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Beirut lands on list of ‘7 cities that will change your life’

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — A U.S.-based magazine has named Beirut, Lebanon among the “7 cities that will change your life” for its history, cuisine, and “haven of calm.”

Inc. magazine, founded in 1979 and based in New York City, is an American monthly publication focused on growing companies. The digital edition features fast-growing U.S. companies and tips for entrepreneurs.

The recent article published on July 2, was featured in the ‘Life’ section of the business magazine.

“Changing your scenery, if only for a short while, might be just the thing you need to trigger your personal growth and success,” wrote Peter Economy, the author of the article.

Economy encouraged Inc. readers to “abandon (their) preconceptions of the Middle East and find beauty where you’ve never looked before.”

In all of the Middle East’s turmoil, Beirut continues to stand as an untouched haven of calm. The Lebanese city has been called the “Paris of the Middle East,” a bastion of culture and light. Walk in the footsteps of the Romans and Ottomans, who once stalked the land. Chat with the street vendors on the Corniche’s four-kilometer-long seafront. Eat the food. Definitely eat the food.

Other cities on the list include:

  • Istanbul, Turkey
  • Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Cape Town, South Africa
  • Grindavík, Iceland
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Kyoto, Japan

In December 2014, Beirut was among seven cities selected as a “New7Wonders” city, beating out more than 1,000 competitors.

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‘In Defense of Christians’ group calls for “direct aid” to Middle East minorities

(CLEVELAND, OH) — A coalition of Middle Eastern Christians are calling on U.S. congressional leaders to send “direct aid” to religious minorities in countries impacted by ISIS.

Officials at In Defense of Christians (IDC), a DC-based advocacy group, say religious minorities in the Middle East are not receiving enough aid from the U.S. government.

According to IDC, USAID partners have reached only 24 percent of displaced populations residing outside of refugee camps.

Toufic Baaklini, founder of IDC, said U.S. foreign policy directly impacts Middle Eastern Christians.

“An advocacy group is most needed in DC and on (Capitol) Hill,” Baaklini said. “The policy (in the Middle East) is not going to make any difference, but in the United States, much more can get done.”

Baaklini, a Lebanese-American activist, said the organization is launching local advocacy groups in U.S. states to gather grassroots support and encourage Middle Eastern Christians in the U.S. to contact their members of Congress.

Baaklini said Middle Eastern Christians should urge their representative to join the ‘Religious Minorities in the Middle East Caucus.”

“This is one our latest projects to have better access to foreign policymakers,” Baaklini said.

The caucus is an official congressional member organization in the U.S. House of Representatives, which seeks to advocate for “besieged religious minorities” in the Middle East.

Baaklini believes the U.S. government should put sanctions on countries who are allegedly funding groups like ISIS.

“We ask the government to put pressure on Arab countries — people that we call allies — and some who are funding such groups,” he said. “Put sanctions on those countries and stop them from attacking Christians.”

Baaklini said IDC has gained momentum since hosting a nationwide summit in Washington, DC last year. He said the organization is seeking support from Americans at large.

“Our advocacy is with the American people,” he said. “This is a Christian country even though we don’t talk about it this way.”

IDC officials recently spoke to members of Skyline Church in San Diego, an evangelical Christian mega-church with more than 2,500 in attendance per week. Baaklini said they’re seeking more of these opportunities.

He added that Lebanese Christians play a major role in the organization because of Lebanon’s pluralistic culture.

“The rest of the Christians in the Arab world look for the Christians in Lebanon on a lot of these issues,” Baaklini said. “We are an example to many of them.”

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U.S. university revokes job offer to anti-Israeli professor; AUB hires him

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The American University of Beirut has hired a professor whose anti-Israel Twitter posts led the University of Illinois to revoke a job offer last year.

Steven Salaita was offered a position as professor of American Indian Studies by the University of Illinois for fall 2014, but university officials rescinded the offer after citing a series of controversial tweets about Israel.

American University of Beirut spokeswoman Maha Al-Azar said Salaita was hired on Wednesday as the Edward Said Chair in American Studies.

Al-Azar added that Salaita was given a one-year appointment and will start Sept. 2.

Salaita, who is of Palestinian and Jordanian descent, said he was “thrilled” to accept the position. He said he learned that “Zionists get violently mad if a critic of Israel can earn a living.”

Meanwhile, Salaita continues his legal battle against the University of Illinois for allegedly hiding meeting minutes and email correspondence of university staff who were involved in withdrawing his employment offer.

He is suing the university for allegedly breaching contract and intentional emotional distress. He’s also claiming they violated his constitutional rights, including freedom of speech and due process.

A Illinois judge recently ordered the university to turn over thousands of pages of emails under the Freedom of Information Act.

In response to the university’s actions last year, a group of over 40 Jewish faculty and students at the university signed a letter to the board of trustees saying, “Your decision to fire Professor Salaita is in fact what threatens us as Jews.”

The faculty said they were “in solidarity” with Salaita and added that there was a “growing number of Jewish perspectives that oppose Israeli military occupation…and the assault on Palestine.”

The university did not return our calls for comment. Media reports say the controversy allegedly escalated when university donors protested Salaita’s hiring.

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UN agency cuts food vouchers for Syrian refugees in Lebanon

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is being forced to implement deeper cuts in food assistance for vulnerable Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan because of a severe lack of funding.

“Just when we thought things couldn’t get worse, we are forced yet again to make yet more cuts,” said Muhannad Hadi, WFP Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Europe. “Refugees were already struggling to cope with what little we could provide.”

In July, WFP will halve the value of food vouchers, or “e-cards,” in Lebanon, providing only $13.50 per person per month.

In Jordan, WFP fears that if it does not receive immediate funding by August, it will have to suspend all assistance to Syrian refugees living outside camps, leaving some 440,000 people with no food.

WFP is funded entirely by contributions from governments, companies and private individuals.

But its regional refugee operation is currently 81 percent underfunded and immediately requires $139 million to continue helping desperate refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey and Iraq through September.

Since the beginning of the year, WFP officials said they made concerted efforts to prioritize available funds to ensure continued assistance to families most in need. But limited resources forced WFP to reduce the assistance to 1.6 million Syrian refugees in the five countries.

“We are extremely concerned about the impact these cuts will have on refugees and the countries that host them,” Hadi added. “Families are taking extreme measures to cope such as pulling their children out of school, skipping meals and getting into debt to survive. The long-term effects of this could be devastating.”

In 2014, WFP globally received $5.38 billion in contributions – 27 percent higher than in 2013. This was in response to an unprecedented number of emergencies in places such as Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, and the West African countries affected by Ebola.

WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.

Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 75 countries.

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Arab television networks demand end to U.S. pirating

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — A coalition of Arab television networks announced plans to institute legal proceedings against any illegal TV providers claiming to provide free Arabic programming in the United States.

Officials at the International Broadcasters Coalition Against Piracy (IBCAP) said they’re monitoring unauthorized video service providers and launching criminal investigations against them.

The group represents 90 television networks from the Middle East and South Asia.

“The purveyors of pirated content are often deceptive, leading customers to believe they are buying services with authorized channels when in fact many of the top channels are being pirated,” said Joe Boyle, an attorney for IBCAP.

Boyle said the coalition of Arab television networks have been successful in recent copyright cases.

“Customers of these services, many who have paid $300 or more for a set top box, are often left without their favorite channels when legal action occurs or the unauthorized services are shut down,” Boyle said.

Dubai-based broadcasting company MBC is a member of the coalition, which includes Lebanese networks LBC, LDC, MTV, NewTV, among others.

“We joined IBCAP after our channels were illegally marketed and sold by pirates, a rampant problem in the United States that we want to help solve,” said Fares Akkad, Head of Distribution for MBC. “While MBC content may be offered free-to-air in the Middle East, the same is not true for the U.S.”

IBCAP members including Al Jazeera Media Network and MBC recently filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in the Eastern District of Virginia against Cres IPTV, ShavaTV and related dealers for allegedly engaging in the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted content.

Other lawsuits include a DISH Network federal suit against Global Satellit and its president Basem Halabi. The suit resulted in $956,649 in damages under the Copyright Act.

“We will not tolerate the illegal distribution of Arabic channels in the U.S.” said Karim Abdullah, CEO of IMD, distributor of channels such as ART, LBC, LDC, Hekayet and NewTV. “Through IBCAP and other efforts, we are tracking down those who are illegally broadcasting our content while at the same time raising consumer awareness about the dangers of purchasing devices with infringing content.”

In addition to filing lawsuits, IBCAP coordinates with U.S. trade offices, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) and hardware and software manufacturers to monitor unauthorized distribution of their content.

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Lebanese-American chef competing on FOX cooking show

(DEARBORN, MI) — Lebanese-American chef Amanda Saab has made it to the final rounds of Fox’s home-cooking competition “MasterChef.”

Saab, 26, is the first Muslim woman to compete on the Fox program, hosted by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.

Saab moved to Seattle, Wash. in 2012 from Dearborn, Mich., where she grew up baking with her mother and grandmother. Dearborn is home of one of the largest populations of Arab-Americans in the country.

One of the meals she created on “MasterChef,” lamb kafta with sumac and jalapeño-dusted potatoes, represents her Mediterranean style.

“I really love Mediterranean flavors, things that are fresh with lots of garlic and olive oil and lemon,” she told the Seattle Times. “I love that flavor profile.”

Saab started posting photos of her meals to Instagram, which resulted in friends asking for recipes. Last July, she created AmandasPlate.com and started posting recipes.

Now she’s one of the country’s up-and-coming chefs. Muslimgirl.net called her the “first headscarf-wearing chef on American prime-time television.”

The home chef winner ultimately receives a cookbook deal, $250,000 and the title of Master Chef. The competitive cooking reality show is open to amateur and home chefs.

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LAU awards Lebanese designer Elie Saab with honorary doctorate

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Lebanese American University Business School during their commencement ceremony over the weekend.

“When I started my career 33 years ago I had a burst of energy and determination to succeed,” Saab said during the ceremony, according to Beirut-based newspaper The Daily Star.

Saab, 50, was born in Beirut, where he launched his fashion label at age 18. Saab credits a “result of work and effort,” but admits that times have changed.

Saab said his interest in fashion started when he was 9-years-old, when he began making clothes for his sisters.

“Nowadays your future lies in education, which will help you fulfill your dreams,” Saab said. “Your degree is your key to the real world.”

In 2013, LAU teamed up with Saab to launch the university’s first English-language bachelor’s degree in fashion design. The program continues in collaboration with Saab’s brand and the London College of Fashion.

“This honorary degree has increased my responsibility,” Saab added, “I thank (LAU President Joseph) Jabra for the trust he put in me and I wish students all the luck and success.”

Saab is originally from Damour, a southern coastal Beirut suburb, but currently owns homes in Gemmayze, Rabieh, and Faqra. He also owns properties in France and Switzerland.

Saab has dressed over 150 international celebrities for key global events over the past year.

His creations can be found all over the world, with boutiques located in Beirut, Dubai, Doha, Paris, London, Geneva, Hong Kong, and Mexico. Saab has 100 retail outlets all over the world.

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American-Lebanese basketball player found dead

(LOS ANGELES, CA) — American-Lebanese basketball player Jackson Vroman was found dead in his Los Angeles County home on Monday, according to California medical examiners.

Vroman, who was 34, joined Lebanon’s national basketball team in 2009 after being naturalized as a Lebanese citizen to play.

The cause of death was not immediately available, but a Los Angeles County spokesperson said an autopsy was scheduled for later in the week.

“We sadly announce the death of former Lebanese national team player Jackson Vroman,” the Lebanese Basketball League wrote on Twitter.

American poker player Dan Bilzerian, a friend of Vroman, said he died from an accidental drowning.

“He was sitting down, he got up to go inside the house, tripped on the stairs, hit his head and drown in the pool,” Blizeran wrote on Twitter.

Vroman started his professional career in 2004 when he joined the Phoenix Suns. He later played for the New Orleans Hornets, and for teams in Puerto Rico, South Korea, and Spain, before joining Lebanon’s team.

A native of Bountiful, Utah, Vroman averaged 13.9 points per game his senior season (2003-04) and led the Big 12 Conference in rebounding at 9.6 per game. His career rebounding average of 9.5 is a mark that ranks ninth all-time in school history.

He retired from professional basketball last year.

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Could Beirut become the Silicon Valley of the Middle East?

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Beirut’s economy could see major shifts in the next few decades, according to Lebanon’s Central Bank, which has committed millions of dollars for tech growth in the city.

A recent report by CNN labeled Beirut as a “resilient, transformation city” with a culture of freedom and diversity which could serve as a solid base for the Middle East’s growing tech revolution.

According to industry publisher Tech Crunch, Beirut’s tech sector has grown by an average annual rate of 7.9 percent to reach a market size of $381 million in 2014.

The growth is partly as a result of the Beirut Digital District (BDD), launched in September 2012 as a tech incubator for startups and existing nontraditional digital businesses.

“Beirut is rapidly shaping up to be a powerhouse for startups in the Middle East. It has many of the key elements: a highly entrepreneurial culture; incubators and accelerators; venture capital; some gradually favorable government policy; and access to growth funding,” said Mike Butcher, editor of Tech Crunch.

International tech investors are adding projects in Beirut — in hopes of establishing an up-and-coming tech hub for the MENA region.

Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) have raised “at least $50 million” to assist in this project. They’re working closely with Beirut-based Leap Ventures on a new $71-million venture capital fund focused on the Middle East.

Lebanon’s Central Bank is also adding $400 million into the startup tech economy through its “Circular 331” initiave. The project allows local entrepreneurs to receive a seven-year interest-free credit from the Central Bank (BDL), which can be invested in treasury bonds that return interest rate of 7%.

Even Britain is joining the momentum by launching a new project in cooperation with the Central Bank called the U.K-Lebanon “Tech Hub.”

A new office for Lebanese tech entrepreneurs opened in London recently, which is meant to allow Lebanese entrepreneurs a chance to use the UK as a springboard for global growth.

The London office is the first overseas base of the new UK Lebanon Tech Hub, which aims to support the growth of the knowledge economy in Lebanon.

“For thousands of years Lebanon has had a reputation for trading and entrepreneurship,” said Colm Reilly, CEO of the UK Lebanon Tech Hub. “Despite tough conditions in the region, this spirit is evident in the new generation of entrepreneurs that are developing the country’s tech scene.”

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s technology industry still faces performance problems, especially for tech investors interested in web-based platforms and Internet services.

According to BBC World News, Lebanon has one of the slowest Internet connections in the world. But Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb said he will launch a five-year national telecommunications strategy on July 1st to boost Internet performance in the country, according to The Daily Star.

Beirut’s tech future still has many unanswered questions because of the region’s political instability and Internet capabilities. According to CNN, the future of tech growth will rely heavily on the country’s political leaders.

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Lebanon launches hotline for abused domestic workers

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanon has launched a 24-hour hotline for female domestic workers to allow them to report abuse or mistreatment and receive help.

The country hosts more than 200,000 migrant domestic workers, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO), employed under the “Kafala” sponsorship system, which binds them to a single employer and leaves them vulnerable to abuse.

Social workers operating the hotline will document complaints and provide referrals to healthcare, legal assistance and relevant government institutions.

“This project is the practical implementation of the Ministry of Labor’s concern for human rights,” Sejaan Azzi, Lebanon’s minister of labor, said in a statement.

“Every domestic worker now has an address to turn to lodge a complaint in the event she is subjected to any kind of harm or violation of her dignity, and that address is the Ministry of Labor.”

Eighty three percent of the world’s 53 million domestic workers are women, according to ILO. Often unregistered and unprotected by labor laws, they are among the most vulnerable groups of workers in the world.

The Kafala system, used throughout the Middle East, requires migrant workers to seek permission from employers to change jobs and excludes them from the protections of labor laws. Many of Lebanon’s domestic workers are from Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Philippines and Sri Lanka.

Maids are often kept under lock and key by their employer, forced to work long hours, deprived of food and wages or threatened and physically and sexually abused, activists say.

In March, Human Rights Watch called on the Lebanese authorities to recognize a union for domestic workers and said Azzi should make good on promises to protect the rights of domestic workers and bring their abusers to justice.

The hotline, accessible through a quick-dial number 1740 from within Lebanon, is being promoted with billboards in several languages to alert migrants of its existence.

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