Friday 3/9/2010
Alisar: The beauty from Damascus who became Germany's Top Model By Forward Magazine Alisar Ailabouni, a 20-year old Syrian girl who lives in Austria, has been elected as German Top Model 2010, at a mega-event hosted by German supermodel Heidi Klum at the Cologne Lanxess Arena, attended by 15,000 spectators. Alisar, who was born in Damascus then moved with her family to Europe, where she was raised in Mattighofen in Upper Austria. She
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By Forward Magazine The four Syrians arrested by Israel for having been onboard the Turkish ship Marmara on Monday, have all been released from Israeli captivity and are now headed for Jordan where they will then leave to Syria. They include: Shaza Barakat (45), Hasan Rifaii (43), Mohammad Salta (47) and Hilarion Capucci (88) the famous ex-Archbishop of Jerusalem who although Palestinian, holds Syrian nationality. This brings the saga of the Freedom
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Archbishop Capucci demonstrating for Gaza By Forward Magazine The original story said that only one Syrian, ex-schoolteacher Shaza Barakat, had been onboard the Freedom Flotilla and that she is now in Israeli captivity. It is now clear that three other Syrians were onboard the Turkish ship attacked by Israel at 4 am on May 31, where 20 civilians were killed and another 50 were wounded. Barakat, however, was the only Syrian female
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Free Shaza Barakat—the only Syrian onboard the Freedom Flotilla By Forward Magazine, Syria The only woman onboard the Freedom Flotilla, Shaza Barakat, has been arrested by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and taken to a prison within Israel. She happens to be the only Syrian woman among the hundreds of activists who were attacked by the IDF at 4 am on Monday, where 20 civilians were killed, 15 of whom were Turkish
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Twenty-seven EU countries have gone into urgent session through their ambassadors in Brussels on Monday, to debate the dramatic events off the shore of Gaza, where the Israeli Army attacked a convoy of ships carrying 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid to the Strip, which has been besieged by the Israelis since the summer of 2007. At 4 am on Monday, the IDF attacked the Freedom Flotilla, 64 km into international
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Both government and public alike awoke to horrendous news coming out of Gaza, being under vicious attack during early morning hours by the IDF on the convoy of ships carrying international activities to break the siege on Gaza. A total of 16 civilians were killed, mostly Turks, while Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the Islamic Movement in Palestine and Dr Hani Suleiman, head of the Lebanese delegation, were seriously wounded
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Sami Moubayed Last Thursday, April 12, 2010, marked the 12th anniversary of the passing of Syria’s legendary poet, Nizar Qabbani. It seems like almost yesterday. I recall that I was at the campus of the American University of Beirut (AUB) when I got the news. It ripped like forest fire among young people in Beirut and Damascus, especially revolutionary college students in love either with a sweetheart or a national cause,
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The World Economic Forum named Abdulsalam Haykal (right) a Young Global Leader. (Photo source: America.gov) An article was posted recently on America.gov website about Abdulsalam Haykal, CEO and Publisher of Haykal Media (and its subsidiary, Forward Magazine). Titled, Syrian Business Visionary Strives to Boost Entrepreneurship, here is an excerpt of the article: 20 April 2010 Syrian Business Visionary Strives to Boost Entrepreneurship Technology, publishing, business growth in Abdulsalam Haykal’s repertoire This article is part of a
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Sami Moubayed It has been very amusing I must say, watching society prepare itself for the smoking ban that goes into effect today, on April 21, 2010. Last night, at one of the coffee shops in Damascus, I said to a friend, “Say farewell to an era; the argeelah craze that took over Syria since the mid-1990s, is finally coming to an end!” Back in 1996, only a handful of cafes
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Sami Moubayed I might be old-fashioned, but I am someone who is still very much impressed by good manners. I still smile when a young boy addresses me as Sir, or “hadirtak” as they say in Arabic, or looks me in the eye when talking, connecting his sentences with useful phrases like, “thank you,” “please,” and “may I?” I personally still do all of the above when addressing someone my senior,
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The blog of Syria’s leading English monthly, Forward Magazine.