Congratulations to Rida Antar and the Lebanese National Football team once again!

Lebanon registered a shocking 2-1 win against South Korea in the third phase of qualification for the 2014 World Cup finals in the Asian zone in Beirut on Tuesday, and at the heart of this extraordinary triumph was Roda Antar. [Goal.com]

A week after the two explosions in Tyre, a new explosion occurred today in the village of As-Siddiqin in Tyre.

According to early reports from VOL radio, it is a weapons’ stockpile belonging to Hezbollah. Of course we will never know what’s the reason behind it because ISF & the Lebanese Army cannot go there yet.

I say it’s another alcohol-related bombing, as it definitely has nothing to do with security.

Lebanese woman Myriam al-Ashqar, 28, was found dead and soaked in blood Tuesday in a forestland located between the Keserwan towns of Sahel Alma and Harisa, LBC television reported.
It later appeared that she was killed by the janitor of the Our Lady of the Annunciation monastery in Baqloush, where she went to pray on Monday and where she used to pray several times every other week, LBC said.[Naharnet]

That’s the first time I hear about such a terrible crime in the Keserwan area and more specifically in a monastery. My condolences to Myriam’s family and fiance and hope she rests in peace.

PS: I hope those in charge of monasteries will start hiring people more responsibly from now on following this incident. I also don’t see the need for a janitor in a monastery.

Allegations include supplying electricity to non-university users over three decades, multi-million endowment fund losses, inflated retirement compensation packages, and shady drug supply practices at the university’s renowned Medical Center.

I am an AUB graduate yet I am shocked to read such accusations. This will definitely damage AUB’s reputation if it turns out to be true.

I am not fully aware of the report’s content but I hope it will cover the favoritism (Wasta) in the Financial Aid office that some parties used to benefit from on the expense of students truly in need.

The man behind the 500-pages report is Nabil Chartouni, a previous member of the board of trustees. He claims that “the irregularities occurred when he was a member of the board between May 2001 and March 2011″ and that “the university’s endowment fund has lost over 200 million dollars in the past 10 years due to mismanagement.”

You can read the whole article [Here].

Thanks Marc

It was a matter of time before someone comes up with a Lebanese version of the UNHATE campaign. However if I were you Angie, I’d watch out cause the first picture might get her into trouble.

You can check them out [Here].

[Source]

Two bombs targeting a nightclub and a liquor store exploded early Wednesday in the Lebanese city of Tyre, one of the few areas of the conservative South where alcohol is available. [Link]

Fortunately, there were no casualties reported even though the night club is highly frequented by UNIFIL soldiers.

The prime suspects are religious extremists noting that alcohol in Lebanon is only banned in areas under the control of Shia militant group Hezbollah and radical Sunni movements.

Lebanon will face South Korea today in a FIFA World Cup qualifier that could boost Lebanon’s chances of reaching the final qualifying round for the world cup.

Lebanon had beaten Kuwait earlier last week and is currently second in the group, 3 points behind Korea.

Last time the two teams met back in September, South Korea won 6-0. However, our team has improved since then and will hopefully deliver a better result this time.

In other news, few schools in Beirut suspended their classes after 1 pm today in order to allow their students to attend the game and support the national team. [Link]

Update: Lebanon is winning 2-1 over Korea. End of 1st Half.

Al-Akhbar newspaper published today a lengthy article, supporting what I said yesterday, that Lebanon might be facing its first serial killer.

As it appears, the number of victims is 11 and not only 4 and all were killed the same way. Added to that, the only common point that was found by the police is that most of the victims are cab drivers.

via Naharnet

October 14 2011
The bodies of two middle-aged men who had been shot in the head were discovered in two regions near Beirut early Friday, the National News Agency reported. [Link]

November 12, 2011
BEIRUT: The bodies of two men, killed in almost identical fashion, were discovered over the weekend in separate suburbs of the capital, security sources said. [Link]

I truly hope I am wrong about this. The last thing we need are serial killers in Lebanon.

[YouTube]

A great result and a very nice goal for our National Football team!

This win places Lebanon in second place, three points behind South Korea and boosts its chances for qualifying to the World Cup. I am glad the game ended without any fights or army shooting in the air like what happened the last time we met the Kuwaiti team.

Thanks to Chahe’s post, BlogBaladi was featured in an article in the Washington Post.

I didn’t think it was worthy mentioning but I guess it doesn’t happen everyday for a Lebanese blog.

You can check it out [Here].

That’s the second time in one week. I wonder what is it this time? The underwater Cable malfunctioning again?

Update: Internet is working at 10% of its capacity and the problem is not with the cable this time but with the ministry’s equipment in their Jdeideh office. [Link]

Part of the Petit Cafe wall in Kaslik collapsed this morning because of the heavy rain. Luckily, no one was injured.

I’m a huge fan of Burj Hammoud but I have to condemn their recent actions. Due to some incidents that took place in Burj Hammoud some members of the community are now targeting and harassing all the expat workers in the area. I know Najib agrees with what they’re doing but I have to disagree. I think it’s extremely racist to target people based on nationality or appearance. It’s called racial profiling and it’s fucked up. We should respect the migrants instead of threatening them or humiliating them. I read this in the DailyStar awhile ago and I think it sums up how messed up things are:

Salman hails from Nigeria, but first came to Lebanon 20 years ago. Like most of those interviewed for this report, he did not want his full name published. “Since 1991, I always felt safe in Dora,” he recalls. “But now, it is like they are targeting all migrant workers.” On one recent day in the Dora roundabout he was asked for his papers five times. “Something is happening here,” he says. “I don’t know what.”

What’s happening is very sad and I hope the community realizes what they’re doing is simply wrong and unjust. Racism in Lebanon needs to end.

Check out the full article on DailyStar [Here]