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☆ The Orfali Bros Bistro is the best restaurant in the Middle East and North Africa — again
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Rebecca Cairns | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

We love food, and we love people who love food,” says Orfali. Orfali Bros BistroA multicultural menuOrfali left Syria in 2006, relocating to Dubai a year later, and his brothers followed. “Different nationalities, different colors, different languages, different accents. Orfali Bros BistroA “flourishing” food sceneDubai’s restaurant scene has, until recently, been dominated by celebrity chefs and international franchises. “We build a relationship between us and the guests, and we make it family,” Orfali says.

Persons: CNN —, Mohamad Orfali, Treet Bel Laban ” —, ”, Orfali —, Mohamad, Omar, We’re, Orfali, “, Mohammad, barak, they’ve, Orfali Bros, Eclair, Samantha Wood, “ Mohamad, Wood, Chez Wam, ” Orfali, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, Michelin, ”, Orfali, UAE, Dubai, “, Bros Locations: Aleppo, Syria, Dubai, East, North Africa, Orfali’s, UAE, Lebanese, Sichuan, , “ Dubai, Hokkaido, Turkish

☆ Dubai has more ‘best’ restaurants than any other in the Middle East, according to the 50 Best list group
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Rebecca Cairns | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The 50 Best Restaurants power list has unveiled its 2024 list for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) — and one city is dominating the rankings. The Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants list was launched in 2022, reflecting the rapid growth of the region’s restaurant scene. With a booming culinary landscape of more than 13,000 eateries, Dubai has dominated the list since its inception, with 15 out of 50 restaurants on the list located in the city for the past two editions. The 50 Best awards has helped “put a spotlight” on the evolving food scene, and by platforming more casual restaurants, they’ve created healthy competition among the city’s many eateries. With ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the organizers decided to forgo a live awards event in the region this year.

Persons: — Mohammad, Wassim, Omar —, we’re, ” Mohammad Orfali, William Drew, Grégoire Berger, Berger, “, they’ve, ’ ”, Maryam, Chef Salam Dakkak, Grams, Jason Atherton Organizations: CNN, Dubai, East Locations: East, North Africa, Amman, Cairo, Tel Aviv, Marrakech, Beirut, Dubai, Ossiano, “

BEIRUT (AP) — Four years after Lebanon’s historic meltdown began, the small nation is still facing “enormous economic challenges,” with a collapsed banking sector, eroding public services, deteriorating infrastructure and worsening poverty, the International Monetary Fund warned Friday. Since the financial meltdown began in October 2019, the country’s political class — blamed for decades of corruption and mismanagement — has been resisting economic and financial reforms requested by the international community. Lebanon started talks with the IMF in 2020 to try reach an approved bailout, but since reaching a preliminary agreement with the IMF last year, the country's leaders have been reluctant to implement needed reforms. “Lebanon has not undertaken the urgently needed reforms, and this will weigh on the economy for years to come,” the IMF statement said. The IMF said that all official exchange rates should be unified at the market exchange rate.

Persons: Sayrafa, Wassim Mansouri, — Organizations: International Monetary Fund, IMF Locations: BEIRUT, Lebanon

☆ Lebanon Freezes Accounts of Former Central Bank Governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Liz Alderman | More About Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lebanese authorities on Monday froze the bank accounts of the country’s embattled former central bank governor, Riad Salameh, days after the United States, Britain and Canada imposed sanctions on him for “contributing to the breakdown of the rule of law in Lebanon” through decades of corruption. The action, announced by Lebanon’s interim central bank governor, Wassim Mansouri, followed an internal investigation. The assets of four people close to Mr. Salameh were also frozen by the central bank. They include Mr. Salameh’s brother, Raja Salameh; his son, Nady Salameh; Anna Kosakova, whom U.S. officials described as Mr. Salameh’s former partner; and his former assistant at the central bank, Marianne Hoayek. The U.S.-led coalition accused them of helping Mr. Salameh funnel hundreds of millions of dollars through layered shell companies to invest in European real estate so that he could amass an outsize fortune outside of the country.

Persons: Riad Salameh, Wassim Mansouri, Salameh, Salameh’s, Raja Salameh, Nady Salameh, Anna Kosakova, Marianne Hoayek Organizations: Monday, Lebanon’s Locations: United States, Britain, Canada, Lebanon ”, U.S

☆ Lebanon's central bank chief steps down — and many blame him for the country's economic collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Emma Graham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Riad Salameh's tenure as governor of Lebanon's central bank on Monday came to an end after 30 years, with many sharply critical of the legacy he now leaves behind. Lebanon has failed to find an official successor to Salameh, who has been governor of central bank since 1993 and has worked under 12 prime ministers and recurring political instability. Wassim Mansouri, the deputy governor of the central bank, told reporters that he will take the role on an interim basis. Lebanon's Rafik Hariri first became prime minister in 1992 and tapped Salameh to rebuild the country's post-war economy and banking sector. In 2022, the World Bank blamed the country's political elite for a "Ponzi Finance" scheme, saying the depression was "deliberate in the making over the past 30 years."

Persons: Riad, Nasser Saidi, CNBC's Dan Murphy, Salameh, Mansouri, Lebanon's Rafik Hariri Organizations: Liban, CNBC, World Bank Locations: Lebanon's, Banque, Lebanon

☆ U.S. sanctions Syrian leader Assad's cousins, others over drug trade -Treasury
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It said the trade in captagon was estimated to be a billion-dollar enterprise and the sanctions highlight the role of Lebanese drug traffickers and the Assad family dominance of captagon trafficking, which helped fund the Syrian government. Assad's government denies involvement in drug-making and smuggling and says it is stepping up its campaign to curb the lucrative trade. Also sanctioned were Khalid Qaddour, who the Treasury said was a Syrian businessman and close associate of Bashar al-Assad's brother, the head of the army's Fourth Division. Hassan Daqqou was sentenced in 2021 to seven years in prison in Lebanon on charges of captagon trafficking, according to the same source. Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Daphne Psaledakis and Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. hospitals report rise in severe strep A infections in kids after 15 deaths in U.K.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Aria Bendix | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In the U.K., at least 15 children have died from invasive group A strep since mid-September. Anyone can get invasive strep A, including healthy adults, but people over 65 and those with chronic illnesses are more susceptible. Between 1,500 and 2,300 people die of the invasive infections every year. But children's hospitals in several other states — California, New York, Illinois and Minnesota — said they have not detected any increase in invasive group A strep. It is important for kids with strep to get care right away so they can start taking antibiotics like penicillin.

Children's hospitals in Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Washington told NBC News they are seeing a higher-than-average number of cases this season compared to past years. In the U.K., at least 15 children have died from invasive group A strep since mid-September. Anyone can get invasive strep A, including healthy adults, but people over 65 and those with chronic illnesses are more susceptible. Between 1,500 and 2,300 people die of these invasive infections each year. It's important for kids with strep to get care right away so they can start taking antibiotics like penicillin.

Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERSDUBAI, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is working with Lazard (LAZ.N) on funding options and a potential initial public offering of Masar, a $27 billion mega project in the holy city of Mecca, two sources with direct knowledge told Reuters. The PIF, Lazard and Masar did not respond to a Reuters query for comment. Bloomberg first reported Lazard was advising the sovereign wealth fund on NEOM. Masar is a 1.2 million square metre urban development project in the western part of Mecca. Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh;Editing by Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

A decade ago, CAR T cell therapy changed the world of cancer treatment, offering a personalized approach to patients with blood cancers like leukemia. A novel approach to CAR T (chimeric antigen receptor T cell) therapy aims to cut down that turnaround time significantly. Instead of reprogramming each patient's cells, researchers are testing the safety of using universal, or "off the shelf," CAR T cells from other patients, preprogrammed to fight cancer. Scientists at University College London in the United Kingdom tested the safety of the experimental approach in six children — mostly toddlers — with advanced leukemia. One particular side effect associated with CAR T therapy is called a cytokine storm, and it can be deadly.

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