Call to end all OAPs' free buses Aug 5, 2009
Page last updated at 05:45 GMT, Wednesday, 5 August 2009 06:45 UK. Free bus passes for everyone over 60 were introduced in Wales in 2002. (BBC News -- UK)
US terror suspects hearing begins Aug 5, 2009
Beirut couple's 'snake house. Several killed in US gym shooting. (BBC News -- Americas)
In video: Testing broadband Aug 5, 2009
Beirut couple's 'snake house. French farmers' anger over subsidies. (BBC News -- Technology)
Health chief's red card to Russian swine flu football 'scare' Aug 5, 2009
Page last updated at 08:04 GMT, Tuesday, 4 August 2009 09:04 UK. Fans' swine flu warning dismissed. (BBC News -- Health)
Iran Activists Dread Midnight Knock of Police Raid Aug 1, 2009
BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Iran's human rights activists say they live in dread of the midnight knock on the door or the car that pulls up next to them on the street, fearing that at any moment they might be arrested in the government's post-election clampdown. They take precautions: moving only in small groups of two or three and positioning themselves near corners where there are several routes to make a dash for safety. (Newsmax)
Lebanon is Middle East's daring fashion capital Jul 27, 2009
BEIRUT -- The gowns are cut low in the front, slashing down to the navel, or low in the back, swooping below the waist, inset with delicate see-through fabric ... "Lebanon's name has always been synonymous with war, but when it comes to fashion ... these designers really make us proud," said Laura Seikaly, 39, who was among a recent crowd of bikini-clad sunbathers on a beach north of Beirut ... "It's difficult to present ourselves to the press, the customers, the new markets like the Americans... (WSVN-TV Miami, FL)
US envoy pushes peace in Damascus Jul 26, 2009
In the past, this made Syria a pariah in the eyes of the Bush administration, which cut virtually all ties with Syria, the BBC's Natalia Antelava reports from Beirut. But on the eve of Mr Mitchell's arrival in Damascus, Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said he was looking forward to the visit as "the first step of dialogue", in what is rare public praise for Washington from a Syrian official. (BBC News -- Africa)
The Citizen's Cinema Jul 22, 2009
TheCitizensCinema wrote on Jul 21, 2009 2:39 PM:" "Waltz with Bashir" beautifully dissects the mind's means of distancing itself from traumatic events. This 2008 animated documentary follows an ex-Israeli soldier's attempt to decipher his memories of fighting in Lebanon in 1982 by the interviewing soldiers and other witnesses he can track down 25 years later.Ari Folman's quest to erase the mystery blotting out his combat memories stems from a vivid flashback he has of bathing in Beirut while... (Auburn Citizen, NY)
bmi Rolls Out Chauffeur Drive on Key Regional Business Routes Jul 18, 2009
Customers travelling on selected Business Class fares to Almaty, Amman, Azerbaijan, Beirut, Cairo, Damascus, Kyrgyzstan, Moscow, Saudi Arabia, Tel Aviv and Yerevan can now take advantage of this service to and from the airport at each end ... Across its mainline route network bmi operates to Aberdeen; Addis Ababa; Aleppo; Almaty; Amman; Amsterdam; Baku; Beirut; Belfast City; Bishkek; Brussels; Cairo; Damascus; Dammam; Dublin; Edinburgh; Freetown; Glasgow; Hanover; Jeddah; Khartoum; Kiev; London... (Yahoo News -- Press Releases)
Robert McNamara, Ex-Pentagon Chief, Dies Jul 7, 2009
In Beirut we also ran out after terrorists killed hundreds of marines. In Somalia we ran also ever short of victory. (CBS News)
British aides face trial, says Iranian cleric Jul 4, 2009
BEIRUT - A senior Iranian cleric said yesterday that employees of the British Embassy in Tehran who have been arrested in recent days would be put on trial for unspecified charges of acting against Iran s national security, a move denounced by members of the European Union. Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, head of the conservative Guardian Council, said in a Friday prayer sermon that the employees, all of them Iranian nationals, will definitely be tried. (Boston Globe)
Polk Sports Hall inducts area residents (21) Jun 28, 2009
He has skied for the President of Beirut, King Hussein of Jordan and Queen Elizabeth of England. He has also done stunt work for movies such as Meatballs and Smokey and the Bandit 3. (Lake Wales News, FL)
10 things every traveler should do Jun 26, 2009
But put me in Beirut and I know it will be a night to remember. Check out a bookstore. (CNN -- Travel)
Dubai's First Low Cost Airline Takes Off Jun 16, 2009
The first flight, which was to the Lebanese capital, Beirut, was closely followed by flights to Amman, Jordan, on June 2, Damascus, Syria, on June 8 and Alexandria, Egypt, on June 9, giving the new airline a total of four destinations in just nine days. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of flydubai said: "This region is very dependant on air transport. It is a great credit to the vision and leadership of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the... (PR Newswire)
Booz & Co's second coming Jun 5, 2009
The Chairman is based in Beirut and our finance director is based in New York. We dont have any headquarters; we are a truly global institution. (India Times)
Divided & Conquered Jun 1, 2009
Beirut and Damascus are only several hours drive away. Once we cleared Israel s Allenby Bridge checkpoint a six-hour ordeal we were no more than an hour on mountain roads from Jerusalem, which along with its close suburbs of Bethlehem and Ramallah would fit comfortably into New York City s geographic limits. (The American Conservative)
Obama steps into diplomatic minefield May 30, 2009
Many observers feel the Obama administration took the wrong approach to both Lebanon and Iran by dispatching Vice President Joseph Biden to Beirut last week. Biden did all he could to undermine Hezbollah's chances by, above all, warning that future US assistance depended on the election's outcome. (Asia Times Online)
New Hariri murder claims May 26, 2009
A poster of assassinated Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri decorates a street in downtown Beirut in February 2008 ... "The report in Der Spiegel is very, very, very dangerous," Nasrallah said in comments transmitted via video link to thousands of supporters massed in Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs ... Germany's Der Spiegel news magazine reported on Saturday that the UN commission probing the Hariri murder had new evidence that Hezbollah special forces "planned and executed" the... (iAfrica.com)
Hezbollah role in Hariri murder: Report May 24, 2009
In Beirut, Hezbollah declined to comment on the story. Last month, the UN special tribunal handling the case ordered the release, due to a lack of evidence, of four Lebanese generals who had been held for nearly four years without charge over the assassination. (India Times, India)
Tripoli gives whiffs of ancient Lebanese culture May 14, 2009
Tripoli Lebanons second largest city stretches along its northern coast and lies 85 km from the capital, Beirut. Visiting there, I was of course intrigued that it bore the same name as the capital of Libya. (India Times)
Lebanon frees generals held in Hariri killing May 1, 2009
BEIRUT Lebanon released four generals held for nearly four years in the 2005 truck-bomb assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri after a UN-backed tribunal ordered them freed today, setting off celebrations with fireworks and dancing. Their release from a Beirut prison left the international tribunal in the Netherlands with no suspects in custody after a four-year UN investigation into an assassination that triggered enormous political and sectarian turmoil in one of the Middle East's... (Globe and Mail -- International)
Hariri suspects freed Apr 30, 2009
A poster of assassinated Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri decorates a street in downtown Beirut in February 2008 ... The four, considered pro-Syrian, were escorted separately out of Roumieh prison on the outskirts of Beirut in a convoy of vehicles after The Hague-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon said there was insufficient evidence to charge them ... The four, held in Lebanon since 2005, were legally in the custody of the special tribunal since Beirut relinquished its jurisdiction in the Hariri... (iAfrica.com)
Lebanese told not to kiss in anti-swine flu drive Apr 29, 2009
BEIRUT (Reuters) Swine flu has not yet hit Lebanon but is threatening a national custom. Lebanese should stop greeting each other with kisses to the cheek, Health Minister Mohammad Khalifeh told a news conference on Tuesday called to explain measures to tackle the potential spread of the deadly strain. (Yahoo News)
FA 30 students build cultural awareness Apr 28, 2009
He has lived and traveled extensively in the Middle East, studied in Beirut, Lebanon, and completed a master's degree studying Hezbollah. The State Department lists Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization. (Leavenworth Lamp, KS)
Disappearing bullets: Obama administration provokes a run on ammunition Apr 28, 2009
Federal agents had observed Boumelhem, a resident of Detroit and Beirut, travel to Michigan gun shows and buy gun parts and ammunition for shipment overseas. Boumelhem was prohibited from legally purchasing guns as gun stores because he was a convicted felon. (El Centro Imperial Valley Press, CA)
A current exhibition,a historic dispute Apr 20, 2009
As fighting between Arabs and Jews broke out in Palestine early in 1948, Archbishop Samuel took the four scrolls he held to Beirut, and from there to the United States, where he hoped to sell them, reportedly to raise money for the Palestinian refugees then pouring out of Israel. Six years later, the scrolls were sold for $250,000. (Globe and Mail -- International)
Roslindale travel agent gets travelers gut check from flyaway thief Apr 16, 2009
The man was on his way to Beirut, Lebanon, and was leaving the following Monday, July 1 ... The man was already in Beirut. (Rsolindale Parkway Transcript, MA)
Hezbollah MP to travel to Britain for rare meeting Mar 29, 2009
Hezbollah became part of a unity government in Lebanon in May after violent street clashes in which its gunmen and their allies briefly took over large parts of Beirut. . (International Herald Tribune -- Sports)
Clerics, reformers spar over Saudi rules Mar 24, 2009
BEIRUT - A verbal dispute between reformers and hard-liners is raging in Saudi Arabia, as the monarchy's recent cautious steps toward modernizing the conservative nation have ruffled the feathers of some uncompromising clerics. Sunday, a group of hard-line clerics exhorted authorities to ban women from appearing on television, in newspapers, or in magazines. (Boston Globe)
An army on snowshoes? It's not in the Alps, but Lebanon. Mar 24, 2009
The Monitor's Beirut correspondent finds action of the wintry variety in the Middle East. By Nicholas Blanford. (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
Lebanon opens its first ever embassy in Syria Mar 16, 2009
Syria opened an embassy in Beirut in December. Relations between the long-feuding neighbors reached a turning point in August when the two agreed to establish ties and demarcate their contentious border. (International Herald Tribune -- Technology)
UPDATE: U.S. Jet Shoots Down Iranian Drone Over Iraq... Mar 14, 2009
Israelis also fought the Syrians in the late 70's in Beirut ... Who bombed the US and French marine barracks in Beirut in '83. (The Drudge Report)
War On Drugs: Creeping Narcostate Mar 13, 2009
Ghazi is a Venezuelan diplomat in Beirut and was its charge d'affaires in Damascus. Kanan used two travel agencies to raise cash in Venezuela as "a significant provider of financial support" for Lebanese terrorists, Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said. (Investors Business Daily)
Canadian music week: our critics' picks Mar 12, 2009
While recalling Jonathan Richman's man-boy bop, Herman Dune has a more cosmopolitan accent (lately courtesy of polka-mariachi brass borrowed from U.S. band Beirut) and keeps a closer watch on the line between willfully naive and wincingly winsome. Saturday, 9:45 p.m., Lee's Palace. (Globe and Mail)
Why Syria and Saudi Arabia are talking again Mar 12, 2009
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Saudi Arabia's steps to end its bitter dispute with Syria appear to be aimed at unifying Arabs against a trio of growing concerns: Iran's spreading influence in the region, the uncertainties of a US drawdown in Iraq, and the prospect of a right-wing government in Israel. Saudi outreach follows Washington's tentative reengagement with Damascus, a move that diplomats hope will have more success in weaning Syria away from its Iranian ally than the Bush administration's policy of... (Christian Science Monitor)
In ruins, a Palestinian enclave languishes in disrepair Mar 11, 2009
A Palestinian embassy opened in Beirut in May 2006, and Palestinians can now seek manual and semiskilled employment, although they are still barred from professional work. Still, the lack of funds threatens to scuttle the entire process. (Christian Science Monitor)
18 inmates injured in Lebanese prison riot Mar 11, 2009
BEIRUT Inmates at Lebanon's largest prison rioted briefly Tuesday, setting their clothes and mattresses on fire and causing injuries to 18 prisoners, security officials said. The officials said the injured at Roumieh prison east of Beirut suffered smoke inhalation and minor burns. (Globe and Mail)
U.S. In Key Talks With Syria Mar 7, 2009
Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and Daniel Shapiro, a senior staffer on the National Security Council who also served as one of President Obama's top Mideast advisers during his presidential campaign, came in from Beirut, where they had assured Lebanese officials that Washington's efforts to repair relations with that country's long-dominant neighbor, Syria, do not pose a threat. The outcome of their meetings with Syrian officials, including answers to... (CBS News -- 48 Hours)
US calms Beirut over Syria 'thaw' Mar 7, 2009
US calms Beirut over Syria 'thaw ... Two senior US envoys have reassured Lebanon that America's recent moves towards improving relations with Syria will not be at Beirut's expense ... The comments by Jeffrey Feltman and Daniel Shapiro came after their talks with top Lebanese leaders in Beirut. (BBC News -- Americas)
Mexican Drug War Hangs Over U.S. 'Spring Break' Mar 6, 2009
"They point to us as if we were Beirut or the Gaza Strip and it is not so. There has never been a shootout in a tourist zone," Fonatur chief Miguel Gomez Mont told a congressional testimony last month. Many see Mexico faring better than other destinations as a drop in the peso allows cut-price dollar rates. (Newsmax)
US courts Syria as linchpin to altered relations with Iran Mar 5, 2009
The US suspected Syria of involvement in the bombing, as it did of the 2005 Beirut bombing that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The US recalled its ambassador to Syria after Mr. Hariri's death and hasn't sent an ambassador back. (Christian Science Monitor -- USA)
Washington reaches out to Syria Mar 5, 2009
Last Thursday, Feltman, who previously served as Washington's ambassador in Beirut, met for two hours with Syrian ambassador Imad Moustapha, effectively ending what had been a multi-year boycott ... According to sources here, Assad will likely press the US delegation to return an ambassador to Damascus as soon as possible with the understanding that he will follow through swiftly on his promise to dispatch Syria's first-ever ambassador to Beirut, despite his strong objections to a Western-backed... (Asia Times Online)
Explorer with Chetek ties ready for next adventure Mar 5, 2009
The new team, consisting of Maxime Chaya of Beirut, Lebanon, Stuart Smith, of Waco, Texas, led by Dupre of Grand Marais, Minn. expects -60F temperatures during the first two weeks and will encounter highly fractured sea ice pressured skyward for the first 200 miles of their journey. (Chetek Alert, WI)
Hariri tribunal begins Mar 2, 2009
Saad Hariri, whose father was killed in the massive Beirut car bombing in February 2005 along with 22 other people, hailed the opening of the court as a historic day for his country ... "Today the flag of justice for Lebanon is being raised in The Hague. It is a historic date. "March 1 is the fruit of the efforts of all Lebanese people who supported the establishment of the court and who refused to yield to threats and terror," he said in a statement issued in Beirut. Bellemare said he would... (iAfrica.com)
Israel's 'Waltz with Bashir' misses an Oscar, but scores in Lebanon Feb 25, 2009
BEIRUT, Lebanon - It didn't win the Oscar in Hollywood, but the Israeli film "Waltz with Bashir," which had been favored to take the best foreign-language film award, has certainly triumphed in Lebanon ... "It is one of the most popular DVDs we have," says the owner of a DVD rental store in Haret Hreik, a southern Beirut district and a stronghold of the militant Shiite Hezbollah ... "You can read Israeli newspapers on the Web, see Israeli politicians interviewed on Al Arabiya, and buy [former... (Christian Science Monitor)
Go to Grenada for the beach Feb 20, 2009
Nearly three decades later, you have to search the lush, scenic island to find evidence of the military incursion that today s critics labeled a diversion from the deadly Beirut bombings that had killed 241 Americans two days earlier, while proponents called it an appropriate display of U.S. democratic might in our hemisphere. The evidence is just north of the little town of Grenville, at the abandoned Pearls Airport along the Atlantic Ocean. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Essential tracks Feb 18, 2009
La Llorona, Beirut, from March of the Zapotec (Pompeii Records). I love a brassy Mexican waltz. (Globe and Mail -- Entertainment)
Israel, Hezbollah: Has deterrence worked? Feb 13, 2009
NASRALLAH: Hezbollah's leader, seen by video last month in Beirut, says it is 'necessary' to respond to commander Mughniyah's killing ... Beirut, Lebanon - When Imad Mughniyah, Hezbollah's top military commander, was assassinated by a car bomb in Damascus one year ago, the militant Shiite group blamed Israel which denied involvement and vowed revenge. (Christian Science Monitor)
Winds shut Paris airports Feb 10, 2009
Air France said it expected serious delays on Tuesday when operations resume at Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, but that if the weather forecasts were accurate it would be able to make all scheduled long-haul flights after 10am except for one to New York and one to Beirut. AFP Digg | | | | | | Copyright 2002-2008 iafrica. (iAfrica.com)
In troubled Lebanon, a safety zone for sea turtles Feb 8, 2009
We were in danger and escaped to Beirut for two weeks. When they returned, they found that their house had been hit by an Israeli shell. (International Herald Tribune -- At Home)
Climate change threatens cedars Feb 7, 2009
"Enough talking about the need to preserve the cedars, it's time for action. We must preserve the trees now," said Nizar Hani, scientific coordinator of the Al-Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve in the mountainous Shouf area southeast of Beirut. "All indications are that if the current climatic changes continue, the cedars could be in danger.". (India Times)
