KHIRBET QANAFAR, Lebanon (AFP) – Lebanon Bekaa Valley is gaining a new reputation as a wine-making region increasingly attractive to vintners. More than a dozen labels have appeared on the market since the end of the country’s 1975-1990 civil war with each vying for recognition among the growing crop of New World wines.

And judging by the awards some of the wines are receiving at international fairs, they are holding their ground amid stiff competition and peaking the interest of connoisseurs. "The Lebanese wine industry today produces about seven million bottles annually out of which some three million are exported," said Serge Hochar, head of the Union Vinicole du Liban, a loose association of wine producers.

"It is a 25-million-dollar industry out of which about 10 million dollars represent exports."That is more than triple the receipts of the mid 1990s when the wine sector began taking off after the devastating years of war.At the time, the lush Bekaa Valley, known in Roman times as the breadbasket of the world and home to a Roman temple dedicated to Bacchus, the god of wine, was synonymous with guerrilla activity and hashish rather than wine making.

DAMASCUS (AFP) Oct 14– Syrian President Bachar Assad slammed Lebanese who he said had chosen to side with Israel  and submit themselves to foreigners instead of taking the Arab path and that of resistance.

In an interview published on Thursday, Assad said of the neighbouring nation where it was powerbroker for nearly three decades: "It is impossible to build a relationship with some parties who in Lebanon … are close to Israel, submit themselves to foreign countries and do not believe in Lebanon."

He told the Tunisian daily al-Shuruk, in an interview reprinted in official Syrian media: "Most of the forces who hold power in Lebanon have adopted this position which rebounds on Syrian-Lebanese relations."

MICHAEL ASTOR, Associated Press Writer Fri Oct 12, 12:47 PM ET, RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Brazil’s Supreme Court denied a Lebanese request to extradite a fugitive banker accused of a multimillion-dollar bank fraud and wanted for questioning in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Victor Mauad, attorney for Rana Koleilat, said Friday his client is waiting for her passport to be returned and that she had been given eight days to leave the country once it is. "She doesn’t know where she will go yet, probably some country in Europe," Mauad said in a telephone interview, adding his client has both British and Lebanese citizenship. "She’s looking for a safe place. She’s worried for her life."

Koleilat was jailed on fraud charges in Lebanon in 2004, but fled the country. She was arrested in Sao Paulo  on March 12, 2006, for allegedly trying to bribe police officers who located her for Interpol. Police said at the time she offered a US$200,000 (euro140,000) bribe for her freedom. Mauad said she had been acquitted of the Brazilian bribery charges and was released from jail Wednesday. He declined to say where she was staying because she fears for her safety.

 Oxford Business Group 2007 Liban post and government officials signed an agreement at the end of September that is expected simplify the business registration process in Lebanon.  The International Finance Corporation (IFC) , a member of the World Bank Group, worked with the government to design the new process. The initiative was the result of one of eight advisory programmes undertaken by the IFC in an effort to restart the economy following the summer war of 2006.

"The reform sends a very positive message to the private sector and entire investment community," said Thomas Mouillier, IFC regional program manager for business regulatory reforms. Efforts were made to standardise the process by making it possible to register a new business with a single form that can be submitted to any branch of Libanpost, Lebanon’s official mail service network, along with the necessary fees.

By Daniel Williams Bloomberg News, On Sept. 19, Edgard Baradhi heard an explosion near his house in the Sin el-Fil neighborhood of Beirut. A car bomb had killed Antoine Ghanem, a member of Parliament, and six other people. He went out and pulled some of the dead from their vehicles. "My hands were full of blood."Baradhi, a 29-year-old Maronite Christian electrician, is moving to Qatar this month, joining thousands of Lebanese of all faiths and political inclinations who are emigrating for tranquility and higher-paying employment.

Job recruiters and analysts say the outflow is a double whammy: drying up the pool of skilled workers inside Lebanon and reducing salaries for some Lebanese outside."This is a buyer’s market for Lebanese abroad," said Carole Contavelis, who heads Hunter International, a Beirut recruitment agency. "Nobody’s in Lebanon anymore. The good candidates are out."

Across the Middle East and North Africa, it’s rare to have a conversation with a young person who doesn’t want to emigrate to the United States, Canada, Europe or Australia. Internal conflicts scar countries from Morocco to Iraq, and unemployment across the region tops 10 percent.

oct 6, 2007, Israeli fighter jets breached Lebanese airspace yesterday and flew over southern Lebanese areas and the Bekaa Valley, the official National News Agency(NNA)reported. The report quoted security sources as saying that Israel’s fighter jets flew at a high altitude over Arqoub, Hasbiya, West Bekaa, Iqlim Al-Tufah and Marjiyoun as well as over the […]

BEIRUT, Lebanon – The leader of Hezbullah accused Israel on Friday of being behind a string of killings of  in Lebanon, saying the Jewish state was trying to foment strife between his Islamic militant movement and other Lebanese communities.  Supporters of Lebanon’s government and others have repeatedly blamed Syria for the killings, charging Syria wants to bring down Prime minister Fouad Senioura by killing off lawmakers who give him a slim parliamentary majority.

"The hand that is killing is Israel’s," Nasrallah told thousands of supporters who occasionally interrupted his speech with roars of approval.He said that "Israel has a sure interest in the assassinations" because it "is the prime beneficiary of any internal strife in Lebanon" between factions opposed to Syrian influence and those who are friends of the Damascus regime like Hezbollah.

Nasrallah, who keeps his whereabouts secret for fear Israel would try to kill him as it killed his predecessor in 1992, spoke over a video linkup and did not personally attend the rally. There were no responses to Associated Press calls for comment to Israeli government officials in  Jerusalem and the Israeli Embassy in Washington because offices had closed for the Jewish sabbath.

BEIRUT (AFP) – Lebanon’s army commander, General Michel Suleiman, led a tribute on Saturday to the 168 soldiers who died in this summer’s siege of Islamist militants holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp. September 2 is an honourable date in the history of the nation," he said of the day the siege of Nahr al-Bared camp ended with the defeat of fighters from Faah al-Islam, a group he called the "most important terrorist organisation" ever known in Lebanon.

The Al Qaeda-inspired group "had aimed to put in place an emirate in northern Lebanon after destroying the Lebanese state," he told military families gathered in a stadium in  Jounieh, 22 kilometres (14 miles) north of the capital.Various units of the army paraded in honour of their fallen comrades, whom Suleiman called martyrs, as combat helicopters flew overhead..

The 106 days of fighting over the camp, which included heavy army bombardment, virtually destroyed the camp. Most of the 31,000 residents of Nahr al-Bared fled during the first few days of fighting.Counting troops, militants and civilians, at least 400 people died.

Aoun’s spokesman said the group had been in charge of protecting the former army chief’s residence outside Beirut in 2005 and that the photos released by the authorities were taken at least 18 months ago. His comments came after security officials on Thursday announced that two FPM members had been arrested for undergoing paramilitary training, fanning […]