Mai Hariri loses temper on TV; throws coffee at camera

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese singer Mai Hariri lost her temper in a recent television interview when the host asked whether she used to be a dancer earlier in her career. Hariri was outraged at the question, throwing her cup of coffee at the camera and threatening to leave the interview.

Tammam Baleeq, host of the program “Bila Tashfeer” (Without Encryption) on Lebanon’s New TV channel, questioned if used to dance in the southeastern city of Choueifat.

“I do not accept you asking me such a question,” she said. “You are saying nonsense and angering me.”

She went on to say, “You are insulting me. I have children. What is it that you mean? You are talking about something I don’t know of.”

Baleeq, whose shirt was now stained with coffee, tried to contain the situation.”Hang on, hang on, this is an encryption,” he said, referring to the show’s name, by which the host brings up statements the interviewee is supposed to react to.

Hariri eventually managed to continue the interview.

Lebanese-American Muslim to play Jesus in Bill O’Reilly film

(NEW YORK, NY) — Lebanese-American Muslim actor Haaz Sleiman will play Jesus in a new National Geographic Channel film, an adaptation of Bill O’Reilly’s book “Killing Jesus.”

The Lebanese actor will join Kelsey Grammer, Stephen Moyer, Rufus Sewell, Emmanuelle Chriqui and John Rhys Davies in the project, according to The haaz-sleiman---photoHollywood Reporter.

Sleiman, who was born in the United Arab Emirates, was raised in Lebanon and moved to the United States when he was 21 years old. He previously starred in the 2008 indie drama film, “The Visitor,” where he played an undocumented Syrian immigrant.

Most recently, he had a recurring role in USA Network’s Covert Affairs, and in CBS dramas “Person of Interest” and “Reckless.”

“Traditionally Jesus has been played by a white man and I think the fact that this is a Middle-Eastern actor is significant,” Matthew Belloni, executive editor of The Hollywood Reporter, told ABC News.

One blogger called the selection of Sleiman “shocking.”

“I mean, if you were filming a Martin Luther King, Jr., miniseries, you wouldn’t cast Jim Caviezel or Diogo Morgado in the lead role. It’d be ridiculous and racist and insulting,” wrote blogger David Henson.

O’Reilly, who will serve as executive producer of the film, says “Killing Jesus” is a history book about Jesus the man, not the Messiah.

“The film (Killing Jesus) will break new ground in chronicling the life of the most famous human being who ever lived. The superb cast and script reflect much thought and research. Viewers are in for something very different and very special.”

Killing Jesus will premiere globally on the National Geographic Channel in 2015 in 171 countries and 45 languages.

Watch ABC News’ report about O’Reilly’s new film:

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Three Lebanese politicians to attend Clooney and Alamuddin’s London ceremony

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — A London ceremony celebrating the wedding of Amal Alamuddin and George Clooney will welcome three Lebanese politicians on October 23.

Progressive Socialist Party Leader Walid Jumblatt, Environment Minister Mohammad Machnouk, and MP Marwan Hamade will fly to England for a dinner hosted by Alamuddin’s father Ramzi.

Previously, Jumblatt voiced positive opinions of Alamuddin and Clooney’s marriage, expressing hope they would set an example of openness for the Druze community.

“Tell me when George Clooney will be coming to Lebanon so I can greet him in Moukhtara,” he wrote, referring to his ancestral home in the Chouf mountains. “I will bring a delegation of Druze sheikhs.”

Ramzi Alamuddin is a retired professor of business studies at the American University of Beirut and comes from a prominent Lebanese Druze family. Amal’s mother, Bariaa Alamuddin, is the foreign editor of the Pan-Arab newspaper al-Hayat.

During the 1980s, when the Lebanese Civil War was in full scale, Alamuddin’s family left Lebanon for London and settled in Buckinghamshire, England.

Amal Alamuddin is a graduate of the University of Oxford and the New York University School of Law.

The Lebanese-British human rights lawyer Alamuddin, 36, and Hollywood actor Clooney, 53, dominated world headlines last weekend in a lavish Venice affair that included a wedding ceremony at one of the famed city’s luxurious hotels, the Aman Canal Grande.

VIDEO: 19-year-old Lebanese-Brazilian wows millions on YouTube

(SAO PAULO, BRAZIL) — Lebanese-Brazilian singer and songwriter Luciana Zogbi is impressing millions of people on YouTube with beautifully sung covers of hit American singles, including John Legend’s “All of Me” and James Morrison’s “Broken Strings.”

The 19-year-old singer has over 17 million YouTube views and 170,000 Facebook likes.

Watch Luciana perform “All of Me”:

Watch Luciana perform “Broken Strings”:

To watch more of Luciana, click here.

Clooney, Alamuddin in Venice for wedding

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(VENICE, ITALY) — George Clooney and his Lebanon-born British fiancee Amal Alamuddin arrived in Venice Friday for a spectacular waterfront wedding billed as the party of the year.

Riding on a watertaxi dubbed “Amore,” the celebrity pair crossed Venice’s Grand Canal at around 3 p.m., gliding up to the Hotel Cipriani on the island of Giudecca, where they will be hosting A-list guests for a gala dinner.

The silver-haired actor, director and producer, was seen helping his father Nick Clooney onto a “vaporetto” boat, as they headed into the first night of the nuptials, set to draw out over the weekend.

Traveling with them was the ex-supermodel Cindy Crawford, one of dozens of stars to have flocked to Venice – paparazzi in tow – for the wedding of the world’s most sought-after catch and his human rights lawyer fiancee.

Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Sandra Bullock and Matt Damon will also be checking in to the Cipriani before the gala meal rustled up by Italian chef Riccardo de Pra.

Damon was among the first guests spotted at Venice airport Friday, along with Clooney’s cousin Miguel Ferrer and the “Spin City” stars Ellen Barkin and Richard Kind.

“If I’d known there would be all of you here, I’d have put on some makeup and done my hair,” quipped Kind, one of Clooney’s oldest friends.

The 53-year-old actor and Alamuddin, 36, are expected to be officially married in a civil ceremony Monday, but the city of masks is preparing for a weekend of serious partying before then.

Sources said the actor would be celebrating with 136 guests at a reception Saturday at the fresco-adorned Aman hotel, an exclusive seven-star hotel in the 450-year-old Palazzo Papadopoli.

“Clooney’s on everyone’s lips here in Venice, the girls in particular are all in a tizzy, they’ll be lining the banks of the canal to see him,” watertaxi driver Bruno Bartolini said.

“The city has ground to a halt because they’re using the Grand Canal, but what does that matter: There’s nothing better than getting married in Venice,” Bartolini said.

Guests will be escorted by police boats to the exclusive seven-star Aman Saturday, to keep overexcited Clooney admirers and hundreds of photographers at a distance.

They’ll be met with lashings of fizz and canapes in the garden, an oasis sheltered from the bustle of the canal, before sitting down in the main library to a sumptuous five-course dinner, according to a source close to the hotel.

The Aman’s restaurant will be turned into a nightclub, where they’ll dance the night away, a source said, with Lana Del Rey reportedly preparing to serenade the couple.

Speed boats will be banned from stopping in front of the hotel to keep goggling to a minimum.

Rome’s former mayor Walter Veltroni, a longtime friend of Clooney’s, will be performing the civil ceremony, which is likely to be held in the town hall, the stunning Ca’ Farsetti 14th century palace opposite the Aman hotel.

The streets around the town hall will be off-limits to the public from 12 noon for two hours Monday, when the ceremony is expected to take place.

Though the world’s most famous waterway will not be closed entirely, there were grumbles in the northern Italian city over the disruption and such an ostentatious display of wealth in times of economic crisis.

“Clooney’s not bringing us bread for our tables,” said 16-year-old Viviana, “coming here with all his nice money while we can’t find jobs.”

Fellow local resident Silvana agreed: “It would have been better for all of us if he’d gone to get married in some secret countryside location.”

But nothing appears able to dampen the spirits of the crowds of tourists eagerly snapping photographs of the town hall and Aman from the water ferries, or the locals staking out the best viewing positions in houses along the canal.

Anything for a glimpse of the former bachelor in his Armani wedding suit and Alamuddin in an Alexander McQueen creation designed by Sarah Burton, the woman behind the gown worn by Britain’s Kate Middleton at her wedding to Prince William in 2011.

Alamuddin, who moved to Britain with her family as a 3-year-old, met the Hollywood star through his humanitarian work.

Source: Agence France Presse (AFP)

Virgin Radio Lebanon is highest reaching Facebook page in the world

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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The Virgin Radio Lebanon Facebook page has garnered the highest engagement numbers of any other Facebook page worldwide, according to likealyzer.com statistics.

Likealyzer.com is an online tool for monitoring Facebook pages traffic and stats. Social media analysts said that Virgin Radio is now ranked number one in the PTAT, “People Talking About This”, which is the measure of engagement across all of Facebook worldwide, and across all categories.

“The ranking is considered a phenomenal achievement for a page, coming out of Lebanon, and that is only just over a year old,” said the General Manager of Virgin Radio Lebanon, Naji Cherabieh, in a statement.

“Thank you for your support since day one and for making Virgin Radio Lebanon not only the highest reaching social media in the world, but also the highest reaching radio station in Lebanon.

“Several market research have now shown that Virgin Radio is leading across ages 13 to 45, within both genders, across Greater Beirut & Mount Lebanon,” he added.

“Thanks again, and we promise the best is yet to come.”

Ramzi Alamuddin “couldn’t seem more delighted” with marriage

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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The 53-year-old actor will tie the knot with the human rights lawyer in Venice, Italy, later this month and her dad Ramzi is thrilled with his daughter’s choice of husband.

A source told People magazine: “Ramzi couldn’t seem more delighted. He finds Clooney very sympathetic, intelligent, cool, easygoing and crazy in love with Amal!”

The 77-year-old lecturer has been help planning the couple’s wedding but has refused to spill any of the details to his friends.

The source said: “He is extremely calm. He’s not saying a thing about the wedding. He’s a card player and he’s not giving away anything away!”

Despite George’s $180 million fortune, it was recently reported Amal’s parents were insisted on sticking to tradition and paying for the wedding.

An insider previously explained: “(They are) old-fashioned when it comes to these things.”

The couple are expected to tie the knot on September 27 at a black-tie affair, and final preparations are already underway.

Actor Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana Barroso, and supermodel Cindy Crawford and her husband, Rande Gerber, who is expected to be George’s best man, will be among the small number of guests.

The insider added: “He wanted just 60 genuine friends and family.”

Source: Amal Alamuddin’s parents ‘paying for most’ of wedding

clooney-alamuddin(LOS ANGELES, CA) — A source says George Clooney’s fiancée’s family are paying for most of their upcoming wedding in Venice, Italy.

The 53-year-old actor, who has an estimated fortune of $180 million, reportedly isn’t footing the bill for his lavish nuptials later this month, as Amal Alamuddin’s parents have insisted on sticking to the tradition of the bride’s family paying for the event.

A source told Us Weekly magazine: “Crazy enough, her family is paying for most of it!”

The British barrister’s mother and father, Ramzi and Baria Alamuddin, also helped them decide on a location and date. An insider previously explained: “[They are] old-fashioned when it comes to these things.”

The brunette beauty’s mother is an editor at Lebanese newspaper Al Hayat, while Ramzi, is a retired business professor, who taught at the Beirut campus of the American University.

The couple are expected to tie the knot on September 27 at a black-tie affair, and final preparations are already underway.

The source said: “It’s all very classy.”

Actor Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana Barroso, and supermodel Cindy Crawford and her husband, Rande Gerber, who is expected to be George’s best man, will be among the small number of guests.

The insider added: “He wanted just 60 genuine friends and family.”

Earlier this month, two-time Oscar winner George admitted he can’t wait to get married.

The “Monuments Men” star said: “I would just like to say to my bride-to-be, Amal, that I love you very much. And I can’t wait to be your husband.”

Marwan Khoury signs with Universal Music MENA

marwan-khoury(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Universal Music MENA announces today the signing of major Arabic artist, Marwan Khoury to the label and his latest studio album ‘El Aad El Aaksi’ which is now available to stream on exclusively on Anghami with remaining music platforms releasing on September 15.

“Having Marwan on board with us at Universal Music MENA is a huge achievement as he is such a globally recognized talent for his compositions and writing of Arabic music for both himself and other Arab artists,” said Tamer El Betar, licensing manager at Universal Music MENA. “We are dedicated to further Marwan’s musical career internationally and look forward to many more years of success with him.”

‘El Aad El Aaksi’ is Marwan’s sixth studio album, which took him 2 years to produce from his studio in Beirut, Lebanon.

“We are incredibly excited to have such a profound local talent with us at the label and we look forward to continuing his successful journey together with his new album,” said Patrick Boulos, CEO of the company.

What’s being tipped to be the regions hottest Arabic album of 2014, the Lebanese national who is considered one of the most respected Arab artists globally, is no stranger to writing well produced compositions which have become internationally recognized bestsellers and adapted in many other countries.

His work been performed by some of the most famous artists in the Arab World and has also written and composed hits for a vast list of leading Arabic artists such as Majida El Roumi, Warda, and Saber Al Roubai.

Elissa gets creative with online merchandise shop

Screen Shot 2014-09-15 at 6.42.20 PM(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese superstar Elissa got creative this week when she decided to launch a new online merchandise site. The diva opened the online boutique she’s calling “The Elissa Store.”

The site, which is expected to be a quick cash generating opportunity for Elissa, features products from her latest album, “Halet Hob” (A Case of Love).

The products feature a mug with printed photographs priced at 10 US dollars, a T-shirt with her photo on it for 25 dollars, and an iPhone case for 20 dollars.

According to the site, the products are “exclusive” and will sell signed posters and archived music CDs in the coming weeks.

For more information, click here.

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