BEIRUT: What Cameron Silver, fashion historian and philanthropist, does not know about fashion is not worth knowing. Named one of Time magazine’s 25 Most Influential Names and Faces in Fashion in 2002, Silver is regarded as one of the top vintage experts in the world. Silver was in Beirut last week to sign the […]
(Beirut) – The authorities in Lebanon are failing to take adequate steps to prevent and to prosecute increasing violence by private citizens against Syrians following the outbreak of clashes in Arsal in August 2014 between the Lebanese Army and extremist groups the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra and the subsequent executions of three Lebanese […]
U.S. President Barack Obama said that he had underestimated the Islamic State. He also said that the United States had overestimated the capabilities of the Iraqi army as well. Obama was interviewed on CBS’ "60 Minutes" where he expressed his views about the present U.S. mission in the Middle East.While the interview is going […]
By: Robert Fisk He’s offered to do a deal with Isis. No, not David Cameron. Not Obama, of course. I’m talking about Walid Jumblatt, the Lebanese Druze leader. He’s demanding that the Lebanese government swap Islamist prisoners for 21 soldiers and policemen held by Isis and Jabhat al-Nusra. In case you had forgotten – […]
VENICE: U.S. actor George Clooney and Lebanese-born human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin formalized their marriage in a civil ceremony in Venice on Monday, capping star-studded weekend nuptials. The two, who married at a lavish party on Saturday night, spent about 10 minutes inside the lagoon city’s 14th century city hall for a civil service […]
A group of youths stormed on Sunday evening al-Jazeera television office in Beirut protesting against what was issued by it about the army. The youths declared protesting in the television’s building until an apology is presented by al-Jazeera. LBCI stated: “A group of youths under the title Omega Team protested in al-Jazeera television office in […]
Le liban que jai aime
Allegra MORABITO
Fille de l’ambassadeur d’Italie au Liban
Sheba Morabito, the Ambassador of Italy and Allegra Morabito
Et derrière cette chaleur, ses tensions politiques, ses roquettes, ses maladies, ses virus, sa pollution, son embouteillage omniprésent, ses ouvriers qui te sifflent chaque deux mètres en criant « kifik ya helweh », son langage incompréhensible, sa distance qui sépare un endroit de l’autre, son manque de propreté, sa corruption, ses promesses jamais respectées, sa propagande, sa censure, sa discrimination, ses accidents de voitures, ses lois ignorées, ses odeurs variées, ses chansons qui ne cessent de répéter « habibi » et « hayeteh », sa température qui passe de 10 degrés à 30 degrés d’un jour à l’autre, l’absence d’un président, ses ruines oubliées, je sais que le Liban va me manquer.
Je sais que devant chaque plat de pâtes, je penserai au taboulé et au fattouche, au kebbé et à la man’oucheh, à la labné et au hommos, à la limonade et au jellab, au taouk et au kafta, à la fraîcheur des fruits et des légumes, à l’achta et au kneffeh, aux pistaches et aux noisettes.
Je sais que ses lumières et ses feux d’artifice quotidiens, sa vivacité et sa gaieté, ses night-clubs et ses restaurants me manqueront.
Je sais que les grosses lèvres et les seins qui semblent toucher le sol de certaines Libanaises, le botox excessif et les nez invisibles, retroussés, alimenteront mes moments de tristesse.
Je sais que le mélange de langues dans chaque phrase accompagnée d’un « Hi ! Ça va ? Chou, tu as fait quoi hier, hayeteh ? », les insultes qui occupent 60 % des phrases n’accompagneront plus mes conversations. Et, bizarrement, après quatre ans ici, se convaincre d’arrêter d’utiliser « ya3ne », « enno », « an jad », « walaw », « hayeteh »… chaque deux mots sera un combat pour moi.
Events in Afghanistan and the Middle East have awakened the Western world to the existence of an existential threat. We are not confronting a specific grievance that could be remedied by negotiation. We are not faced simply with rogue regimes and insurgent groups that can be dealt with through sanctions and reciprocal menaces. The […]
It was a day he vowed would never happen but on Saturday 27 September, George Clooney left his bachelor days behind him. And the 53-year-old heartthrob was still celebrating on Sunday as he and his British human rights lawyer bride Amal Alamuddin, 36, hosted a brunch for family and friends at Hotel Cipriani in […]
A group of youth stormed on Sunday evening al-Jazeera television office in Beirut protesting against what was issued by it about the army.The youth declared protesting in the television’s building until an apology is presented by al-Jazeera. LBCI stated: “A group of youth under the title Omega Team protested in al-Jazeera television office in […]