[YouTube]

Picture taken from CNN Photos

Check out the rest of these photos that got featured on the CNN Website [Here].

Photojournalist Natalie Naccache grew up with Lebanese parents in London and visited the small country on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea every year since she was born. On her visits, Naccache, who is now based in the capital city, Beirut, noticed most families had a maid who assumed many household roles: cook, housekeeper, mother, nurse.

“These maids were basically living their lives for their employers. They were dedicated to their employers, and I found that very uncomfortable,” Naccache says.

She says the maid culture is embedded in the Lebanese way of life, which is why she chose to capture it in her photo essay “No Madam.”

Naccache asserts while many maids are treated well, others aren’t as lucky – subjected to verbal and physical abuse, racism, even rape, by recruitment agencies and employers. According to recent statistics, there are more than 200,000 migrant domestic workers in the country of roughly 4 million. [Full Story]

Haifa Wehbe showed up to pick up her award for Most Engaging Celebrity on Twitter

This list is not official so please feel free to correct me if I got any name wrong.

Blog of the year : BlogBaladi
Best News Blog : Beirut Spring
Best Business Blog : Wamda
Best Lifestyle Blog : Mich Café
Best Food Blog : No Garlic No Onions
Best Fashion Blog : PlushBeirut
Best Technology Blog : Microsoftoholic
Best Personal Blog : Gino’s Blog
Best Media Personality on Social Media : Zaven
Best Non-Arabic Vocal Artist on Social Media : Anthony Touma
Best Band on Social Media : Mashrou3 Leila
Most Creative Instagram Account : LiveLoveBeirut
Best Facebook Campaign/Page : Lebanese Memes
Best Integrated Campaign : Cheyef 7alak
Most Engaging Youtube Channel : Cheyef 7alak
Most Engaging Youtube Video : Beirut Duty Free Flash Mob
Most Engaging Person on Twitter : Anis Tabet
Most Engaging Celebrity on Twitter : Haifa Wehbe
Most Engaging Media Personality on Twitter : Neshan
Most Engaging Politician/Diplomat on Twitter : Ziad Baroud
Best Business on Twitter : Roadster Diner
Best NGO/Organization on Twitter : Donner Sang Compter
Best Pub/Bar on Social Media : Feb30
Best Restaurant : Roadster Diner
Best Hotel on Social Media : Phoenicia
Best Fashion Brand on Social Media : Vero Moda ME
Best Food & Beverage Brand on Social Media : Almaza
Best Commercial District on Social Media : ABC
Best NGO/Community on Social Media : Lebanese Memes
Best Start-up on Social Media : Tickle My Brain
Best Design for a Social Media Campaign : Almaza
Best Facebook Application : Novo

L’Armoire De Lana was also awarded the best “SMA Social Campaigning Magnet” Award.

Many thanks to those who voted for us and the judges for their trust in this blog!

Picture taken from Tech-Ticker.com via FrootApps

There are 22 million smartphones in the MENA region, 12 million in the Gulf alone. Android has the biggest market share with 40%, followed by iOS with 35%, then Blackberry and Windows way behind.

Check out more information [Here].

Picture taken from Virgin Radio Lebanon

Virgin Radio Lebanon is set to open in May and has leaked a picture of their Head Quarters that will be located in Jal el Dib. Billionaire Sir Richard Branson will be attending the opening.

You can check out more updates [Here].

After spotting the McLaren MP4 in Beirut, I spotted the next day a Ferrari FF at ABC Dbayyeh.

I was always reluctant to buy a Ferrari because it only fits two (Ma hek?) but the FF is the ideal family car for me (after winning a couple of lotteries).

The seal that LBCI talked about four days ago turned out to be a sea lion and has come back today to the port in Tyre. According to Animals Lebanon, the sea lion is a captive raised California sea lion, not native to this region and not used to surviving in the wild, and releasing the animal in the wild is against the recommendations of the IUCN. They added that the person responsible at the Ministry of Environment said a decision will be made this week of the fate of the sea lion.

Let’s hope the concerned Ministry takes the right decision to send this young sea lion to a proper place to be given the specialized care needed.

You can read more updates [Here].

This is both funny and sad.

Thanks Nick!

Teta, Alf Marra (Grandma, A Thousand Times) by Mahmoud Kaabour – Trailer

[YouTube]

Why did Charbel oppose the movie? Because he received a protest letter from the Israel Boycott Office of the Cairo-based Arab League. As we all know, Arab countries and on top of them Egypt are very sensitive when it comes to Israel (Specially in Sharm el Sheikh).

Charbel told AFP the interior ministry had granted Doueiri a permit to film the movie but revoked it after receiving a letter of protest from the Israel Boycott Office of the Cairo-based Arab League.

“We had no problem with the movie but when we received the protest letter… we could not oppose” the request, he said. [NowLebanon]

The Attack was already rejected by Lebanon’s cinema committee and prohibited from getting nominated for an Oscar under the Foreign Film category. The movie was adapted from a novel by Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra and portrays the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the eyes of an Israeli doctor who discovers that his wife carried out a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.

Taking aside the ban of this movie, doesn’t Doueiri looks a bit like Ghaddafi?

[YouTube]

In case you are wondering how Israel shoots down these unmanned aircrafts, check out the video above. Funnily enough, no one knows who sent the last drone.

It could be that the Lebanese Rocket Society movie inspired some young engineers lol!

Believe it, if you don’t come and see it.

I don’t know if there are that many Elvis fans in Lebanon.

[YouTube]

[YouTube]

It looks like every time a Nasrallah is caricaturized on Basmet Watan, some Lebanese get upset. Last time it was Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and now it’s the previous Maronite Patriarch Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir.

Funnily enough, I didn’t see anyone blocking roads when a Saudi paper mocked the current Patriarch.

One thing I have to tell those blocking roads and causing traffic over a pointless matter: Stop this nonsense and focus on more important matters, or as the Lebanese proverb says “3melo chi byenfa3″.