The conflict in Syria has dealt serious repercussions to the Lebanese economy over the last two years. National instability and possibly politics has caused a drop in tourism, one of the country’s main sources of revenue. Yet while this sector of the economy has been hit, the past two years have seen property rental […]

  WASHINGTON: Google says the FBI is monitoring the Web for potential terrorist activity. But it can’t say how extensive the surveillance is. As part of the Google Transparency Report, the Internet giant this week released data on so-called National Security Letters — official requests for data under the Patriot Act passed after the September 11, […]

  BEIRUT: The 50-year-old bridge atop Charles Malek Avenue in Ashrafieh, used mainly by advertising companies and political parties as a platform for ads and campaign posts is slated to become part of a mega highway project.   The mega project will reconstruct and extend the deteriorating bridge for one kilometer in order to connect […]

  The UN High Commissioner for Refugees announced on Tuesday that the number of Syrian refugees on Lebanese territory has grown to exceed 325,000. The report added that only approximately 203,000 refugees are registered at the refugee agency while over 122,000 are still waiting for their registration process. Lebanon has been facing difficulties dealing with the increasingly […]

  A decision by President Michel Suleiman to sign a decree that calls for parliamentary elections on June 9 was an administrative and not a political move, Baabda palace sources said Tuesday. Suleiman signed the decree on Monday along with Prime Minister Najib Miqati, drawing the ire of the March 8 majority coalition over fears that […]

 Forbes came out with its latest billionaires list.

After the publication of the 2013 edition, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal has informed the publication that he would no longer like to be included (thank-you-very-much) According to a press release from the Prince’s investment firm, Kingdom Holding Company, he sent a letter to Steve Forbes severing his relationship with the list. That means Forbes will no longer receive information from Kingdom about its finances.

Kingdom claims that it has discovered "what appear to be intentional biases and inconsistencies in the Forbes valuation process…"

 Forbes response:

The prince first came on Forbes’ wealth-hunting radar in 1988, a year after our first Billionaires issue came out. The source: the prince himself, who contacted a FORBES reporter to let him know just how successful his Kingdom Establishment for Trading & Contracting company was–and to make clear that he belonged on the new list.

That outreach proved to be the first in what is now a quarter-century of intermittent lobbying, cajoling and threatening when it comes to his net worth listing. Of the 1,426 billionaires on our list, not one–not even the vainglorious Donald Trump–goes to greater measure to try to affect his or her ranking. In 2006 when FORBES estimated that the prince was actually worth $7 billion less than he said he was, he called me at home the day after the list was released, sounding nearly in tears. “What do you want?” he pleaded, offering up his private banker in Switzerland. “Tell me what you need.”