+961

On April 25th 2009 Maxime Chaya reached the top of the world, the North Pole, and planted the Lebanese flag there! And on the occasion, Maxime called the Lebanese president Michael Suleiman to report to him his great achievement (Video available on YouTube)

Today Maxime returned back to Beirut with yet another success, and he’s now officially the 1st arab and only the 12th person in history to complete the Explorers Grand Slam.

Welcome back Maxime!

As of yesterday, Beirut is the new book capital of the world.

BEIRUT: Culture Minister Tamam Salam is expected to fly to Paris next week to take over the presidency of the “World Book Capital 2009,” his media office said on Wednesday. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced in April 2007 the nomination of Beirut as the “World Book Capital 2009.” “Beirut should raise awareness about the importance of reading, books and publications all through 2009,” Salam addressed reporters during a lunch at Le Bristol Hotel in Ras Beirut. The official program of Beirut World Book Capital 2009 starts on April 25, 2009 and ends in April 2010. Beirut is the ninth city to be designated World Book Capital, after Madrid, Alexandria, New Delhi, Antwerp, Montreal, Turin, Bogot‡ and Amsterdam. According to a statement by UNESCO, the city of Beirut was selected “in the light of its focus on cultural diversity, dialogue and tolerance, and of its diverse and stimulating program.”

Source: The Daily Star

I believe minister Tammam Salam has to do double the effort here in Lebanon and the Arab world, as our people simply hate to read. I don’t know the average number of books an Arab reads per year, maybe half a paper? Could be!