Back in 2011, I wrote a story about my relationship with my mother, about how this global phenomenon is important in every woman’s life; and being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs in all fields, since the payment is pure love. Why does love always seem to require sacrifice? Was sacrifice a necessary component of love? Were the words actually synonymous? Today, and after years passed by, after graduating from university, starting a job and after getting married, my mother is still the same mother I know since day one, except that I now see her in a different perspective. Different doesn’t mean a bad thing, but a more mature perception. For me, the creation of any novel or story or even an article is a bit like I visualize childbirth to be: a process of anticipation, fear, unending exhaustion, and eventually, exhilaration…an experience that will be engraved in us till forever. There are stories that are discovered, and others that rise from mysterious, un...
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It’s a forgone conclusion for some Americans that after their senior year of high school, they will leave home and attend a four-year college. In the face of the rising cost of higher education and the high unemployment rate following the recession, many have begun to challenge that path. Detractors of college education insist the economic benefits of attending a four-year university do not outweigh the costs. Yet alternative career paths that do not require college education largely consist of low-skill physical labor. However, some individuals who dropped out of college or stopped their education after high school have found success pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams. While not all of these individuals will become the next Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg, many of them are behind multimillion and billion dollar ideas. Even so, the average long-term return on investment of a college degree continues to be greater than a high school diploma. Cost of College...
BEIRUT: Among the platforms now at the disposal of digitally savvy fashionistas, Instagram is fast emerging as a favorite in Lebanon thanks to incremental improvements in the notoriously stymied telecoms sector. “Before last year, a lot of relatives and friends, when they went to Beirut, they would never open their apps because it was so expensive,” said Dania Hakim, editor of Lebanese Street Style, which boasts over 45,000 followers. “Now it became less expensive, and yes I have noticed that the number of followers shot up quickly.” In terms of global trends, Hakim sees little difference between the Arab world and the United States or Europe, although the Instagram fashion crowd is certainly a self-selecting one. While she declines to post outfits she considers too revealing or inappropriate, such as short shorts, she describes this as a “personal choice” rather than a cultural difference or a marketing strategy for reaching out to more conservative Arab co...
Featured teaser: The advantages of investing in Oman include a strong macroeconomic situation and a business-friendly environment, writes Celine Salloum of Zawya. Story page head: Oman funds industry remains on an even keel By Celine Salloum of Zawya As a middle-income country with an economy based primarily on dwindling hydrocarbon resources, Oman plays a firm but active role as a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). As markets unveil higher volatility and with no easy solutions in sight to the problems of the developed world, fund managers are struggling to adapt and clients are increasingly becoming restless. The situation in the GCC is no different. Companies continue to struggle in growing their assets under management (AUM) and making ends meet. The Gulf economies have made massive improvements over the past year with greater growth and government spending lifting the prospects of many key companies. The advantages of investing in Oman in...