Check Archive

November 2008

• South China Morning Press of November 1 reported on Lingnan University in Kabul, Afghanistan and how one of its professors launched a scholarship program for students to study in Hong Kong. Established two years ago, Lingnan University is fashioned after the American University of Beirut and the American University of Cairo.

• CNews and Macro World Investor of November 1 reported on a senior United Nations employee winning a bid to move to Canada to live after a four-year fight with federal immigration officials. Shahrokh Mohammadi, who works for the United Nations Development Program, graduated from the American University of Beirut and completed his studies at New York University while working part-time at the U.N.

• The New York Times of November 2 published a letter by Ann Kerr, the widow of assassinated former president of the American University of Bierut, Malcolm Kerr, in response to an article that suggested destroying Hizbullah when it was first formed in the 1980s would have spared the region and the United States a lot of trouble. She said that the causes of terrorism should be addressed rather than simply dealing with it with military force.

• Asia Times of November 3 reported on Syria’s decision to close down American schools and cultural centers in Syria in response to an American raid against a Syrian position over a week ago. Among the institutions closed was the American School in Damascus (ADS) that differs from the American University of Beirut in that it was not established at first as a missionary school, but it was part of an American initiative by then U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles in 1956 during the Cold War to counter American allegations that Syria was transforming into a Soviet-like state.

• The Christian Science Monitor of November 4 reported on how Muslim groups in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein al-Hilweh are adopting more moderate stands in the camp rather than Islamic militancy in order to avoid further unrest in the already volatile camp. Sheikh Jamal al-Khattab, a top representative of Islamic movements in Ein al-Hilweh and a graduate in business administration from the American University of Beirut, said that the groups decided to change their stances in order to avert the eruption of a new conflict with the Lebanese army as had happened last year when the army battled militants in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

• Masrawi (Egypt) and AFP of November 4, and Al-Ghad (Jordan) and Al-Bawaba (Britain) of November 5 published an editorial on the sessions held to discuss the Lebanese national unity government by Lebanese MPs. The papers included a quotation by AUB professor of political studies Hilal Khashan.

• Globe and Mail of November 6 reported on the different views Palestinians and Israelis have of American President-elect Barack Obama. It said that some Israelis may fear that he may be weak when dealing with Islamists in the Middle East, which may allow for a Hizbullah strike against Israel. Rami Khouri, director of the Issam Fares Institute at the American University in Beirut, said on the other hand, “The Islamists have fed off stupid U.S. policies in this region. If the new American president were to try a more intelligent approach - one of engagement rather than trying to intimidate - the U.S. would cease to be a target of scorn and the Islamists would lose support.”

• tayyar.org, the Central News Agency, An-Nahar, Al-Mustaqbal, As-Safir, Al-Bayraq, Al-Ahkbar, L'Orient-Le Jour, and Dar Al-Hayat (Britain) of November 6 reported that MP Ghassan Tueini was hospitalized at AUBMC after feeling ill during a parliamentary session hosting unity government negotiations. The papers also said that his medical condition is stable.

• The Manhattan Mercury and Insurance News Net of November 6 reported on the speakers at a lecture on urban design at Kansas University, entitled, “Mission and Place: A Quest for Integration.” The two speakers are Ricardo Dumont and Peter Hedlund. Hedlund is the head of landscape architecture at Sasaki. His work has included the development of a comprehensive master plan and landscape design guidelines for the American University of Beirut.

• Dar Al-Hayat (Britain) of November 6 announced that Haifa Fahoum Al-Kilani recently received the Exceptional Lifetime Achievement Award 2008 of the International Women's Union. The paper said that Kilani is an AUB graduate and is the founder of the International Arab Women's Forum.

• The Huffington Post of November 7 reported on what American President-elect Barack Obama’s stand towards Syria would be like once he takes office in January. Rami G. Khouri, director of the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut, said that people in Lebanon fear that he will not be adopting a strict approach as did his predecessor, George W. Bush. Khouri said, “Some in Lebanon fear the next U.S. president will lower the commitment to Lebanon, and deal with Syria.”

• Newsrx of November 7 reported on new findings at the American University of Beirut about type 1 diabetes.

• Focus Harvard Medical School of November 7 published the names of the recipients of the 2008 Dean’s Community Service Awards presented by the Harvard Medical School Office for Diversity and Community Partnership.

• Al-Waqt (Bahrain), Al-Ayyam (Palestine), Radio Sawa (USA), Al-Qabas (Kuwait), and Al-Ra'i (Kuwait) of November 8 published an editorial on the significance of the election of Barak Obama as the US new president and included a quotation by AUB professor of political studies Amal Saad Ghareeb.

• Dar Al-Hayat (Britain) of November 8 reported that the new council for the Arab Journalist Prize has been selected and it includes Magda Abu Fadil, the director of AUB's Journalism Training Program.

• Dar Al-Hayat (Britain) of November 9 reported on the panel discussion held at AUB's department of architecture and design by three renowned architects who lectured on the evolution of urban living in a talk entitled "New Ways of Living in a City." The paper said that the architects were Spanish architects Juan Herreros and Javier Maderuelo, and Lebanese architect Bernard Khoury, and that the event was organized by AUB's Department of Architecture and Design and the Instituto Cervantes.

• Lehigh Valley Express Times of November 10 reported on Sheikh Yousef Estephan, a Lebanese who traveled to Easton in the United States to thank the Lebanese community there for their financial support in helping him earn his education at the American University of Beirut.

• Swamp Fox and MidlandsBiz of November 10 reported on the recruitment of Dr. Jihad Obeid to South Carolina’s Centers of Economic Excellence (CoEE) Program. He will work with information technology professionals throughout South Carolina to develop software and infrastructure that help researchers share data and collaborate across hospitals and universities. Dr. Obeid received his M.D. with distinction and a bachelor's degree in biology from the American University of Beirut. He completed his pediatric residency at Duke University.

• Crisisweb of November 10 published the transcript of a lecture entitled, “Preventing and Resolving Deadly Conflict: What Have We Learned?” It was given by Gareth Evans, President of the International Crisis Group given at the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at the American University of Beirut on November 10.

• East Tennessean of November 10 reported that former American University of Beirut professor, Dr. Graham Leonard, will be presenting a lecture at the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) on November 11.  Leonard holds a PhD in education from Harvard University. He has spent over 35 years living in the Middle East. He is the holder of the ETSU 2008-09 Wayne G. Basler Chair of Excellence for the Integration of the Arts, Rhetoric and Science.

• California Aggie of November 12 published an interview with Nancy Hudson, the assistant program director of the University of California Davis nutrition department, about her teaching experiences and her future plans. She will be visiting the American University of Beirut in December for consultations, she said without elaborating further.

• Calibre Macro World of November 13 published the findings of a research team from the American University of Beirut on sickle cell anemia.

• TheStar.com of November 14 and Abbotsford Tribune and Canada.com of November 13 reported on Hassan Diab, a Lebanese-Canadian suspected of being behind a 1980 synagogue bombing Paris. His lawyer, Rene Duval, insisted that the situation is a case of mistaken identity since Diab’s name is very common in the Middle East. He said, “Most definitely he's innocent. He didn't even set foot in France in 1980. At the time he (Diab) was studying sociology at the University of Lebanon.” In addition, the article said that when Diab was teaching at the American University of Beirut, authorities sometimes mixed him up with others who had the same name.

• Ottawa Citizen of November 14 reported on the shock among Hassan Diab’s former colleague’s over his arrest on charges he was behind a bombing of a synagogue in France in 1980. He was an assistant professor at the American University in Beirut from 1996 to 1999, and from 1999 to 2001 worked at the United Arab Emirates University. He has also worked at Syracuse University. Diab is also the author of the 1999 book Beirut: Reviving Lebanon's Past.

• AME Info of November 17 reported on the third gala dinner of the Children's Cancer Center of Lebanon that was held in Abu Dhabi on November 16. Mr. Nassib Nasr, International Director of the CCCL at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, said that more than 600 patients from Lebanon and the Arab world have been treated or are still undergoing treatment at the center. In addition, CCCL offered and still offering preliminary diagnosis testing freely to hundreds of children from other hospitals. He then presented a list of the CCCL’s achievements since its inauguration in 2002.

• Watertowndailytimes.com of November 17 reported on the move of Dr. Ramsay S. Farah, his sister Dr. Joyce B. Farah, and their father, Dr. Fuad S. Farah’s move to Jefferson County in the United States to set up dermatology services. Dr. Ramsay Farah graduated from Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, in 1995. Dr. Joyce Farah graduated from Upstate Medical University in 2001. Dr. Fuad Farah graduated from the American University of Beirut in 1954 and received his dermatology training at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis in 1960.

• Dar Al-Hayat (Britain) of November 18 reported that AUB students belonging to the Socialist Progressive Party issued a statement announcing their decision to boycott the forthcoming student elections.

• TMC Net of November 18 announced that the National Collaborative Perinatal Neonatal Network (NCPNN) will be holding a workshop on maternal and child health on November 21 and 22. The NCPNN has been supported by the American University of Beirut Research Board and the Department of Pediatrics at the AUB Medical Center, as well as the WHO, the March of Dimes, UNICEF, and the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research.

• News Blaze of November 18 reported on efforts by Society for Arab Neuroscientists in the Middle East to empower scientists in the Arab world. Present at the meeting was Dr. Rose-Mary Boustany, chair of the Abu-Haidar Neuroscience Institute at the American University of Beirut Medical Center who criticized previous models of collaboration between the United States and Arab scientists. She said that they were little more than vehicles for American scientists and universities to make money and increase their prestige without substantive benefits to Arab scientists.

• World News of November 19 and Cape Times, Tobacco.org, and The Post of November 18 reported on efforts of a team of researchers from the American University of Beirut to place visible labels detailing the effects of smoking on water pipes that are very popular in the Arab world, and gaining popularity in the world as a whole.

• British Journal of the Gut of November 20 published a report by a team from the American University of Beirut Medical Center on upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

• Globe and Mail of November 21 published an article by Rami G. Khouri, director of the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut, about the election of Cem Ozdemir, a son of a Turkish immigrant, as co-leader of Germany’s Green Party. He pointed out that the election represents a breakthrough in Germany, and Europe as a whole, seeing as Turkish immigrants, as well as other minorities, have been subject to discrimination in the country.

• Legacy.com of November 23 published the obituary of Dr. Fawzi A. Pualwan a Lebanese surgeon who worked in Worcester in the United States. Born in Lebanon, he studied at the American University of Beirut. He earned his B.A. from Vanderbilt University and his M.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. After serving in the Vietnam War, he returned to the United States where he settled in Worcester with his family.

• The Huffington Post of November 23 published an interview conducted by Magda Abu-Fadil, the director of the Journalism Training Program at the American University of Beirut, with Ouhoud Al Fahad, the first Saudi TV news anchor on Arab television. She holds a B.A. and Masters in Education from AUB.

• The Los Angeles Times of November 24 reported on Lebanese President Michel Suleiman’s recent visit to Iran where he met with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The two leaders discussed the local Lebanese issues including that of the militant group Hizbullah’s possession of arms. Karim Makdissi, a professor of international relations at the American University of Beirut, observed, “I have doubts that Suleiman will have the influence to set terms with respect to Hizbullah’s arms. His visit to Iran is more psychological and an image projection one rather than substantial.”

• South Asian Journal of November 27 reported on a visit by the United States’ permanent Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad to the American University of Afghanistan to speak with students, faculty, and staff about their progress since the University's founding. He said, “I attended the American University of Beirut and saw how a good American university served the people of Lebanon, the people of the Middle East, and the whole world, including Afghanistan.”

• Nieuwsbank and Ya Libnan Online News of November 27 reported on an assault by members of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party on a journalist from the Lebanese Future Television, Omar Harqous. The journalist was covering a demonstration by the Syrian party in the Hamra district in Beirut who was trying to prevent council staff from tearing down political posters, said the website. Harqous was taken to the American University of Beirut’s Medical Center for treatment.