Lebanon

I happened to be in Beirut last week. It was a good chance to catch up with Lebanese and regional politics and see friends. Besides, I could follow the Armenian Genocide commemoration. It was a sad week for Lebanon to mark two tragic events, since it also marked the 40th anniversary of the Lebanese civil war. 

New rules in Lebanon, which has the highest per capita concentration of refugees in the world, have left many thousands of them at risk of abuse from landlords and detention at any time, aid workers and a rights group has said. 

Several Lebanese leaders on April 13 warned that the lessons of the country?s civil war should not be forgotten, 40 years after the 15-year conflict began.

April 13 marks the 40th anniversary of the 1975 conflict, in which 150,000 people were killed before a peace deal was reached in 1990.

Mount Athos Area tourism might soon be strengthened by marriages. Specifically, an event which took place in Beirut, Lebanon, named “Wedding Folies” appeals to the orthodox Christians in the country (about 50% of the populace), and invites them to get married and spend their honeymoons in Greece.

Despite the ongoing political turmoil in the Middle East, Turkey?s Mediterranean resort town of Marmaris, already popular among British and Russians tourists, is becoming an increasingly popular center of attraction for Arab tourists.

Syrian refugees make up the majority of children living and working on the streets of Lebanon, with many of them illiterate and surviving by begging, a study released Feb. 16 said.
      
The survey of 18 areas in Lebanon identified more than 1,500 children living and working on the street, although its authors said the real number nationwide could be three times higher.

Serbian peacekeepers in Lebanon "safe"

BELGRADE -- All Serbian Army members who serve in UN's UNFIL peacekeeping mission in Lebanon are well and safe, the Ministry of Defense has said.

Spokesman Maj. Jovan Krivokapic said that the ministry was "monitoring the situation in the field and maintaining constant contact with our people deployed in the operation zone."

Lebanese laws and courts governing marriage and child custody "discriminate against women" from all religious groups, often trapping them in abusive unions, a Human Rights Watch report published Jan. 19 said.
      

A double suicide attack that killed eight people at a cafe in the Lebanese city of Tripoli was carried out by the Islamic State group, the interior minister said on Jan. 11, contradicting a claim of responsibility by the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front.
   

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has issued a warning to its citizens currently in Lebanon or planning to travel to Lebanon, urging them to be “vigilant.”