Lebanon confirmed its first swine flu death on Monday, with the health ministry saying the A(H1N1) virus claimed the life of a pregnant 30-year-old woman.
“The deceased was thirty years old and eight months pregnant,” a ministry statement said, adding that the woman died on Saturday.
The woman had been suffering from respiratory problems and high fever but tests done “before and after the death show she was carrying the new flu virus,” the statement said.
[...] International College (IC) announced it would be shutting its middle school in Beirut for six days starting Tuesday because of the high number of students suffering from the virus.
In a letter posted on the school’s website Saturday, IC President John Johnson said 50 students were absent from classes on Friday alone. “To date we have had 31 cases of this influenza in the Ras Beirut Middle School, 12 of whom have already recovered and returned to school,” he said.
Johnson said IC was following regulations issued by the Center for Disease Control, which required siblings of swine flu patients to also stay at home for a five-day incubation period. All students are requested to stay at home and avoid contact with classmates until the school reopens on November 2.
Thousands of people have gathered for protests in more than 180 countries, calling for international action to curb the emissions causing global warming.
The International Day of Climate Action focused on the number 350, referring to 350 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 in the atmosphere which some scientists say must not be exceeded to avoid runaway global warming.
[...] In the Lebanese capital Beirut hundreds of activists, many wearing snorkels, held demonstrations in key archaeological sites.
They gathered around the Roman ruins in central Beirut, in the ancient eastern city of Baalbek and along the coast, carrying placards bearing the logo 350.
“It’s not the first time Beirut will have gone under water,” Wael Hmaidan of the IndyACT group organising Beirut’s protests said, explaining the goggle-wearing. “But this time it’s going down because of climate change, and not earthquakes.”
Photo Credits: AFP
AFP: Lebanese youths carry a banner bearing the logo “350″, to call for carbon emissions cuts to 350 parts per million
Several hundred people rallied in downtown Beirut on Monday in a show of solidarity with the displaced residents of Nahr el Bared, the Palestinian refugee camp that was destroyed in spring 2007 when fighting broke out between Fatah Al-Islam militants and the Lebanese Army.
The demonstration was staged days before a key court ruling that could put a halt to reconstruction, leaving some 30,000 people in temporary UN housing or squeezed into the outskirts of the camp indefinitely.
Monday’s rally saw young activists from Beirut chant and clap alongside displaced camp residents of all ages, many of whom wore caps and T-shirts emblazoned with the name of one of the 37 different community organizations that organized the protest under the umbrella of the Nahr el Bared Advocacy Committee.
Photo from BBC News: A Palestinian boy holds a placard in Beirut, Lebanon
Photo: Girl at Palestinian refugee rally. Credit: AFP / Getty
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A survey of the world’s most expensive retail rental locations has ranked Beirut as the 33rd most expensive city worldwide. The 2009 survey of 60 cities around the world by property consultants Cushman & Wakefield found Beirut to be the second most expensive of 12 cities in the Middle East and Africa region, and the most expensive of 10 Arab cities included in the rankings, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group.
In a previous survey Beirut ranked as the 43rd most expensive city globally and the third most expensive in the Middle East and Africa.
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The 16th anniversary of Beirut’s francophone book fair was launched on Wednesday at the headquarters of BankMed in Clemenceau. With over 150 authors, 70 of whom come from francophone countries scattered across the globe, “Salon Du Livre Francophone de Beyrouth” is a major event in Lebanese cultural life.
… With over 80,000 visitors a year, the event is the third largest French-language book fair in the world, after those of Paris and Montreal.
… The 16th Salon Du Livre Francophone de Beyrouth holds extra significance over previous events, as it coincides with Beirut’s year as the UNESCO World Book Capital.
To mark the occasion on October 21st many prominent francophone writers hailing from all over the world will embark on a boat and to salute the city of Beirut.
… Beirut’s Salon du Livre will take place from October 23rd until November 1st 2009 at the Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure Center in Downtown Beirut.
Mia may be only seven years old but the Lebanese youngster knows what she wants: a manicure and pedicure in purple, a golden star stenciled onto her hair, and a facial.And while many an older woman may struggle over what works best for the complexion, to little Mia the answer is simple: chocolate.
“It makes my skin soft,” she explains, as a beautician spreads the dark goo over her face in the Spa-Tacular Salon, a professional beauty centre for children in Lebanon.
The salon is one of a handful of parlours that have opened their doors to Lebanon’s littlest, and the trend is picking up rapidly in a country reputed for its image-conscious populace.
Made of sugar and spice and many things nice, Mia’s 15-dollar (11-euro) chocolate facial is a hit with her friends who dip their index fingers into the homemade mix and then lick their fingers, squealing as they hold back their freshly-coiffed hair.
Dressed in bright pink robes, the little girls, whose ages range from five to 11, pick shades of pink and blue for their nails and settle into brightly-coloured booster seats awaiting their turn.
Credits: AFP
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The official video for Snoop Dogg’s song “That’s The Homie” has plenty of footage from the conert he recently performed in Beirut. “Beirut, Lebanon” is written at the very beginning of the video and you can even see Dogg wearing a keffiyah.
Tomorrow Lebanon will host the 2009 Francophone Games, a four-yearly event that has been taking place since 1989. Around 3,000 athletes and participants from 42 countries are expected to take part.
Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, the secretary general of the Francophonie organisation, Abdou Diouf, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, Prince Albert of Monaco and some 40 ministers from participating countries are among the guests to attend the opening ceremony on Sunday, September 27.
World celebrities including Senegalese artist Youssou N’Dour, Lebanese singer Magida el-Roumi, Lebanese-born composer Gabriel Yared and 100 other musicians and dancers will also take part in the opening ceremony which is going to be held at the capital’s Camille Chamoun sports stadium.
The games will end on October 6.
For more information on the Francophone Games 2009, visit www.jeux2009.org.
Snoop Dogg holding the Lebanese flag at his first Mideast gig in Beirut - Credits: LA Times
Snoop Dogg, the famous U.S. rapper, made his first trip to the Middle East this summer by coming to Lebanon. Dogg, who performed in Beirut, described the city by calling it “the party capital of the world.“
The Cedar Tree is a symbol of Lebanon. The oldest Cedars known to Man are said to be in Bcherri. They are between 1000 and 2000 years old and have a great environmental and historic value.
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If you've got something to share or say about Lebanon, then you can do it right here at The Cedar Tree. Send your contributions to thecedartree[at]live.com.
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