Threat to historic city of Tyre is topic of Newsmaker today, 3 p.m.

A new report on the threats to one of the world’s most historic cities – the ancient Phoenician city of Tyre, Lebanon -- will be the focus of a National Press Club Newsmaker news conference on Wednesday, June 12, at 3 p.m. in the club’s Zenger Room.

Tyre is ranked with Carthage on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. It is endangered by conflict in Lebanon that has spilled over from the civil war in neighboring Syria.

Discussing the report will be Maha El-Khalil Chalabi, president of the International Association to Save Tyre, Lebanon, and Esther Coopersmith, president of the American National Committee for Tyre, official goodwill ambassador for UNESCO and former U.S. delegate to the United Nations.

Chalabi will also announce a novel fundraising effort to save Tyre – an online raffle for a genuine Picasso painting.