BEIRUT: The European Union Vice-President will visit Lebanon Tuesday as part of her first tour of the Middle East aimed at stimulating dialogue in the region. The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Catherine Ashton, will meet with senior Lebanese officials as part of her six-country tour, it was announced Monday.

SIDON: The world's richest man of Lebanese origins Carlos Slim visited Monday his hometown of Jezzine in south Lebanon, 46 years after his last trip to the area. The tycoon arrived to the town's western entrance accompanied by his sons Carlos junior and Patricio, in addition to Mexico's Maronite Patriarch George Abi Younes.

TYRE: Under the patronage of the head of the Western sector of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Italian General Luigi Frankfilla, a ceremony was held in the ancient Roman stadium of the coastal city of Tyre to celebrate the conclusion of two projects carried out by the Italian contingent and aimed at preserving and protecting Tyre's historic vestiges

BEIRUT: The head of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Antonio Cassesse said Sunday that he hoped progress would be made before year's end in the investigation into the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and related crimes.He also promised families of victims of political assassinations to identify the killers and "prove our professionalism.

SIDON: Security forces on Monday chased and arrested a Palestinian individual for working with a terrorist unit operating with the Al-Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam militant group, a senior security source said. The source revealed that upon the instructions of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) of south Lebanon headed by Brigadier Munzer al-Ayyoubi

BEIRUT: Beirut First Investigative Magistrate Ghassan Oweidat questioned Monday those involved in a shooting at the White House restaurant in late February. He interrogated Tarek Yateem, Majid Jillo, Elias Al-Awabeda and Fouad Al-Sabbah. Oweidat issued arrest warrants against them on charges of firing weapons and destroying private property

BEIRUT: The Internal Security Forces (ISF) arrested four individuals at the Rafik Hariri International Airport for attempts to smuggle drugs, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported on Monday. A 19-year-old Jordanian girl was detained when trying to travel to Amman with a Cannabis cigarette she hid in her clothes. A 28-year-old iman heading

BEIRUT: Military Prosecutor Judge Sakr Sakr charged Monday detained Lebanese Jawdat Mohammad Khairallah Al-Khoja of spying for Israel in return for large amounts of money. Khoja is accused of contacting Israel, dealing with its intelligence and providing Tel Aviv with information about civilian and military sites especially in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

BEIRUT: The Internal Security Forces (ISF) issued a statement on Monday informing citizens of traffic changes that will take place starting from Tuesday due to infrastructure works. The statement said that a contracting company will start works aimed at developing Beirut's infrastructure. Works will take place in the Beirut neighborhoods

BEIRUT: Beirut MPs held a meeting in Parliament on Monday at noon during which they discussed the developmental situation in the capital, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported. The meeting was attended by MPs Mohammad Qabbani, Nabil de Freij, Sebouh Kalbakian, Bassem al-Shab, Atef Majdalani, Ghazi Youssef and Ammar Houri.

BEIRUT: The Agriculture Ministry issued a statement on Monday stressing that the pesticides distributed to combat the Sandal worm do not harm the earth worm, insects and birds. The statement said the distributed pesticide is Tracer 480SC, which has an effective substance called Spinosad which is part of "Spinosyn Naturalyte.

BEIRUT: All eyes may have been on Bahrain over the last week with the Formula One season opening to unprecedented levels of anticipation with four world champions on the grid including returning racing legend Michael Schumacher. Just across the Gulf in Qatar Lebanon's Wissam Assaf has been grabbing headlines having recently become

BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri stressed Monday that no progress had been made on the Middle East peace process but said he still believed in diplomacy, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel played down the odds of another Israeli attack on Lebanon. Speaking at a joint news conference with Merkel in Berlin, the Lebanese premier said

BEIRUT: Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah informed Monday Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt that Syrian President Bashar Assad will receive him in Damascus on a date to be scheduled in the upcoming few days. "Part of Nasrallah's mediation with the Syrian leadership is based on Jumblatt's request and following his latest

BEIRUT: Lebanon will not send a representative to the March Arab League summit to be held in Libya, a well-informed ministerial source told The Daily Star on Monday. The source said the Lebanese government has found it "shameful" the way that Libya has dealt with the issue of the summit. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa is due to arrive

BEIRUT: Phalange Party chief Amin Gemayel said Sunday that the Party's symbolic representation, in the person of its first Deputy Shaker Aoun, at the March 14 meeting at Bristol Hotel in Beirut aimed to express reservations on the work procedure adopted by the alliance. Premier Saad Hariri did not attend the alliance's third conference at the Bristol Hotel

BEIRUT: The ministerial committee tasked with setting criteria for administrative appointments held its first meeting Monday at the Defense Ministry which was headed by Defense Minister Elias Murr given Prime Minister Saad Hariri's visit to Germany. Last week, the Cabinet tasked the committee headed by Hariri to propose a procedure and time

BEIRUT: Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud announced on Monday that the Tourism Ministry is in the process of creating the "Promoting Lebanon Board," a committee composed of private sector figures and chaired by the tourism minister. "Its main goal is to devise a strategy aimed at improving Lebanon's image abroad and to determine which

BEIRUT: Director General of the Economy and Trade Ministry said on Monday that the penalties issued by the directorate of consumers' protection increased by 60 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009. "This would not have been possible to accomplish without the improvement of human resources and skills at the directorate.

BEIRUT: Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud announced on Monday that the Tourism Ministry is in the process of creating the "Promoting Lebanon Board," a committee composed of private sector figures and chaired by the tourism minister. "Its main goal is to devise a strategy aimed at improving Lebanon's image abroad and to determine which

BEIRUT: Forbes magazine's annual survey of the world's billionaires for 2010 included on its list six persons from Lebanon, unchanged from 2009, four members from the family of the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and two members of the Mikati family, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group.

Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud gave a lovely speech in Beirut on Monday filled with excellent ideas for boosting this country's tourism sector, but we would like to caution the minister above all else to be realistic in his proposals.First, a word about the minister - Fadi Abboud has for many years been a wellspring of good ideas. We should

ANKARA: EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule urged Turkey Monday to open its ports to Cyprus under a trade pact with the bloc and to press on with peace efforts with Armenia."I had the opportunity to underline the importance the European Union attaches to the need for Turkey to fully implement the additional protocol - and normalize its relations with Cyprus.

TRIPOLI: European states locked in a diplomatic row with Libya should remember that their energy firms have interests in the country, Libya's top energy official said in an interview.Libya has stopped issuing entry visas to citizens of most European nations in retaliation for Switzerland barring entry to senior Libyans including leader Moammar Gadhafi.

BANGKOK: Thailand's prime minister rejected on Monday an ultimatum by tens of thousands of protesters who demanded immediate elections as they besieged a military base where his government was holed up. The "Red Shirts," loyal to deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra, massed in front of a barracks on the northern outskirts of Bangkok where top

KABUL: An early morning rocket attack on the largest US military hub in Afghanistan killed one person Monday, NATO said. In the east, meanwhile, Afghan authorities thwarted three would-be suicide bombers from attacking a security post. NATO confirmed the sprawling Bagram Air Field, north of the Afghan capital of Kabul, came under attack on

While attending a NASPA conference in Chicago recently, I found myself mesmerized as I listened to a chorus ranging from disappointment to downright hostility with President Barack Obama's leadership, or lack of it, during informal conversations with fellow participants. NASPA is a massive organization of student affairs personnel and administrators

DUBLIN: Ireland's most senior Catholic cleric has rejected calls to quit after being accused of trying to cover up allegations of sex abuse by a notorious pedophile priest in the 1970s. Cardinal Sean Brady faced demands Sunday to resign when it emerged he failed to notify authorities after attending meetings in 1975 where two alleged victims

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico: Suspected drug gang "hit teams" killed two Americans and a Mexican linked to a US consulate in coordinated shootings that marked an ominous turn in the Mexico drug war. US President Barack Obama expressed said he was "outraged" by the latest killings in the notorious border city of Ciudad Juarez on Saturday night.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear on Monday settlement building in occupied East Jerusalem would continue, in a move likely to further heighten tensions with key ally the United States.Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas responded by saying he would not return to peace

PARIS: President Nicolas Sarkozy's party fought on Monday to recover from a first-round beating by opposition Socialists in French regional elections that also saw the far-right National Front surge back.Final results showed the Socialists set to crush Sarkozy's governing UMP party in Sunday's second-round polls - the last major ballot before the 2012 presidential vote.

BEIJING: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on a visit to China Monday that the veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council were on the same page on how to tackle Iran.Miliband's comments came ahead of talks in Beijing with Chinese leaders which he said would focus on efforts to resolve the international standoff over Iran's nuclear drive.

BAGHDAD: Premier Nouri al-Maliki's hopes of retaining his post were given a major boost Monday when updated election results showed a strengthening of his grip on Baghdad, Iraq's biggest province.His success in the capital, which accounts for over a fifth of all parliamentary seats, builds on leads in seven provinces overall, making it increasingly likely his State

Last Saturday saw the end of "Israeli Apartheid Week" held in over 40 cities all over the world. Beirut joined the activity at the American University of Beirut last Thursday. The week started in 2005, but became world renowned and more widespread in 2009, when universities throughout the world showed movies about the Israeli war on Gaza, exhibited

TEHRAN: Iranian youths can attend courtship classes and earn a diploma before tying the knot as part of a newly launched government scheme to cut the divorce rate.The National Youth Organization has unveiled an online course to educate the Islamic Republic's overwhelmingly young population on how to find Mr or Mrs Right, pop the question, and live happily ever after.

TEHRAN: Iran's hardline government said the country's largest pro-reform political party has been banned as part of the crackdown on the opposition, on the same day that the home of opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi was attacked.Deputy Interior Minister Solat Mortazavi says the party, the Islamic Iran Participation Front, had its authorization to

TEHRAN: China has emerged as Iran's top economic partner, investing heavily in the energy sector and filling the gaps left by Western firms forced out by international sanctions. In 2009, China became Iran's premier trade partner, with bilateral trade worth $21.2 billion against $14.4 billion three years earlier. The figures confirm the exponential growth

DAMASCUS: Saudi Arabia is discussing extending development loans to Syria as ties between the two countries improve but there will not be direct cash assistance, the Saudi central bank governor said on Monday.Diplomatic activity between Damascus and Riyadh picked up in the last months after they agreed to set aside their political differences and lower

TOKYO: Toyota and three other Japanese automakers together with a power company have set up a group to promote electric vehicles by standardizing recharging machines and marketing the technology abroad. Representatives of Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co., Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Fuji Heavy Industries and Tokyo Electric Power Co.

ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, believed to be the world's largest wealth fund, on Monday revealed for the first time the distribution of its assets, estimated at around $500 billion. ADIA, in its first-ever annual review, said it invests between 60 percent and 85 percent of its holdings in North America and Europe and between 25 percent and 45 percent

In 2002, when Darfur was as familiar to most people as Outer Mongolia, Sudanese regular forces and aircraft as well as pro-government militias attacked Jebel Marra, the mountainous center of Darfur where rebels were organizing an insurgency. I learned about it when Abdul Wahid Mohammad al-Nur, the chairman of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA).

Last month, at the Sea World amusement park in Florida, a killer whale grabbed a trainer, Dawn Brancheau, pulled her underwater, and thrashed about with her. By the time rescuers arrived, Brancheau was dead.
The death of the trainer is a tragedy, and one can only have sympathy for her family. But the incident raises broader questions.

Iranian women's groups and other organizations are fighting a much-discussed proposed law which they say would encourage polygamy by allowing a man to take a second wife without the permission of the first under certain circumstances. The proposal comes at a time when the country has been rocked by protests, in which women have played a major part