Lebanon on the Border of Ghana and the Ivory Coast?

Well not really but that’s how the Ghanaian are describing plans for a Lebanese-owned duty-free shop at “no man’s land”:

Traders at the border town of Elubo in the Western Region have threatened fire and brimstone if the government does not stop a Lebanese company, Diplo FZ Limited, from opening a duty-free shop near the security fence wall and within the ‘no man’s land’ area at the border.

They have vowed that hell will break loose at Elubo if the government, in conjunction with the national security, gives the Lebanese company the green light to open the shop because its operation will collapse indigenous businesses, breed smuggling and increase other subversive activities at the border.

Apparently the Lebanese-owned shop will sell products that are already retailing in Elubo, but at a lower price. What are these products?: “almost everything including tomato paste, mobile phones, matchsticks and black thread for plaiting hair, among others”.

The secretary of the Elubo Traders Association, Evans Ampomah Dacosta, believes that its only natural that such a move on the border should be reciprocated:

“Indeed if a Ghanaian will not be allowed to build a shop near the Lebanese border in Lebanon, then why should the national security encourage the Lebanese to build at a security zone,” he asked.

Unfortunately, there is already a duty-free shop along Beirut to Damascus. You could try the northern border or, if you are in the mood for a little adrenaline rush, there’s always the Israeli border.

Hobotraveler.com: Elubo Ghana Market (August 2006) - Threatened by Lebanese-owned Duty-Free Shop

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HSBC Databank Breach Detailed – WSJ

The Wall Street Journal has detailed the accounts behind the HSBC client data breach that I had mentioned back in March.

Four months ago, it was reported that a large number of high net-worth client details were stolen from HSBC’s Private Bank in Switzerland by a former employee who tried to sell the information to a Lebanese bank. The WSJ has all the details now including the banks in Lebanon that were approached as well as a Lebanese accomplice:

HSBC officials allege that Mr. [Hervé] Falciani copied thousands of files of wealthy clients of its Swiss private-banking arm. Swiss authorities are investigating whether Mr. Falciani, 38 years old, stole bank records and violated banking secrecy laws.

[...]

Mr. Falciani says he alerted his bosses at HSBC in 2006 about flaws in data storage that could affect client confidentiality, but no one listened. HSBC officials said they found no such warnings by Mr. Falciani.

Around that time, Ms. [Georgina] Mikhael, an HSBC colleague, entered the picture. A Franco-Lebanese computer programmer, she joined HSBC in Geneva on a temporary contract in 2006, but had no access to sensitive data, the company says. Soon after arriving at the bank, Ms. Mikhael and the married Mr. Falciani began a romantic relationship, which has since ended, according to their respective lawyers.

[...]

In February 2008, Mr. Falciani and Ms. Mikhael flew to Lebanon, where according to their lawyers they met Beirut representatives of five banks: BNP Paribas, Société Générale de Banque au Liban, Blom Bank, Audi Bank and Byblos Bank.

According to officials at the banks familiar with the meetings, Mr. Falciani, who was still employed by HSBC, introduced himself as Ruben Al-Chidiack and made a short marketing pitch. He evaded questions about how he obtained the data he offered to sell, these people said.

[...]

One of the Beirut bank branches that Mr. Falciani and Ms. Mikhael visited posted an alert of suspicious activities on a website managed by the Swiss Bankers Association. The notice said someone had been trying to sell “data on clients of various Swiss banks.”Swiss Federal Police, who monitor the site, opened a probe and soon homed in on Ms. Mikhael, who had traveled to Lebanon using her real identity.

All you need is a few action scenes, and you’ve got yourself a pretty good movie. You can read the plot in its entirety here.

Hervé Falciani, a former employee of HSBC, is at the center of a dispute between France and Switzerland over bank data. AFP/Getty Images

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A Lebanese Festival I Couldn’t Make Up

With such a large, dispersed diaspora, local “Lebanese” festivals are quite common from Brazil to Australia, to Mexico and across Europe and Asia. But this one from Halifax in Canada really tops it all:

This year’s Lebanese Festival packs in more events than lamb in a shawarma.

I do not know if I should laugh or cry.

The festival, now in its ninth year, features everything from traditional Lebanese dance competitions to a water-drinking tournament — in addition, of course, to the food.

Water-drinking tournament? So its traditional Lebanese dance, and traditional Lebanese food, and traditional Lebanese water-drinking tournament? If anyone can enlighten me with the rules of this traditional game, other than drinking as much water as you can without dying, I would appreciate it.

And finally, the icing on the cake:

Festival spokeswoman Christina Israel said this year’s event also includes a lottery in which festival goers can win trips to Lebanon or New York City.

Other than the fact that her last name is Israel (which is how the the spokeswomen is referred to in the rest of the article), you can either win a trip to a destination that is 950km away or one that is 8,000km away. It’s kind of like living in Beirut and the prize is either a trip to Istanbul or Vladivostok in Russia; I fail to see the comparison or the decision process of choosing the prize (in anticipation of any possible comments, no, there is no way New York City and Beirut are on the same par).

Since the festival is taking place this Sunday, it wouldn’t be complete without Lebanon’s number one pastime (every four years):

Israel added Sunday’s World Cup final game between the Netherlands and Spain will be broadcast on several big screen televisions rented for the occasion.

Now that’s what I call a Lebanese Festival.

The Lebanese Festival junior high dancers rehearse at the Olympic Community Centre yesterday. The ninth annual Lebanese Festival begins today with a 4 p.m. blessing of the festival site. Ryan Taplin/Metro Halifax

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Lebanese Restaurant Takes Turn for the Disgusting

OK, when someone mentions Lebanese restaurant, what do you think of? You probably think of a generally healthy mix of vegetables and starches with your occasional meat, right? Something like this:

House-made Yoghurt and Chickpea Dips (hummus)

At no time what so ever would this cross your mind:

Crave Doughnut Burger comes with doughnut bun and can be found in Astoria, Queens.

A Lebanese burger joint in Astoria, Queens, [New York City], is serving up a quarter-pound cheeseburger on a sugary doughnut bun, complete with slices of halal turkey bacon.

“It sounds pretty gross,” admitted Crave Shack co-owner Firas Zabib, 24. “But it’s different, and it actually does taste good.”

This halal bad boy will set you back US$6.50 (LBP 9,750) and at least 1500 calories.

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Lebanese World Cup Supporter Fights for German Flag

Apparently the love of World Cup flags extends beyond Lebanon:

Youssef Bassal’s heart swelled with pride when he draped an enormous German flag on the building [in Berlin] where he runs a cell phone store in support of the World Cup team.

So the Lebanese immigrant was stunned when German leftist groups tore down the 100-square-meter (1000-square-foot) flag — not just once, but twice.

[...]

The German radical leftist group “Autonome WM-Gruppe” went a step further and published a post on the Internet calling for the destruction of Bassal’s flag.

Bassal, who moved to Germany 25 years ago, responded to the online threats by organizing a group of five immigrants from Turkey, Egypt and Lebanon to protect the German flag at night. He has also pressed charges against those believed responsible for tearing it down the first time, who were caught by police.

This almost sounds like something that can happen in Beirut – except you need to replace “German radical leftist group” with “opposing team supporters” and delete all mention of the word “police” and “police-related activity“.

Lebanese Ibrahim Bassal poses near the four-storey long German flag to show their support for the German national soccer team in the FIFA 2010 World Cup in front of the electronics shop in the district Neukoelln in Berlin, Tuesday, June 29, 2010. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

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