In Damascus, Lebanese-Syrian talks were held earlier this week between Lebanese Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Michel Moussa heading a ministry delegation and his Syrian counterpart Ali Khalil.
Discussions centered on a bilateral project related to social issues. A joint committee was also formed to follow up these issues. The Lebanese and Syrian sides agreed on establishing a joint labor office and a department for the affairs of Lebanese and Syrian employees in both ministries.
The two ministers noted the importance of the project stressing the strength of ties between the two brotherly countries. The meeting was attended by the Secretary General of the Lebanese-Syrian Higher Council Nasri Khoury.
The regional office of the International Labor Organization has re-opened in Beirut after a long forced closure.
Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Michel Moussa praised the return of the office to Beirut saying this indicates Lebanon's regaining of its role as a regional center for the activities of UN agencies and specialized commissions.
Moussa also praised the role of the office in supporting the Ministry of Labor and the different labor sectors in the country. Minister Moussa was speaking during the opening ceremony where he represented Prime Minister Salim Al-Hoss.
Khaled Abdel Nasser, the son of Arab Leader Jamal Abdel Nasser, was in Beirut this week where he held talks with a number of Lebanese leaders and officials.
At Baabda, Nasser met President Emil Lahhoud on Wednesday and later headed to parliament where he held discussions with House Speaker Nabih Berri in the presence of deputies Najah Wakim, Mustafa Saad and Ayyoub Hmayyed. He also visited Prime Minister Salim Al-Hoss at the Grand Saray on Thursday.
Nasser, who arrived in Beirut on Tuesday, also held talks with a number of political and party figures. He visited the southern port-city of Sidon in response to an invitation by MP Mustafa Saad.
Nasser praised Lebanon's positive policy towards Arab causes. He also expressed his happiness to be in Lebanon and the South.
During visits to Zahle and Jezzine earlier this week, the German Ambassador to Lebanon Peter Wittig vowed more aid to Lebanon in a variety of fields.
In Zahle, the German diplomat revealed his country's plans to import more Lebanese products, particularly fruits and vegetables from the Bekaa in a move aimed at helping local food industries. Wittig also said Germany was ready to send experts to Lebanon who can offer farmers in the area technical training and environmental guidance.
During his visit to the liberated southern enclave of Jezzine, the German Ambassador also promised the area of several German projects to promote the enclave, offering agricultural aid and technical assistance to the town's technical institute.
In honor of Lebanese choreographer Georgette Gebara, the Japan Foundation, through the Japanese Embassy in Beirut, invited her for a 15-day visit to Japan that began on September 5. Gebara's visit will cover Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima.
During her stay, the founder and director of the Lebanese School of Ballet will meet leaders of Kabuki Theater and other forms of Japanese traditional dance and theater. In her capacity as vice president of the Lebanese Center of the International Theater Institute of UNESCO, she will also visit her counterparts at the Japanese Center.
Every year, the Japanese foundation honors a Lebanese personality prominent in the fields of culture and education. Dr. Walid Gholmeih, director of the National Conservatory, was among the previous invitees.
The capital's Expo Beirut is currently hosting two interesting exhibitions that are attracting a considerable number of people to visit their different booths.
"Back to School '99" exhibition opened on September 3 and will last until September 12. For the fourth year, the exhibition is being held featuring a great variety of school supplies and stationery.
Expo Beirut is also hosting an exhibition of another kind, the "Autumn Fair '99", also running from September 3 to 12. Glassware, paintings and woodcarvings are among the items on display.
Men and women of any nationality ages 11 and up will have the chance to display their basketball skills during the 1999 Adidas Streetball Challenge scheduled for September 11-12 at the Forum de Beyrouth.
For the fifth year, the game is brought to Lebanon for all street basketball fans to enjoy. The game originated in the US and the Challenge is an international event with hundreds of participants in over 50 countries across the globe.
Early on Tuesday morning, several inflatables from the Rainbow Warrior set sail towards the oil platform "Casablanca", located some 20 miles from Tarragona, in Spain, to denounce and prevent the possibility of this offshore installation being dumped into the Mediterranean. This action launches the start of the Rainbow Warrior toxic tour, which will visit some twelve coastal countries during the months of September and October, investigating toxic pollution in the region and pushing governments to ratify the Barcelona Convention.
This was announced by the Greenpeace Mediterranean Office in Beirut, which released a statement revealing that this action is within the framework of the Greenpeace regional campaign aimed at pushing for the ratification of the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean.
Currently, Greenpeace said, the only country to have ratified all protocols is Tunisia, with Monaco, Spain and Italy yet to ratify the Offshore and Hazardous Waste protocols. Other member states are satisfied with perpetuating the molestation of the Mediterranean by prolonging ratification, Greenpeace added.
"All Mediterranean governments share the guilt of contributing to the seas annihilation and all must carry the responsibility of reviving the Mediterranean by committing themselves to securing a toxic free future," said Ghassan Geara, Lebanon's Campaigner for Greenpeace Mediterranean.
Greenpeace demands that Mediterranean governments, including Lebanon, must ratify the convention and its ancillary protocols as amended, to allow the convention to enter into force by March 2000.
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