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Lebanon News

  • UNWTO: International tourism – strongest half-year results since 2010

    AFGHANISTAN, 2017/09/09 Destinations worldwide welcomed 598 million international tourists in the initial six months of 2017, some 36 million additional than in the same period of 2016. At 6%, increase was well above the trend of recent years, making the current January-June period the strongest half-year since 2010. Visitor numbers reported by destinations around the world reflect strong request for international travel in the initial half of 2017, according to the new UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Worldwide, international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) increased by 6% compared to the same six-month period last year, well above the sustained and consistent trend of 4% or higher increase since 2010. This represents the strongest half-year in seven years.
  • Lebanon: GroupMed announces OLT as new major shareholder

    LEBANON, 2017/06/15 GroupMed Holding s.a.l., the owner of Bankmed s.a.l. is pleased to announce a new shareholder, OLT Holding s.a.l. Following the approval of the Central Bank of Lebanon, OLT Holding owned by Ala Al Khawaja has successfully acquired from Ayman Hariri a 42.24 % ownership stake of the share capital of GroupMed Holding.
  • Lebanese ministry bans Wonder Woman film because of Israeli actress

    ISRAEL, 2017/06/02 Lebanon's interior ministry banned the new Wonder Woman film from cinemas on Wednesday because an Israeli actress plays the lead role, a ministry source and a security official said. Lebanon considers Israel an enemy country and the Ministry of Economy and Trade oversees a boycott of any business transaction concerning Israel.
  • Policy Differences Emerge Among Gulf States Days After Wooing President Trump

    BAHRAIN, 2017/05/29 Cracks have appeared in a Saudi-led, US-backed anti-terrorist political and military alliance days next US President Donald J. Trump ended a historic visit to Saudi Arabia. The cracks stem from Qatar’s long-standing fundamental policy differences with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates about Iran and the role of political Islam. The cracks emerged as the result of an anti-Qatar media and cyber campaign involving a spate of anti-Qatar articles in US and Gulf media; the blocking of Qatar-backed media websites and broadcasts in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt; statements by prominent former US government officials; and a recent seminar by the Washington-based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies that has long asserted that Qatar supports militant groups.
  • Hezbollah Associate Pleads Guilty To Money Laundering In US

    LEBANON, 2017/05/29 A Lebanese man, accused of trying to use his ties to Hezbollah as part of a scheme to launder drug money, pleaded guilty on Friday in a Brooklyn, New York, federal court to a US money laundering and conspiracy charge. US prosecutors said Joseph Asmar, 43, of Beirut, entered his plea at a hearing before US District Judge Eric Vitaliano. Asmar was arrested in Paris in October 2015, and was extradited to the US 14 months later. He as well faced a money laundering charge. Aaron Altman, a lawyer for Asmar, said in an e-mail: “Joseph Asmar has taken responsibility for his actions and is anxious to move forward with his life. Additional than anything, he misses his family and prays that they will be reunited in the near next.”
  • Lebanon’s Economic Dependence on the Gulf

    LEBANON, 2017/05/28 Policies in place in Lebanon have pushed the national economy to specialize additional and additional in serving a rentier regional economy, and made it fundamentally dependent on remittances and cash inflows from abroad to bridge the gap between local GDP and consumption. In this context, there have been a lot of myths about the “magnanimity” of oil-rich Gulf states and their support for the Lebanese economy. However, it is sufficient to examine the sources of these claims to find out that while the Gulf is indeed an significant source of inflows and remittances to Lebanon, the magnitude of the phenomenon is much smaller than the media’s political exaggerations would have it.
  • Higher earning Why a university degree is worth more in some countries than others

    AFGHANISTAN, 2016/12/11 A university education may expand your mind. It will as well fatten your wallet. Data from the OECD, a club of rich nations, show that graduates can expect far better lifetime earnings than those without a degree. The size of this premium varies. It is greatest in Ireland, which has a high GDP per chief and rising inequality. Since 2000 the unemployment rate for under-35s has swelled to 8% for those with degrees – but to additional than 20% for those without, and nearly 40% for secondary school drop-outs. The country’s wealth presently goes disproportionately to workers with letters next their names.
  • Dr Alain Hakim, Minister of Economy and Trade

    LEBANON, 2016/02/03 Dr Alain Hakim, Lebanon’s Minister of Economy and Trade, casts aside some of the misconceptions held in certain parts of the international community and reveals the authentic nature of doing business in Lebanon and what the country and its people have to offer, based on not only opinions but as well facts.
  • Lebanon cabinet meets under pressure from trash demos

    LEBANON, 2015/08/26 Lebanon's cabinet met Tuesday to discuss the country's waste crisis next weekend protests that began in response to the problem of uncollected trash evolved into calls for the government's resignation. The cabinet conference is the initial since the demonstrations that brought thousands of people into central Beirut to decry government impotence. The session, headed by Prime Minister Tammam Salam, is intended to discuss awarding new contracts for rubbish collection across the country, inclunding in the capital and its surroundings.
  • Ecotourism attract visitors to Lebanon,Lebanese people to discover their own country

    LEBANON, 2015/08/09 In February, the Ministry of Tourism launched a five-year plan to develop rural tourism in Lebanon, using a wide definition of ecotourism that covers religious, regional, agricultural, sports and traditional food tourism. In the '90s, ecotourism was the initiative of small groups and nongovernmental organizations — such as Arcenciel and T.E.R.R.E. Liban — sharing their passion for the environment with local and international visitors. Tourism in Lebanon, since the 2006 war with Israel, has been through ups and downs, between a record 361,934 arrivals in July 2010 and the first-quarter 2014 drop with only 229,252, according to the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Administration of Statistics. According to Executive Magazine’s May 2014 report, “Lebanon needs a bold new beginning in the tourism sector.” The International Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people and involves interpretation and education."