From Montana to Beirut

Erin Cole, a student at the University of Montana, visited Lebanon for the first time over winter break.

Four Seasons opens new hotel in Lebanon

Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI) has opened its five-star Four Seasons Beirut hotel, as the Lebanese city’s hospitality sector continues to grow.

The front of the hotel has been brightly lit and the interiors of the hotels were inspired by Lebanese culture. The hotel features Lebanese artwork, carved screens and gilded calligraphy. A few minutes’ walk away from the hotel is downtown Beirut, with art galleries, boutiques, antique shops, cafés and restaurants.

The 230 room hotel, in which KHI has a controlling 38 per cent stake, opened its doors on Sunday and was expected to cost US$146 million (Dh536.25m). The Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud founded KHI and is its majority shareholder. Hotel Designs

France will expand list of risky countries to 30 from 7

Passengers traveling on flights into France from a newly expanded list of 30 countries may be facing similar measures to those of the US …They will undergo extra security screening at airports. Currently France has 7 countries on its list but French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux is reportedly seeking to add another 23 countries .
“This is not about stigmatizing the countries concerned, but we have to bear in mind the transit points of extremist Islamist networks,” Hortefeux said.
The current list contains 7 countries : Syria, Iran, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Algeria and Mali.
In Lebanon many are concerned that France may follow US lead and add Lebanon to its list
The US decided on the new security measures following the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a Northwest Airlines plane heading from Amsterdam to Detroit which has forced many airports and airlines to increase already tight security.

US Travel: Everything is the same, says Lebanon official

On the first day of what was supposed to be tighter screening ordered by the United States for airline passengers from certain countries, some airports around the world have conceded they had not cracked down.
The U.S. demanded more careful screening for people who are citizens of, or are flying from, 14 nations deemed security risks. But enforcement of the U.S. rules appeared spotty Monday.
”Everything is the same. There is no extra security,” said an aviation official in Lebanon, one of the countries on the list. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
Many in Lebanon were upset when they found their country on the list of countries that require tighter screening, specially since Lebanese president Michel Suleiman met with US president Barack Obama last December at the White House . NYT, Ya Libnan

Travelers from Lebanon to US will undergo extra security screening

Passengers traveling on flights into the US from Nigeria, Yemen and 12 other terror suspect countries will undergo extra security screening at airports from today. According to Washington Post Lebanon is one of the 12 other suspect countries . The other Arab/ Middle Eastern countries on the list are : Algeria, Saudi Arabia , Iraq, Libya, Iran, Sudan and Syria
The new measures have been introduced following the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a Northwest Airlines plane heading from Amsterdam to Detroit which has forced many airports and airlines to increase already tight security.
The US transport security administration said all passengers flying into the United States from abroad would be subject to random screening or so-called “threat-based” screens. Times