PHOENICIA

He was born on December 23, 1961 in Kafroun, Tartus, Syria into a Christian household. He moved with his family to Beirut when he was 15 years old, where he was granted Lebanese citizenship,[1] and was called the miraculous child at that time, for his artistic talent in singing.

George Wassouf started singing very young at the age of 10 in his hometown Kafroun on different occasions such as marriages, parties, hotels, etc. Shortly thereafter he moved to Lebanon where he began his music career and his popularity grew. It was at the age of 16 when he became known as "Sultan El-Tarab" as called by the famous international Actor Omar Sharif, Arabic for "The Sultan of Music", with his classic song "el-Hawa Sultan".

People at that time thought of him as being the only one who could provide tarab with his magical and crystal voice that was very sharp and high- pitched when he was young and matured into the deep, commanding voice that he is now known for. A few of his first songs that brought him to fame include "Hawa Sultan", "Rohi ya Nesmah", "Helif el-Amar", and "Law Naweit".

Wassouf's magical voice was discovered by his first manager and producer "George Al-Khouri". This happened when Wassouf was 12 years old - he was singing at a wedding party. George Wassouf also got married at the age of 21 to Shalimar, who is originally from Sierra Leone. They have three children: Wadee', Hatem, and George Jr. His eldest son's name is Wadee', which is why he is known as Abu Wadee' (meaning father of Wadee).

George Wassouf has produced more than 34 albums and has performed concerts all around the world. Started from the famous Lebanese show which fired the fame of many Lebanese singers "Studio El Fan" 1980 when he was only 16 years old, surprisingly he was called at this time "Sultan of Tarab". The Song "Hilef il Amar" made a massive hit in the Arab world, although Wassouf was quite young at that time. However Wassouf was able to rise to the rank of "king" of Arab Tarab. Wassouf is famous for his unique style and performance. There are a few younger singers who have attempted to copy his vocal style such as George El Rassi. Wassouf is one of the few singers that were able to attract millions of fans in a short period of time. In addition, Wassouf is not only famous in the Arab World but is also known in Europe and the States as one of the best Arabian singers.

The latest album is "Allah Karim". This song is one of Album's songs. It's called: The Hardest Farewell

Hi everybody,

I'm confused this night, because of my roommates..One of them sleeps all the time after his job! Another one worships TV.
Anyway this song was written by someone from my city. It's called "River of Tears". It's about frustration among young generations..

Fires are still threatening areas north of Athens and several Greek islands, but firefighters say the area under their control is growing.

Thousands of residents of the capital's northern suburbs were forced to leave their homes as dozens of houses and large areas of forest were burnt.

Italian and French planes have been helping douse the flames.

Nearly 2,000 firefighters, including a Cypriot contingent, and soldiers have been engaging the blaze on the ground, together with hundreds of volunteers.

Local media said the most ominous fire on Monday afternoon was on Mount Kithaironas in Attica prefecture, north-west of the capital.

The authorities have ordered the immediate evacuation of the nearby coastal resort of Porto Germeno.

Fires are also burning on the Aegean Sea islands of Evia and Skyros and on the island of Zakynthos, on the west of the mainland.

The town of Marathon, with important archaeological sites, was encircled by fires but appears to have been spared.

Reports say nuns had to be evacuated from an Orthodox monastery near the seaside resort of Nea Makri, as firemen fought to save the compound from encroaching fires.

"The flames were 30m (100ft) high. Thankfully they came and rescued us," one of the nuns told AP.

More than 90 fires are thought to have started since Saturday and more than 37,000 acres of land have been burnt. A state of emergency has been declared in the Athens region.

On Monday, a regional Athens governor, Yiannis Sgouros said there were "some signs of optimism" but that there would be no let-up in the firefighting efforts.

But while no casualties have been reported, Mr Sgouros has called the fires an "ecological disaster".

source: New York Times

BRUSSELS — Anxiety over a new flu strain may have eased over the summer, but millions of Europeans will soon receive a sharp reminder of its virulence as governments prepare for a large-scale vaccination effort aimed at keeping a second — and possibly deadlier — wave of infections at bay.

With another surge in cases of the H1N1 virus — initially known as “swine flu” — expected as soon as September, medical experts say the battle to tame the first pandemic flu in four decades is just getting under way in Europe.

European Union health officials stress that most human cases of the flu have been mild and that patients recovered without special treatment. In another sign of normalcy, a committee of E.U. health officials recommended last week that schools reopen as usual after the summer break.

But with limited amounts of vaccines expected to become available this year, health authorities are girding for many more cases over the autumn and winter flu season, when viruses spread more easily.

“If we get a lot more infections, then there will be a lot more complications in people’s medical conditions and that means a lot more deaths,” said Nigel Dimmock, an emeritus professor in the department of biological sciences at the University of Warwick in England, and a flu expert.

Through Sunday, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, an E.U. agency based in Sweden, had recorded 38,187 confirmed cases and 60 deaths in European countries, compared with a global total of 228,921 confirmed cases and 2,084 deaths worldwide.

Those statistics show that Europe has suffered a relatively small number of cases. According to the World Health Organization, countries in North and South America have reported the vast majority of infections and deaths. But this is exactly the time, experts believe, that Europeans should be girding for a more widespread outbreak.

The global pattern of the virus’s spread indicated that “the pandemic is just beginning” in Europe, said Nikki Shindo, a spokeswoman on influenza for the W.H.O.

Up to 30 percent of the British population could become infected during the coming flu season, according to a spokeswoman for Britain’s Department of Health, who spoke with customary anonymity. During an ordinary flu season, between 2 percent and 15 percent of the population is affected, she said.

Britain had 12,903 confirmed cases and 44 deaths recorded through Sunday — the most of any European country, according to the E.C.D.C. Late last week, 39 people with suspected swine flu were in critical care wards in England.

This month, tests confirmed the symptoms of the H1N1 virus, none serious, on 59 students and five staff members at a language center for foreign students in France, near Monaco. The school confirmed there had been cases of swine flu detected but declined to make any further comment.

Others language schools in France have been taking precautions. Accent Français in Montpellier, which has around 150 students 16 or older — from countries including Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Britain and the United States — has stockpiled masks and put up notices on hygiene and medical contact numbers.

Through Sunday, there had been 1,125 cases and one death, recorded in France, according to the E.C.D.C.

“The virus does not appear to be overly aggressive now,” said Odile Launay, director of the Cochin-Pasteur Vaccinology Center in Paris, “but it could become so.”

She said researchers and experts had been surprised at the continuing appearance of new cases during the summer, when flu viruses generally remained less visible.

According to the E.C.D.C., Spain has recorded 11 deaths, the second highest number in the E.U., but has recorded 1,538 cases, far fewer than in Britain; Germany has recorded 11,493 confirmed cases, according to the E.C.D.C., but no deaths. The Robert Koch Institute, a German body responsible for disease control and prevention, said recently that the number of cases had been steadily increasing, with more originating indigenously than from citizens returning from trips abroad.

The W.H.O. said that about one-third of the world’s population would probably be affected by the time the pandemic had settled into a pattern and could be considered a seasonal flu virus — within about two to three years.

Ordinarily the process of developing new influenza vaccines is lengthy, so regulatory authorities in Europe have applied fast-track procedures to make them available as quickly as possible.