Football marks the anniversary of civil war
Apr0
To mark the 35th anniversary of the outbreak of civil war in Lebanon, rival leaders have put on a special football match. The game was between a side captained by the Lebanese Prime Minister, Saad Hariri, and one led by a leading figure from the Shia Hezbollah movement. The game was a non-too-serious affair however, as many spectators found the view of portly politicians swiftly running out of breath an amusing sight.
The game was held in Beirut’s main stadium in front of a carefully assembled collection of politicians and dignitaries and led one wag to comment that the players “…hit the ground more often than the ball”. The game was curtailed to a duration of thirty minutes, with both goals coming towards the end of the match. Each side contained members of both parties following the creation of a unity government at the end of last year. This ended five months of deadlock after the general election last summer.
Bringing the Ancient Home
Apr0
Having spent some time in Egypt last year, I had the advantage of seeing first-hand the wonders that can be found at Luxor, Edfu and Kom Ombo. Of course, this was merely scratching the surface of the magnificent remains of the ancient civilisation. I was shown round many of the sites by the same guide – an Egyptian who had studied Ancient History and Tourism (a good mix!) at university. He mentioned on several occasions the anger that he felt regarding the theft and removal of ancient artefacts.
Now, Zahi Hawass, head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), has called for many of these items to be returned. Around twenty countries are represented at the two-day council conference where it is hoped that an agreement can be reached that will see many of the most important artefacts returned. I, for one, can only agree that this should happen wherever possible.
Netanyahu cancels trip
Apr0
The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has decided against visiting the United States. He was due to visit the country to take part in a summit to discuss nuclear security. The decision has been made after Netanyahu learned that Egypt and Turkey were planning to raise the issue of Israel’s nuclear arsenal. Believed to have access to the sixth biggest nuclear arsenal in the world (after the US, Russia, France, China and the UK), this has long been a subject of much caution for the leader.
The US president is hosting the event that will welcome dozens of world leaders in Washington which starts next week. Israel claim that Turkey and Egypt and planning to call on Israel to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In the past, Israel have never denied or confirmed that it possesses the arsenal that it is alleged to have. As such, the Prime Minister will not take his place at the summit and will send a high-ranking Minister in his place.