Najwa Karam، Zein El Omr performs at Ghosta Festival today

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Superstars Najwa Karam and Zein El Omr will perform on Friday evening a concert during Ghosta Festival, held in Ghosta, Lebanon. She will perform a number of songs such as “Ya habayeb”, “Menni Elak”, “Ma Fi Nom” and others. Ghosta Festival is a two-day program. The festival will be opened on August 25 by Lebanese stars Najwa Karam and Zein El Omr. The festival will conclude on August 26 with Wael Kfoury’s concert on August 26. The concerts will begin at 9:00PM. Ghosta Festival is an annual music and entertainment festival held in Ghosta, Keserwan, Mount Lebanon. Features a variety of music, arts and entertainment shows on different nights. Noteworthy, Najwa Karam is a Lebanese multi-Platinum singer, songwriter, and fashion icon. She is well-known as Lebanese Myriam Hernandez. She made her debut after winning the golden medal in the singing contest (Layali libnan-Lebanese nights). Source link

Lebanon army says in final stage of IS border battle

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AFP/Beirut Lebanon's army said Tuesday it had captured most of a mountainous area on the border with Syria during an operation to clear Islamic State group jihadists from the region. The army began its campaign in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa areas on Lebanon's eastern border on Saturday, capturing more than two thirds of the 120 square kilometres held by IS jihadists in the first two days. "We have captured around another 20 square kilometres, so we have about another 20 square kilometres to go," said army spokesman Brigadier-General Ali Qanso. He declined to be drawn on how much longer it would take the army to finish the operation. Four Lebanese soldiers have been killed since the campaign began, including one on Tuesday when a landmine detonated under his vehicle. The other three were killed when they drove over a landmine at the weekend. At a press conference, Qanso presented pictures of IS weapons, ammunition and mines recovered during the fight, as well as tunnels used by the jihadist group. The army estimated that around 600 IS fighters were in the area on the eastern border, where jihadists have long posed a security threat. In 2014, they invaded the border town of Arsal, capturing 30 Lebanese soldiers and police. Four were executed by their captors and a fifth died of his wounds. Sixteen were released in a prisoner swap in December 2015, but another nine soldiers are believed to remain in IS hands. Their fate remains unclear, and Qanso said the soldiers were the army's "top concern". The army's operation comes after Lebanese militant group Hezbollah carried out its own six-day campaign against fighters from a former Al-Qaeda affiliate further south on the border area. That offensive ended with a ceasefire under which 8,000 refugees and jihadists were transported to northwestern Syria in return for the release of five captured Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah and the Syrian army launched their own simultaneous attack against IS from the Syrian side of the border on Saturday, but Lebanon's army insists it is not coordinating the assault. Hezbollah is a key ally of Syria's government and has bolstered its forces against rebels there.

Lebanon army says in final stage of IS border battle

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AFP/Beirut Lebanon's army said Tuesday it had captured most of a mountainous area on the border with Syria during an operation to clear Islamic State group jihadists from the region. The army began its campaign in the Jurud Ras Baalbek and Jurud al-Qaa areas on Lebanon's eastern border on Saturday, capturing more than two thirds of the 120 square kilometres held by IS jihadists in the first two days. "We have captured around another 20 square kilometres, so we have about another 20 square kilometres to go," said army spokesman Brigadier-General Ali Qanso. He declined to be drawn on how much longer it would take the army to finish the operation. Four Lebanese soldiers have been killed since the campaign began, including one on Tuesday when a landmine detonated under his vehicle. The other three were killed when they drove over a landmine at the weekend. At a press conference, Qanso presented pictures of IS weapons, ammunition and mines recovered during the fight, as well as tunnels used by the jihadist group. The army estimated that around 600 IS fighters were in the area on the eastern border, where jihadists have long posed a security threat. In 2014, they invaded the border town of Arsal, capturing 30 Lebanese soldiers and police. Four were executed by their captors and a fifth died of his wounds. Sixteen were released in a prisoner swap in December 2015, but another nine soldiers are believed to remain in IS hands. Their fate remains unclear, and Qanso said the soldiers were the army's "top concern". The army's operation comes after Lebanese militant group Hezbollah carried out its own six-day campaign against fighters from a former Al-Qaeda affiliate further south on the border area. That offensive ended with a ceasefire under which 8,000 refugees and jihadists were transported to northwestern Syria in return for the release of five captured Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah and the Syrian army launched their own simultaneous attack against IS from the Syrian side of the border on Saturday, but Lebanon's army insists it is not coordinating the assault. Hezbollah is a key ally of Syria's government and has bolstered its forces against rebels there.

Lebanese police helped foil alleged Sydney airport terrorist plot, interior minister says

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theguardian.com - Lebanon’s interior minister has said the country’s police intelligence played a major role in foiling an alleged plot to bring down an Emirati passenger plane flying from Sydney to Abu Dhabi. Nohad Machnouk told reporters on Monday that four Lebanese-Australian brothers, including one who is in detention in Lebanon, had planned to blow up the plane with bombs hidden inside a large Barbie doll and a meat grinder. He said the bombs had not made it on to the plane because the handbag they were in was 7kg above the weight permitted by the airline.

Two Sydney men charged over alleged terrorism bomb plot Machnouk said the bombs had been sent back to the would-be attacker’s home in Australia. He said the attacker had tried to bring two explosives on the plane in case one of them did not work. The second was to be detonated by one of the brothers who was supposed to be the suicide attacker. It was not immediately clear how authorities uncovered the alleged plot. Advertisement Australian authorities said late last month that they had thwarted a credible terrorist plot to down an airplane by smuggling a device on board but provided few details, including the precise nature of the threat or any airlines involved. On Tuesday Australia’s transport minister, Darren Chester, who has primary responsibility for airports, was reluctant to confirm the statements by the Lebanese interior minister. “The bottom line is we work very closely with our security partners around the world,” Chester told Sky News. “It’s a team effort in the sense that we do need to share information, because the threat of terrorism crosses international boundaries.

The United Arab Emirates’ national airline said it was working with Australian police in the investigation. But Etihad Airways, the smallest of three long-haul Gulf carriers that fly to Australia, refused to confirm if it had been targeted. This month Australian police said two men had been charged with terrorism offences in Australia in connection with an alleged plot to bring down the airplane. It was not immediately clear if they were two of the four brothers. Four Lebanese-Australian men have been arrested by police, who also reportedly seized a meat grinder that investigators thought may be the basis of a bomb. One of the four was released later without charge. Machnouk said two of the brothers, Khaled and Mahmoud Khayyat, were being held in Australia, while another, Tarek, was a senior member of the Islamic State group based in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa. He added that the fourth brother, Amer, was supposed to be on board the plane, working to bring it down 20 minutes after takeoff, but was arrested in Lebanon after he arrived in mid-July from Australia. Machnouk said the alleged plot had been “foiled because of the extra weight”. “Intelligence branch followed on the case and found that Amer was involved in this act and it appears that he was supposed to carry it out,” he said.

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Lebanese army recaptures third of IS stronghold near Ras Baalbek

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bbc- The Lebanese army has recaptured a third of an enclave held by so-called Islamic State near the north-eastern border with Syria, officials say. Troops launched an offensive near the town of Ras Baalbek on Saturday. The army says there are about 600 militants in the mountainous area, which IS has held since 2014 and is the group's last stronghold in the country. About 20 militants have been killed in the latest operation and 10 soldiers have been injured, the military says. The offensive was aimed at ridding the area of IS militants, who are armed with anti-aircraft and armour-piercing missiles and drones, the Lebanese army said. Youssef Roufeyel, a resident of Ras Baalbek, told Reuters news agency that local people would do whatever was necessary for victory. "This battle requires help and support from the people, and we are behind the army and by their side," he said. Islamic State group: The full story Is this the end for IS? The Lebanese army later posted an image on its website showing its troops waving both a Lebanese and a Spanish flag in Ras Baalbek in what it described as a "salute from our troops" to the victims of the Barcelona terror attack in which 13 people were killed on Thursday. IS said it had carried out the attack, which took place in the city's famous Las Ramblas district, though it is not clear whether any of the attackers were directly connected to the group or simply inspired by it. The latest operation in Lebanon comes as IS faces a number of military strikes on territory it controls in both Syria and neighbouring Iraq, where a brutal fight to rid Mosul of its militants left the city in ruins. Militants have long been active in mountainous eastern Lebanon near the border with Syria, where a bloody civil war has raged since 2011. Meanwhile, the Syrian army and the Lebanese Shia Islamist group, Hezbollah, announced their own offensive against IS, though Lebanon said that the two operations were not connected

by sputniknews.com - The Lebanese Army has launched the ‘Fajr al-Joroud’ (Dawn of the Outskirts) offensive to drive Daesh militants out of the Lebanese-Syrian border region. Brigadier General Ali Qansuh, during a press conference on August 19, announced the start of this large counterterrorist operation. According to the general, the main purpose of the offensive is to return all Lebanese lands under the control of the government right up to the borders with Syria. It was especially noted that coordination between the Hezbollah movement and the Syrian Army is not envisaged, and there are also no plans to conduct any negotiations with Daesh militants. The army leadership also expressed hope to liberate captured soldiers of the Lebanese Army as soon as possible. According to the general, in Lebanon there are about 600 militants, which are divided into three groups with some located in the north of the Raas al Baalbek and al Qaa mountains. These terrorists are armed with anti-aircraft weapons, sniper rifles and they often move from place to place on motorcycles. Daesh militants hide in the caves and crevices of the mountains, so the Lebanese Army must battle its enemy great skill and maneuvering. A deputy of the Lebanese Parliament, a member of the "Islah wa tagiir" block, Amal Abu Zeid, told Sputnik that this operation is noteworthy for several reasons. “Firstly, this political decision was made in the presence of the Lebanese President and the head of the Supreme Defense Council, without objections from the government, and secondly, this is exclusively a Lebanese solution without any outside influence,” Zeid said. He further added that keeping in mind these factors it is clear that this operation is carried out exclusively in the interests of the Lebanese people. Lebanon announced the start of the offensive against the Daesh enclave on the northeast part of its border with Syria on Saturday. Damascus and the Lebanese militia movement Hezbollah are also currently carrying out their anti-Daesh offensive on the Syrian side of the border. The Lebanese Army eliminated 12 Daesh strongholds on the Lebanese-Syrian border during the second day of its anti-Daesh offensive, according to a statement of the army’s command obtained by Sputnik on Sunday.

Amazon can borrow money more cheaply than Russia, Mexico and China

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by Joe Ciolli - Business Insider  - Amazon got a pretty sweet deal on its recent $16 billion debt financing. The deal was so good, in fact, that a chunk of it ended up being better than what the governments of Russia, Mexico, Greece, Chile and China could've gotten, according to a report from Quartz's John Detrixhe. The offering priced on Tuesday amid strong demand from investors, the Wall Street Journal reported . The company sold a $3.5 billion tranche of 10-year bonds at a 0.9-percentage-point yield-premium to Treasurys, below guidance set by underwriters, according to the WSJ. Given the 10-year Treasury is currently trading at around 2.27%, that makes for a yield on Amazon's debt of around 3.2%. Detrixhe pointed out that while that's still more expensive than what borrowing costs in Germany, the US and Canada, it puts some other world powers to shame. Consider, for example, that the 10-year bond for Russia yields 7.8%, while their Mexican counterparts return roughly 6.8% and similar-maturity Chinese government securities yield 3.6%.  Amazon is planning to use the $16 billion it raised in the debt market to fund its recently announced $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods. The tech giant isn't the only high-flying company translating investor goodwill into favorable borrowing terms. Tesla, which has a junk rating and quickly burns through cash, easily priced a $1.8 billion bond offering on Friday. The deal ended up getting done at a record-low coupon for a bond of such maturity and low quality, according to a Bloomberg News report. What's more, the originally sought $1.5 billion was bumped up to $1.8 billion because of outsize demand. So if you're an innovative, fast-growing corporate juggernaut, it looks like a good time to tap debt markets. And even if you don't get the type of bargain enjoyed by Amazon, you'll probably get a better deal than Russia.