Despite the cold and poor skiing conditions, ski-lovers are out on the slopes. A fierce snowstorm that has gripped a greater part of the country since Monday made this possible and weather sources at Beirut's International Airport predict that another snowstorm will hit Lebanon starting Friday night.
Mountain slopes are now more smooth enabling skiers to practice their favorite sport with fewer hazards. Last week, this wasn't the case. Owners of ski resorts were complaining about the lack of snow. The shallow whiteness was littered with patches of brown rocks, which is highly hazardous to skiers.
As a result of the new snowstorm, ski slopes are expected to bustle this weekend with ski-lovers who have been fed up with waiting.
A center for the development and conservation of Mediterranean forests has recently opened in Ramlieh. The center is funded by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and it will be run by the Lebanese Association for Forest Development and Conservation.
Members of the WWF last week came to Beirut and held a three-day meeting with the association and representatives of local environmental NGOs. Their meeting aimed at introducing training and awareness activities at the center. The activities, mainly focusing on environmental education, forest conservation, and the development of protected areas, will be funded by the Spanish Aid Agency, which also helped in building the center.
The Wildlife Fund has also decided to hold one of its annual training courses in Lebanon next year. These courses are organized each year for nature-lovers and environmentalists from all over the Mediterranean who are interested in learning more about forest conservation and development.
Residents of Batroun have recently complained that waste water from neighboring villages is being dumped into the valleys where the Dalleh and Ghawaweet springs, which supply the district's villages with drinking water, are found together with residual byproducts of nearby olive oil presses, making the water undrinkable.
But there were considerable discrepancies in three separate official reports on the problem; one saying the water was being polluted by sewage and olive oil residues, and two others denying that there was any pollution at all.
But still, residents of Batroun have been buying bottled water for a number of months now with no practical solution for the problem in view.
A study recently conducted by a joint team from the Lebanese University's Faculty of Health in Tripoli and France's Lilles University shows that water pollution in the northern Lebanon is not only limited to the contamination of tap water by waste residue from olive presses in Tripoli or Batroun.
The study indicates that underground water supplies in the Akkar Valley contain high levels of nitrate and salt rendering the entire region under toxic threat. Some tests carried out in Paris concluded that nitrate levels were increasing because fertilizers used by local farmers were contaminating underground water supplies. The area is also at increased risk of rising salt levels, which could affect agricultural prospects.
Also according to the study, increasing levels of salt in the water were also responsible for a rise in lung infections in the area. The Lebanese-French team is currently preparing another study on fresh water resources in the mountains of Akkar. The study is expected to be completed in February, when it would be sent to the ministries of Water Resources, Agriculture, and Environment.
A number of high schools in Jbeil recently took part in a writing competition aimed at raising their awareness of problems faced by the disabled in Lebanon. Students were expected to write essays on their understanding of the difficulties faced by people with disabilities. A ceremony took place January 13 at the Lebanese American University in Jbeil with prizes donated by several public and private institutions.
Such activities come as part of a national campaign, which began last August to support calls for legislation to help the disabled. Groups such as the Lebanese Wheelchair Association and the Friends of the Disabled Association are organizing such events.
But there are a number of adjustments society would still have to make to accommodate the needs of the disabled. The disabled in Lebanon suffer absence of legislation securing their rights, inadequate transportation facilities, lack of proper healthcare services and unemployment.
Minister for Social Affairs, Michel Moussa earlier this month held a meeting with members of the National Committee for the Rights of the Disabled. The meeting aimed at acquainting the new minister with issues concerning the disabled and the recent efforts that the ministry, through its affiliation training centers, has undertaken to ease the plight of the disabled in Lebanon. Members of the committee are expected to set out an initial working program that will be fleshed out in forthcoming meetings.
12 Masters students from Britain's York University recently spent two weeks in Beirut along with some of their professors to study post-war reconstruction efforts in Lebanon. Many of them were impressed by the speed of recovery, but some questioned whether reconstruction projects were really catering to the people's needs.
During their stay, the British scholars toured Beirut's southern suburbs, Beirut's central district, and parts of the south and the Chouf area. They also attended lectures by local architects, sociologists and urban planners to help them in their postwar recovery studies course.
Buzzing through town at the beginning of this month were members of American media outlets representing ABC, NBC, National Geographic Traveler, Escape Magazine, Travel & Leisure, and the Discovery Channel.
During their two-day visit, the group of 17 explorers toured Beirut, Byblos, Jeita, and Beiteddine. Their stop in Lebanon came at the end of a Mideast tour that took them to Dubai and Jordan. Their different visits will result in more than 15 episodes of travel news, three of which will be on Lebanon. The reports will be aired end of March.
The group included correspondents, editors, anchors, and cameramen. Most of them had never been to the Middle East before. The 17 members of the group were Peter Greenberg, Len Jacoby, Wilma Mooney, Nancy Platt-Jacoby, Julie Black, Emma Carrasco, Robert Landau, Barbara Reed, Cheryl Stammer, Nevada Wier, Mary O'Boyle, Eileen Rosenau, Carol Barden, Digby Diehl, Jerry Gonzalez, and Mark and John Feist.
The Sixth Bustan Festival will open February 17 with a performance by Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewski. Also at the core of the festival are eight other piano recitals by accomplished international pianists including Russia's Boris Berezovsky, Britain's Martin Roscoe, and Lebanon's Abdel Rahman Al-Basha.
They are expected to play selections from Chopin and other European composers. Although the festival highlights a range of international composers, it is a huge feast for Chopin's lovers. Away from the piano, the festival offers Polish dances and organ, guitar and qanoun recitals. Also on the schedule are performances by the Warsaw Chamber Opera, Moscow's Helikon Opera, the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Italian soprano Katia Ricciarelli.
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