Check Archive

September 2009

• The Poultry Site of September 1 reported the appointment of Wassim Sakr at Petersime company, a manufacturer of incubators and hatchery equipment. He will be responsible for selling conventional incubators, single-stage bio-response AirStreamer machines and complete hatchery projects in the Middle East region. Sakr holds a BSc in Agriculture and an MSc in Poultry Science from the American University of Beirut.

• Electronic Intifada (USA) of September 1 published an article discussing how economic and political influences are now shaping the Middle East's cities including Beirut. The paper interviewed Rami Daher, a former AUB professor, on the effects of politics on Beirut's contemporary architecture.

• PR Newswire, Congoo, AME Info, Kuwait News Agency, and Yahoo! Finance Canada of September 3 reported that the American University of Beirut Medical Center successfully conducted the first 'artificial heart' implant in Lebanon, saving the life of a 37-year-old man suffering from terminal heart failure. The operation took up to six hours and was led by two AUB doctors, Pierre Sfeir and Hadi Skouri.

• Dar Al-Hayat (Britain) of September 3 published an opinion piece by Jihad El-Khazen in which he says that when pursuing his master's degree in Arabic literature at AUB he was supervised by professor Ihsan Abbas.

• March 14 and www.tayyar.org of September 3, and An-Nahar, As-Safir, Al-Anwar, Al-Akhbar, L'Orient Le Jour, The Daily Star, Al-Liwa', Al-Bayraq, Weyak (UAE), Masrawy (Egypt), Al-Qabas (Kuwait), and Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat (KSA) of September 4, and Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda (Palestine), Al-Watan (Kuwait), Al-Waqt (Bahrain), Al-Ayyam (Palestine), The Peninsula (Qatar), Az-Zaman (Iraq), and Al-Watan (Qatar) of September 5, and Al-Hayat of September 6, and Dar Al-Hayat (Britain) of September 7 reported that an AUB medical team successfully performed, at AUBMC, the first "artificial heart" implant in Lebanon, thus saving the life of a 37-year-old man suffering from terminal heart failure. The papers said that the six-hour procedure was led by two AUB doctors, Drs. Pierre Sfeir and Hadi Skouri, and was deemed successful as the patient survived the first critical 72 hours, showing improvements in all his vital signs. The papers also said that the "artificial heart" implant operation involves the insertion of a device called the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) into the defective heart and that LVAD takes over the functions of the left ventricle of the heart, the dominant chamber which is responsible for pumping oxygenated blood via the aorta to the rest of the body.

• iBerkshires.com of September 4 reported that Sadik J. al-Azm has been appointed Harry C. Payne Distinguished Visiting Professor in Liberal Arts in Philosophy and Religion at Williams College. A leading intellectual in the Arab world, he is professor emeritus of modern European philosophy at the University of Damascus in Syria. He is the recipient of the Erasmus Prize and the Leopold-Lucas-Preis of the Evangelical-Theological Faculty of the University of Tubingen. Al-Azm received his B.A. from the American University of Beirut in 1957 and his Ph.D. from Yale in 1961.

• BBC Online (Britain) of September 8 and September 10 published a political piece discussing the reasons behind the failure of Lebanese PM designate Saad Hariri to form a national unity government. The paper quoted Rami Khoury, the director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy at the American University of Beirut as saying "His rhetoric now is much more reconciliatory, and is very different from what it was two years ago, when he was clearly a divisive figure."

• UCLA International Institute of September 10 republished an article that was featured in the American University of Beirut quarterly publication Maingate, entitled, “From Baghdad to Stockholm.” The article by UCLA Fulbright coordinator Ann Kerr tells the story of her Iraqi-born classmate Samya, who fled Iraq for Sweden in 2006.

• The Boston Globe Blogs of September 11 and Cleveland Plain Dealer and Chicago Tribune of September 10 reported on Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s stepping down from his position to form a new government. The article noted that it is likely that Hariri may be reelected to his position, where options available to him to form a new cabinet include forming one without the opposition. Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, said that such a step would be viewed as a declaration of war by Hizbullah.

• The Huffington Post of September 11 reported on renowned geologist, Farouk El-Baz and his concerns on how climate changes affect world resources. A recipient of a Doctor of Humane Letters from the American University of Beirut, El-Baz’s career included training astronauts in the Apollo program. He is currently a research professor and Director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University.

• Blood of September 11 published the findings of report by a research team from the American University of Beirut Medical Center and other medical institutions from the United States. The research found that “serum ferritin level changes in children with sickle cell disease on chronic blood transfusion are non-linear, and are associated with iron load and liver injury.”

• The Daily Star and www.cyberia.com of September 11, and Electronic Intifada (USA) of September 12 published a political editorial questioning whether or not the Shebaa farms hold the key to Lebanon's security. The papers quoted Mutasem al-Fadel, director of the Water Resources Center at the AUB as saying "Water is no doubt one aspect of the socio-political conflict [with Israel], but it is not the main driver."

• www.latimes.com (USA) of September 11 and September 12 published a political piece arguing that Lebanon's political crisis deepened as prime minister-designate Saad Hariri abruptly resigned after he failed to form a national unity government. The paper quoted Hilal Khashan, AUB professor of political studies, as saying that "[if Hariri forms a government without the support of the opposition] Hezbollah would view this as a declaration of war."

• www.telegraph.co.uk (Britain) of September 12 published an interview with Brian Keenan, now 58, who was held hostage in Lebanon for four and half years (1986-90). The paper said that Keenan was working as a teacher at the AUB when he was kidnapped at gunpoint by Islamic Jihad.

• Dar Al-Hayat (Britain) of September 14 published a book review of an autobiography of Lebanese businessman George Zakhem who joined AUB as an engineering student in the late 1940s.

• Salem-News.com of September 15 reported on the challenges facing the civilians in the Palestinian Gaza Strip as the winter season approaches and given the fact that the people are still suffering from Israel’s embargo. “When governments fail to protect human rights, civilians must step up. Civilians have a very important role to play, especially when government institutions fail to do their job in upholding the law and human rights,” said Huwaida Arraf, Chairperson of the Free Gaza Movement, during a talk at the American University of Beirut.

• The Palestine Chronicle of September 20 published a poem by American University of Beirut graduate, Jehan Bseiso, about the suffering of the Palestinian people, entitled, “Enough”.

• Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald of September 24 published the obituary of Jessie Belle Lewis, a former English teacher, who passed away in Raleigh in the United States. She dedicated her life to teaching and was once invited to teach at the American University of Beirut.

• The New York Times of September 26 announced the marriage of Wadad Cortas and John Francis Lenahan in New York City. The former is the daughter of Nadim Cortas, former dean of the faculty of Medicine at the American University of Beirut, while the latter is a founder of Wincove Capital, an investment firm in New York.

• Belfast Telegraph of September 27 published an interview with Brian Keenan, a former Beirut hostage and American University of Beirut employee who was kidnapped while he was on his way to work during the 1980s. During the interview, he highlighted the fact that he has a strong connection with Lebanon despite his grueling experience in captivity.

• Dar Al-Hayat (Britain) of September 28 carried the announcement by AUB that its Journalism Training Program, in collaboration with the Continuing Education Center at AUB, is now offering a Journalism Certificate

•  Middle East Events of September 29 reported on the potential in the Arab world in providing energy for the entire region. Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chairman of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Director of the Yale Climate and Energy institute said that a small portion of the Arab Middle East’s deserts can provide enough solar energy to power all the cities in the region. Pachauri made his comments ahead of a regional sustainability conference, organized by the Yale Arab Alumni Association (YAAA) at the American University of Beirut on October 2-3, 2009.

• ReliefWeb and Common Ground News Service of September 29 reported on aid provided by the U.S. administration to various Muslim nations. The article noted that the U.S. administration is slowly realizing that the aid should not necessarily be addressed to the state, as it is likely to be squandered on other needs besides those of the people. It said that the people of the country should be addressed, as in the example of foreign aid being granted to the American University of Beirut.

• Dar Al-Hayat (Britain) of September 30 carried the announcement by the AUB that its Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs will be hosting on October 2-3 an international conference on urban sustainability entitled "Transnational Tides and the Future of the Arab City." The paper said that the conference is organized by the Yale Arab Alumni Association, with the support of Council on Middle East Studies at Yale University and held under the patronage of HE Ziad Baroud, the Lebanese Minister of Interior and Municipalities.