Legendary Lebanese Actress, Singer Sabah Dies at 87

by Diaa Bekheet

Iconic Lebanese actress and singer Sabah died in Beirut around dawn Wednesday, members of her family said. She was 87.

Many actors and singers mourned her on Twitter, including acclaimed pop singer Nancy Ajram who said: "Today, Lebanon lost a legend. Sabah is gone but she remains in our hearts.”

Veteran Lebanese politician Walid Joumblatt also tweeted his reaction: Sad news today .the legendary singer Sabah died.with her passing away an entire beautiful past of Lebanon passes away — Walid Joumblatt November 26, 2014

Born Jeanette Gergis al-Feghali in Lebanon in November 1927, Sabah skyrocketed to fame and prominence in the early 1950s as the star of high-profile Egyptian movies, including “Miss Mom” with iconic Egyptian singer and actor Mohamed Fawzi, and “Love Street” with Egypt’s nightingale Abdel Halim Hafez.

She’s also well-known for her leading role in the all-star comedy “Velvet Hands,” with top Egyptian actors Ahmed Mazhar, Salah Zulfikkar, Laila Taher and Mariam Fakhr el-Din.

Sabah remained one of the all-time favorite singers and actresses for much of her 60-year career, during which she released more than 50 albums, acted in 100 films and over 20 plays.

The music and film diva, affectionately called “Sabbouha” and “Shahroura” by millions of her fans across the Arab World, was the first Arab singer to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York, Piccadilly Theatre in London, Royal Albert Hall, and Sydney Opera House in Australia. She also performed at Olympia in Paris, only second to Egypt’s top Arab music diva Oum Kolthoum.

In the past few years, Sabah was a target of criticism by many young fans for undergoing several cosmetic surgeries to stay youthful looking.

Sabah was married several times to prominent figures, including Egyptian movie star Rushdie Abaza. She is survived by her two children, Sabah Shammas and Howayda Mansy, who live in the United States.

Thousands of Lebanese Mourn Intelligence Official Killed in Blast

by Edward Yeranian

Thousands of Lebanese gathered in Beirut's Martyrs Square for the funeral of police intelligence chief Wissam al-Hassan, killed in the explosion of a car bomb on Friday.

A sea of mourners gathered in Martyrs Square outside the Mohammed al Amin mosque as Lebanon's top political and religious leaders attended prayers inside. The flag-draped coffins of Hassan and an officer who died with him lay in state as the mufti of Tripoli, Malek Sha'ar, delivered the funeral oration.

As the prayers ended, several religious and political figures addressed the crowd, saying that Lebanon and the opposition March 14 coalition have paid “too high a price and suffered too many martyrs” in recent years.

The slain police intelligence official was allied with Lebanon's anti-Syrian opposition and seen as a supporter of the mainly Sunni rebels fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syria's civil war has heightened political and sectarian tensions in neighboring Lebanon.

Former Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora told the crowd at the funeral that it is time for the assassinations to stop and for the current government, which is supported by the pro-Syrian Shi'ite movement Hezbollah, to resign.

He said the government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati must no longer cover for the crimes that Siniora says are being committed. Sinioria added that Mikati himself bears moral responsibility for those crimes and must give way to a neutral, unity government.

The prime minister told a news conference Saturday that he had offered his resignation, but that President Michel Suleiman had asked him to stay on until political talks take place, to avoid a vacuum.

Siniora also accused Syrian Intelligence Chief Ali Mamlouk and pro-Syrian Lebanese politician Michel Samaha of being behind Wissam al Hassan's assassination. Samaha was arrested last month after being taped discussing a plot to blow-up politicians who oppose Syria.

Several blocks away, a crowd of young men threw stones and waved metal bars at a barbed wire barrier protecting the prime minister's offices. Security forces guarding the old Ottoman structure fired tear gas to keep the angry protesters from storming the barriers.

Earlier, a police band played funeral dirges as President Suleiman awarded the slain police inspector Lebanon's highest honor, promoting him posthumously to the rank of general. Suleiman told the crowd that Hassan's killing must not go unpunished:

He urged Lebanon's political leaders not to cover for the crimes that are being committed, saying that the people want the courts and the police to find and prosecute the criminals.

Christian political leader Michel Aoun, who is part of the outgoing pro-Syrian government, called Wissam al-Hassan a martyr but insisted that some political leaders are “trying to use his death for political purposes.”