last week. The distorted wealth figures […]

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Sleiman vows to help secure bishops’ release

BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman vowed Monday to help secure the release of two bishops kidnapped in April by armed men near the Turkish border. A statement from his office said Sleiman’s remarks came during a meeting with senior security and military officers at the presidential palace in Baabda. The meeting addressed ways to improve the […]

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Reality check for East Med oil and gas

This month both Israel and Cyprus were reminded of an important lesson in searching for offshore oil and gas: nothing is guaranteed until you start to drill. Lebanon should pay attention. As recently as early September, Shemen Oil and Gas Resources – an Israeli company chaired by former Israeli Army Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi […]

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From Beirut to Washington

I’VE spent most of my career covering Middle East politics. I always thought it was its own unique field. But, in the last few weeks, I’ve felt myself to be at a real advantage trying to explain American politics. You see, it turns out that all those years covering Sunnis and Shiites, Israelis and Palestinians, […]

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Al-Rahi Prays for Release of Syria Clergymen

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has congratulated the families of the nine pilgrims who were released on Saturday following a 17-month kidnapping ordeal in Syria but called for setting free two bishops and three priests abducted there. During a mass on a pastoral visit to the Metn district, al-Rahi said: “We congratulate their relatives on their […]

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Abducted Lebanese pilgrims released

Qatari mediation secured the release of the Lebanese pilgrims abducted in Syria. The nine Lebanese Shiite pilgrims who were abducted in Syria’s Azaz last year were freed Friday night after prolonged efforts to release them. The Qatari Foreign Ministry said that “Qatari mediation secured the release of the Lebanese pilgrims abducted in Syria.”   General […]

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Suleiman: Pledges to Share Burden of Refugees Not Sufficient

President Michel Suleiman lamented on Friday that the international community was not sufficiently sharing the burden of the displaced Syrians, who have put a severe strain on Lebanon’s economy. Suleiman told the ambassadors of major powers and U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly that “the participation of countries in sharing the burden of Syrian […]

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Beirut makes it on Condé Nast Traveler’s Top World Cities

The "Top 25 Cities in the World" list had refreshingly surprising additions and rankings — Paris came in at a lowly 22 while Bruges and Cape Town tied for 11th place. Budapest and Florence tied for second, while the very top spot was seized by the colonial city of San Miguel de Allende in central […]

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