The American University of Beirut (AUB) announced that it will grant an "honorary doctorate in humane letters" this summer to veteran Syrian actor Duraid Lahham, along with Palestinian scholar Walid Khalidi and French journalist Eric Rouleau. The list of former recepients of the honorary award is long, and includes celebrated artists like the Lebanese diva Fayrouz.

Although no Syrian has been granted such an honorary title from AUB. Lahham, who began his acting career in 1960, was granted the Lebanese Order of Merit at AUB by ex-President Emille
Lahhoud in 1998. More recently he was given the Order of Merit of the Syrian Republic, Excellence Class, by President Bashar al-Assad and has similar awards from Libya, Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt.

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• Assad appoints a 29-member Constitutional Committee, for a new constitution by next February
• Sam Dalla: Was the Chinese model that good?

• Assad appoints a 29-member Constitutional Committee, for a new constitution by next February
• Sam Dalla: Was the Chinese model that good?

• Assad appoints a 29-member Constitutional Committee, for a new constitution by next February
• Sam Dalla: Was the Chinese model that good?