By Borzou Daragahi
Los Angeles Times / February 5, 2008 BEIRUT – In a nation shaken by war, divided by religious strife, and paralyzed by political feuds, Lebanese actor-director Nadine Labaki found the perfect subject for her first film: a hair salon filled with chatty women obsessed with sex and looks.more stories like this "Caramel," the 33-year-old Labaki’s bittersweet film of love, heartache, and friendship, has quickly become one of the most successful Lebanese films ever, scooping up awards, breaking sales records, and earning kudos on the international film circuit. It will begin showing in US art houses Friday, including at Kendall Square in Cambridge.
"It was not easy because I made a film that was talking about life and colors and people and love and everyday life when my country was at war again," Labaki said during a recent chat over mint-flavored lemonades at an old-fashioned cafe on Beirut’s Gemayzee Street. "I think I dealt with it, and I understood that maybe that’s the way it was supposed to be; that it’s my mission to show a Lebanon that has nothing to do with war and this negative image that people have."
"Caramel" follows a group of women, mostly played by amateur actors, whose lives revolve around a Beirut hair salon. Layale, played by Labaki, is tangled in a steamy romance with a married man. Shiite Muslim Nisrine reveals to co-workers that she’s not a virgin, a fact that could complicate her upcoming marriage. Rima, a lesbian, falls in love with one of her glamorous clients. Middle-aged Jamale struggles to maintain her acting career while Rose must decide between pursuing an autumn romance or caring for her deranged sister Lili.
Mona Alami , Inter Press, BEIRUT: A bomb tears through the bustling Chevrolet area on the outskirts of Beirut. Bad news travels fast: Captain Wissam Eid from the Internal Security Forces has been killed in the blast. This is a typical day for Lebanese citizens. The past year has already been grim for most Lebanese businesses. Crisis after crisis has weighed down heavily on the land of the cedars. A permanent protest movement, security problems, a summer war in a Palestinian refugee camp, and sporadic bombings have brought Lebanon to its knees. 
BEIRUT (AFP) – Lebanese Shiite opposition chief Hasan Nasrallah and Christian ally Michel Aoun on Wednesday demanded veto power in a future government to solve the country’s protracted presidential crisis. In a rare joint television interview on the second anniversary of their controversial alliance, Nasrallah and Aoun also insisted that their union helped spare Civil War. 
by Jocelyne Zablit, BEIRUT (AFP) Lebanon’s army arrested 17 people on Saturday, including several soldiers, over the shooting deaths of seven people during protests in Beirut that raised fears of civil unrest in a country already gripped by political crisis. "In light of the events that took place on January 27 in the region of Mar Michael and Shiyah and that led to the deaths of seven civilians and left a number of people injured, including soldiers, the military police ordered these arrests," a statement said. 
Daily star, 
DAMASCUS (AFP) – Lebanese diva Fairuz has taken to the stage to perform in the Syrian capital for the first time in more than 20 years to the rapt delight of her fans. The singer, 73, electrified her audience with a host of favourites on Monday night, including the operetta Sah al-Nawm which tells the story of a village chief who is always sleeping and fails to address the needs of villagers.
Jan 27- Seven people have been shot dead in Lebanon’s capital after protests over power cuts. At least five of the dead in Sunday’s clashes in Beirut were supporters of the opposition, opposition sources said. At least four of the dead were close to the Hezbollah, which together with Amal has the support of the country’s Shia population. 
The deadlock has fuelled sectarian tensions between Shia Muslims loyal to the opposition Hezbollah and Amal factions, and Sunni supporters of Saad al-Hariri, who leads the governing March 14 coalition. Amal, which is led by Nabih Berri, the parliament speaker, called on its followers to halt the protests. "We have no link to this action. We call on people not to react. We call on them to pull out of the streets," Ali Hassan Khalil, a senior Amal official, told the Reuters agency. Hezbollah members used loudspeakers to urge calm. The violence escalated after an Amal activist was shot dead when the army moved to break up a demonstration against power cuts.
