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Is Lebanon at increased risk for Ebola?

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanon is imposing new measures to prevent the Ebola virus from reaching the Middle Eastern nation, the health minister said Monday.

Due to the large number of Lebanese expatriates in “infected countries,” Lebanon should be exceptionally cautious, Abu Faour told reporters at a news conference.

Wael Abu Faour said Lebanon is more vulnerable than some other Arab countries because of the large Lebanese diaspora in Africa. Thousands of Lebanese live in African nations including Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone — countries where the disease has killed more than 4,500 people combined.

People traveling to Lebanon from infected countries will have to fill out special forms and any incoming plane carrying someone displaying Ebola symptoms will have all passengers tested at the airport, Abu Faour said.

Travelers who come from ‘Ebola-infected’ countries or who have a layover in one of these countries will have to fill out a form asking whether they have been experiencing any early symptoms.

If the passenger reports symptoms, they would be tested at the airport, according to Abu Faour. Anyone with Ebola would be quarantined at the airport until being transferred to Rafik Hariri Hospital in Beirut.

The hospital has been now equipped with a quarantine facility for Ebola carriers, according to Abu Faour. The American University of Beirut’s Medial Center is preparing to announce a similar unit soon.

For other hospitals with more than 100 beds, Abu Faour is requiring them to install quarantine units within three weeks.

“It is not that we have a choice,” he said. “The safety of the Lebanese people is at stake.”

The medical teams at all hospitals will receive training on the symptoms of the virus and on how to deal with Ebola-infected individuals. Abu Faour said the medical teams of south Lebanon had already received training Sunday and those of Beirut and Mount Lebanon would attend a training session Tuesday.

In addition, anyone suspected of carrying the virus will not be granted a visa at Lebanese embassies in infected countries.

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UN: Lebanon restricts Syrian refugee influx

Scenes of Syria & the Gift of the Givers Hospital

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The Lebanese government has cut back sharply on the number of Syrian refugees it is allowing into the country, the United Nations representative in Lebanon said on Saturday.

Lebanon has the highest per capita concentration of refugees in the world, with one in four residents a refugee, many of them living in the poorest areas.

The government has said it cannot cope with the more than a million Syrians and has asked for funds to help look after them.

Ninette Kelley, representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Lebanon, said: “Many fewer people are being allowed in than would normally be coming in to get refugee status.”

Following a constant increase in refugees to Lebanon since the start of 2012, United Nations figures show a decrease of around 40,000 refugees since the end of September.

Humanitarian reasons

Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas said in comments published on Saturday in Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper that “Lebanon is no longer officially receiving any Syrian refugees,” except with those with pressing humanitarian reasons.

“Anyone who passes the Syrian-Lebanese border will be questioned and should have a humanitarian reason for their entry. This will be decided by the Interior and Social Affairs ministries,” he said without giving further details.

Reuters could not immediately reach the Social Affairs Ministry and Kelley said “there has been no publication of the criteria used” at the border.

Resentment against Syrians has grown in Lebanon with many complaining that refugees are taking jobs, driving down wages, overloading schools and hospitals, and even worsening an electricity shortage which pre-dates the war in Syria.

Syrians have long faced discrimination and abuse in Lebanon and beggars now walk the streets of Beirut.

Kelly has called for renewed investment in Lebanese infrastructure to help the country manage the influx and has said Lebanese host communities deserve support for coping with the refugee burden.

Sunni refugees

Politicians also fret about the mainly Sunni Muslim refugees’ impact on Lebanon’s fragile sectarian balance, in which power is carefully divided between Christians, Shi’ite Muslims, Sunnis, and other, smaller groups.

More than 60 years ago, it took in tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees from the war of Israel’s creation. They have now grown to hundreds of thousands, their camps turned into permanent, squalid slums.

The militarization of Palestinian camps is also widely seen as a catalyst of Lebanon’s own 15-year civil war, which only ended in 1990.

Syria’s 3.2 million refugees, many also in Turkey and Jordan, are fleeing a three-year civil war which has killed nearly 200,000 people, according to U.N. figures.

Both the Syrian government and insurgent groups are accused by rights groups of killing civilians and destroying homes.

Source: VOA News, via Creative Commons License

Original Article

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 Lifestyle, News

Lebanese photographer featured on ABC News ‘This Week in Pictures’

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese photographer Karim Bechara posted a beautiful photograph of lightning strokes above Lebanon on Facebook on Thursday. The lightning came as a result of heavy rainfall pounding various regions of the country this week.

Bechara used a long exposure to produce the image and captioned: “The reason lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place is that the same place isn’t there the second time.”

Beshara’s photo was featured on ABC News as one of the week’s top photos from around the globe.

Beirut-based ABC correspondent Alexander Marquardt posted the photo on Twitter calling it an “amazing shot.”

See more photos by Karim Bechara below:

BECHARA 1 BECHARA 2 BECHARA 3

BECHARA 4 BECHARA 6 BECHARA 7

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Rainy week adds hope to Lebanon’s drought fears

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese meteorologists says this week’s heavy rainfall in Lebanon will make up for last year’s severe winter drought, according to Michel Frem, head of the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute.

“The rainfall has minimized fire hazards that turn up during this time every year and it is also excellent for agriculture and the environment,” Frem told the National News Agency on Thursday.

Experts say 700 mm of rainfall in the Bekaa is needed to make up for last year’s drought.

“Climate change and discrepancies with regards to the amount of rainfall across the country make it difficult for meteorologists to predict the weather,” Frem said, adding that the meteorology department only forecasts weather conditions a week in advance.

Despite these difficulties, Frem expects rainfall to persist throughout the winter, but says the prediction “is difficult to confirm.”

Heavy rainfall caused river and street flooding on Tuesday night that continued well into Wednesday morning across Lebanon.

Frem says Kfar Shakhna, near Tripoli, witnessed the heaviest rainfall in the country so far with a 97 mm of rain in the past week. The village usually witnesses an average of 62 mm of rain annually.

Beirut is reported to have experienced 55 mm of rainfall over the past week. This is an 18 mm increase in comparison to rainfall in Beirut over the same period in 2013.

The rainy trend will continue over the weekend, with rainfall and lighting expected for Saturday and Sunday, Frem said. Friday, however, will face sporadic showers, he added.

Amazing photograph of Beirut’s storms by Karim Bechara:

Screen Shot 2014-10-16 at 11.59.31 AM

 

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Lebanese car accidents hit over 100 deaths in two months

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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The Lebanese Internal Security Forces say there have been over 100 people killed in car accidents during the months of August and September, according to a report published Wednesday.

55 people were killed in car accidents during the month of August, while 45 people were killed in September, bringing the death toll to 355 so far this year, according to the Internal Security Forces.

The high death statistics indicate that very little to no progress has been accomplished in the implementation of a new traffic law.

Lebanon’s Shura Council made way for the implementation of long-awaited legislation last July, which was supposed to reduce road safety violations by imposing progressive fines and stricter punishments for violators.

The law stipulates the formation of a National Committee for Road Safety headed by the interior minister and a National Council for Road Safety led by the prime minister.

It also calls for the formation of a road unit within the ISF that would work on improving enforcement of the law.

Under the new system, each driver begins with 12 points which disappear with each violation. Upon the loss of all points, a driver’s license is suspended for six months.

The most severe offenses, which incur a prison sentence of one month to two years and fines from LL1 million to LL3 million, include exceeding the speed limit by 60 km/hour, driving without a license, and driving with a blood alcohol level of more than one gram per liter of blood.

Under the previous rules, speeding tickets were set at LL50,000, and those caught driving without a license only had to pay a small fine.

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Kahwaji in Washington, DC for anti-ISIS coalition meeting

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese Army commander General Jean Kahwaji traveled to Washington, DC for a meeting with a U.S.-led coalition against ISIS this week.

Sources say Kahwaji has been in Washington, DC since the weekend, and was planned to take part in a Thursday meeting with President Barack Obama. He is also expected to meet coalition military chiefs to discuss Lebanon’s role and participation in combating ISIS.

The meeting, which is led by U.S. General Martin Dempsey, invited military chiefs from 20 of the partners in the 60 member coalition. Representatives from Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are expected to attend.

“It is part of ongoing efforts to build the coalition and integrate the capabilities of each country into the broader strategy,” said Alistair Baskey, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.

The coalition has been met with suspicion and hostility from several Lebanese politicians.

Speaker Nabih Berri Monday dismissed the coalition as “meaningless,” while MP Walid Jumblatt described it as a “lie” and suggested it was part of a wider conspiracy to divide the Middle East.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Gebran Bassil defended Lebanon’s participation in the coalition based on national interests.

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Mai Hariri loses temper on TV; throws coffee at camera

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese singer Mai Hariri lost her temper in a recent television interview when the host asked whether she used to be a dancer earlier in her career. Hariri was outraged at the question, throwing her cup of coffee at the camera and threatening to leave the interview.

Tammam Baleeq, host of the program “Bila Tashfeer” (Without Encryption) on Lebanon’s New TV channel, questioned if used to dance in the southeastern city of Choueifat.

“I do not accept you asking me such a question,” she said. “You are saying nonsense and angering me.”

She went on to say, “You are insulting me. I have children. What is it that you mean? You are talking about something I don’t know of.”

Baleeq, whose shirt was now stained with coffee, tried to contain the situation.”Hang on, hang on, this is an encryption,” he said, referring to the show’s name, by which the host brings up statements the interviewee is supposed to react to.

Hariri eventually managed to continue the interview.

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Is Lebanon at risk for a polio outbreak?

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese Health Minister Wael Abu Faour on Tuesday said Lebanon is “extremely susceptible” to a polio outbreak as a result of the Syrian Civil War. Abu Faour’s comments come after Lebanon launched the fifth national vaccination campaign against the disease.

Polio is an acute viral inflammation that damages or destroys the nerves in the brain or spinal cord and can cause permanent paralysis that often leads to death.

Abu Faour says no polio cases were detected in Lebanon, but the country has been characterized among the seven countries in most danger.

The Health Ministry, in collaboration with Unicef and the World Health Organization, launched the fifth national immunization campaign against polio Tuesday, in a press conference held at the Lebanese Order of Physician’s headquarters in Beirut.

The campaign stands as a crucial national response to the outbreak of Polio in the region, and aims to reach over 550,000 children under five in Lebanon regardless of nationality in order to keep Lebanon Polio free.

“We are in the circle of extreme danger,” Abu Faour said. “Parents of all nationalities are invited to respond to this campaign.”

“For Lebanon, the danger lies in having polio cases in the closest country which is Syria, where thirty-eight patients were diagnosed, which means assuming the existence of two hundred cases that have not been discovered yet,” Abu Faour previously said in April.

According to health minister, “the polio vaccine reached 96 percent national coverage” before the onset of the Syrian civil war. Lebanon, however, has become extremely susceptible to a polio outbreak after the disease started spreading in Syria in October 2013 to Iraq in February 2014, the health minister said.

As a result of the challenge imposed by the Syrian crisis, the Health Ministry has implemented four national vaccination campaigns, according to Abu Faour.

The national immunization campaign will be in two rounds. The first round will take place between 15 and 21 October and will be followed by another round between 15 and 21 November. All children under five years old must participate in both rounds.

1.2 million doses of polio vaccine were provided to the Ministry of Public Health to ensure that children under five will receive the vaccine free regardless of nationality and where they are receiving health care. The donations came from the European Union, UNHCR, and U.S. Department of State.

To expand the outreach of the core message to a wider target audience, the campaign was endorsed by Nancy Ajram to incite all parents to get their children vaccinated. The campaign will also be promoted through educational leaflets and various media outlets including links on all leading Lebanese online portals and news sites.

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Lebanese social activist selected to speak at UN forum

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese social activist Nour El Assaad will speak at the international World Women’s Health and Development (WWHD) forum at the UN Headquarters in Geneva, which will take place from November 19 to 21.

The Lebanese National News Agency says El Assaad was selected among 2,644 other applications because of “the nature of her vision.”

The Royal Academy of Science International Trust (RASIT), which is the governing body of the forum, says they attract “world leaders” and “international policy makers” to create “policy, educational initiatives and program models” for female leaders worldwide.

El Assaad graduated at 19 years and old and held a marketing manager position at age 21. From there, she founded “No Label ME,” an anti-bullying movement in Lebanon.

“The energy and enthusiasm of El Assaad will be invested in expanding the horizons of Woman’s Health and Development locally and regionally,” the UN World Women’s Health & Development Forum wrote on Facebook.

The Forum will include several topics, namely women’s health and sustainable development, international women’s health policies, environment, media, lifestyle and economic conditions and their impact on women’s health, women’s mental health, scientific research and its importance in developing women’s health through early detection and treatment.

“I am not only excited because I was given this opportunity, but also because I am also Lebanese, and a Lebanese participating in a forum discussing a very understated topic in the world,” El-Assaad wrote on Facebook.

Royal Academy of Science International Trust (RASIT) an international non-governmental organization accredited by the United Nations was founded in 1968 and is working on a service rights to education, health and scientific research and other programs for sustainable development.

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Minister: Lebanon will postpone parliamentary poll to 2017

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanon is set to postpone next month’s parliamentary elections to 2017 because of instability linked to the Syrian crisis, according to a government minister. This will be the second postponement of the elections, which should have taken place in June 2013.

The 128-member parliament will delay the elections for another two years and seven months from November because of the “deteriorating security situation in the country,” according to an interview with Reuters. He declined to be named because parliament has yet to officially vote on the postponement.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Wednesday he stands side-by-side with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri against holding parliamentary elections before a presidential vote.

“I refuse to hold parliamentary elections if a basic component in Lebanon reject it,” Berri said.

Lebanon’s interior minister and MPs have frequently said a new delay is inevitable. A postponement to 2017 would mean that the current parliament would serve two four-year terms in a row.

Lebanon has been without a president since May, when Michel Sleiman’s term ended, because feuding lawmakers have been unable to decide on a successor and have blamed each other for the deadlock.

Lawmakers, who support different sides in Syria’s civil war, are divided on many issues including on ways to deal with the effects of the crisis, which has driven around 1 million refugees into Lebanon.

 

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