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 City Beat, Detroit

Lebanese American Heritage Club honors young leaders

(DEARBORN, MI) — The Lebanese American Heritage Club (LAHC) hosted its Third Annual Youth Leadership Committee Banquet on Nov. 29 at Byblos Banquets in Dearborn.

The group honored Attorney Ali Hammoud, president of the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) and journalist Charlie Kadado, managing editor of LebaneseExaminer.com.

“I am very proud to receive this award from an organization I am so proud to be a part of,” Hammoud said. “I want to inspire young people to have a drive and a passion because then anything will be possible.”

Kadado talked about his humanitarian mission called “Giveback Lebanon,” which is taking place from now until Dec. 31. He says the project aims to provide hundreds of Christmas gifts to low-income and underprivileged Lebanese children and seniors.

“Give back to your motherland that has given you so much,” he said. “The least we can do is to give back to the root of our cultural identity and uniqueness.”

LAHC Youth Leadership Committee Board Member Ali Saad was also presented with the President’s Call to Service Award from President Barack Obama, which recognized 4,000 hours of lifetime community service.

The event featured several community leaders and activists, including Ali Jawad, founder of the LAHC. Many young people from local universities supported the banquet, which is held each year near Lebanon’s Independence Day anniversary.

Youth Leadership Committee Founder Hussein Hachem was presented with a plaque honoring his “relentless dedication” to the organization, which strives to support and celebrate the achievements of Lebanese-American youth in Michigan.

Hachem thanked Jawad and other community members for their activism and encouragement to the young people of the community.

He also introduced a local Lebanese-American activist for the disabled, Khodr Farhat, who delivered brief remarks.

To learn more about the LAHC Youth Leadership Committee visit lahc.org.

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 City Beat, Los Angeles, News

Kataeb host diaspora convention in Los Angeles

(LOS ANGELES, CA) — The Lebanese Kataeb Party hosted the “USA Lebanese Kataeb Diaspora Convention” at the Embassy Suites in Los Angeles, California from Dec. 5 to 7.

MP Samy Gemayel traveled to Los Angeles to participate in the conference, which occurred at the same time as the World Lebanese Cultural Union World Council meeting in LA.

Gemayel thanked members of the U.S. Kataeb chapters for organizing the conference and encouraged them to keep believing in Lebanon.

“We know that if what’s available to you in America or Canada was available to you in Lebanon, we know where you’d be,” he said. “You all live here, but your heart is in Lebanon. We have faith that in the end, good will triumph and evil will fail.”

Gemayel urged the Lebanese diaspora to buy homes in their motherland and cast their ballots to choose “good” candidates in elections.

Gemayel also discussed issues related to Lebanon, including the attacks on Lebanese soldiers in recent months.

“This is not the first time Lebanon is going through tough times,” he said. “But trust your logic that is stronger than the logic of criminals who kill our soldiers. They are cowards because they attack and kill those who are fighting in defense of their country.”

RELATED: Samy Gemayel attend WLCU ceremony to reveal Gibran Khalil Gibran statue. Read more.

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 City Beat, Lifestyle, Los Angeles, News

WLCU unveils Gibran Khalil Gibran statue

(LOS ANGELES, CA) — The World Lebanese Cultural Union (WLCU) unveiled a long anticipated sculpture of Lebanese-American poet Gibran Khalil Gibran at the Los Angeles Central Library in Los Angeles, California on Dec. 5.

The unveiling, which happened during the week of the WLCU World Council Meeting at the Millennium Bitmore Hotel, commemorates the 130th anniversary of Gibran’s birth in Bsharri, Lebanon in 1883.

The statue of Gibran was sculpted by Lebanese-American artist Victor Issa at the LA Public Library, which is the largest library in the United States. Nearly 13 million people visit the library each year.

“Unfortunately a city like Los Angeles is honoring famed Lebanese people than Lebanon itself is getting an opportunity to,” said Metn MP Sami Gemayel, who attended the unveiling. “Lebanon needs the teachings of Gibran.”

Watch MTV Lebanon’s news report:

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 Lifestyle, News

Beirut named as one of the world’s “7 wonders”

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Beirut was among seven cities selected as a “New7Wonders” city, beating out more than 1,000 competitors, the organization said on Sunday.

The New7Wonders Cities was created by Swiss-born filmmaker and explorer Bernard Weber, who has been on the hunt for the best new spots across the globe for years.

The campaign passed through several rounds of voting before reaching the election of the top seven cities.

“For the first time in human history, more than half of our planet’s population lives in cities and this election emphasizes the dramatically challenging character of our changing world,” said Weber.

28 cities were selected in the final round by a “panel of experts,” including architects and urban professors. to pass through three shortlisting votes before the seven were decided on.

Voting was then opened to the public on the “New7Wonders” website, mobile phone app, by calling in, or by sending an SMS.

The other wonder cities are: Doha in Qatar, Durban in South Africa, Havana in Cuba, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Vigan in Philippines, and La Paz in Bolivia.

Weber announced the results from Dubai.

Watch the announcement here:

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 News

EU offers $180M euros for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan

Syrian refugees, who fled the violence in Syria, walk at a new refugee camp in Arbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The European Union offered $180 million euros on Thursday to help Lebanon and Jordan cope with the massive influx of Syrian refugees.

The European Commission said the aid package would help deal with the longer-term problems of the 1.1 million refugees in Lebanon and 630,000 in Jordan.

Some of the funds will also go to Syria itself where the conflict has displaced around half of the population, nearly 11 million people.

Lebanon, a country of just over four million inhabitants, is struggling to shelter 1.5 million Syrian refugees.

“They are sharing our water, electricity, schools and hospitals with us,” said Lebanese prime minister Tammam Salam. “The country was not programmed for this. It was barely programmed to handle its own needs.”

Salam was in the European Parliament on December 2 to discuss his country’s most pressing issues, including efforts to deal with the spill-over of the conflict in Syria.

Salam met European Parliament President Martin Schulz, who he described as “very supportive and enthusiastic about helping Lebanon.”

The $180 million package “addresses in particular the education of children and young adults… as well as measures to improve the resilience of the refugees as well as the communities hosting them through economic development activities,” a Commission statement said.

The EU is a major humanitarian aid donor in the region. It has provided about 1.5 billion euros since the conflict erupted in 2011 while the 28 member states have separately provided about 1.4 billion euros, according to Commission figures.

“We are ready and willing to bring a continued support to the people of Syria and to the neighboring countries hosting Syrian refugees,” EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini said. “We are determined to play our role to the full and bring a lasting political solution to this regional crisis.”

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 Lifestyle, News

Thousands join hands in Lebanon to create human chain

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — A Lebanese NGO gathered 200,000 Lebanese natives to create a virtual human chain and join “hand in hand, united for Lebanon” on Sunday.

People joined hands from Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli to the southern city of Tyre, passing through Beirut’s Raouche.

Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon joined the “United Hands” project, stressing that the state should believe in the civil society despite the ongoing paralysis at state institutions.

“The Lebanese should have faith in the civil society despite the deadlock in state institutions,” he said at the opening ceremony.

The event was held under the patronage of Pharaon and in cooperation with the Lebanese Army, the Municipality of Beirut, the Ministry of Interior, the Foreign Ministry, the Lebanese Red Cross and the Civil Defense.

“The aim is to break the boundaries between our divisions and show the world that we can unite, beyond religion, beyond politics and beyond the odds,” the project says on its website. “In creating this human chain, citizens will be able to stand side by side marking their place in history in a demonstration of pride that will potentially last forever.”

Sunday’s ceremony is the third in a series of initiatives organized by the “United Hands” project in commemoration with the 71st anniversary of Lebanon’s independence.

The first event, United Hands across the Web, took place in October, and used Google maps to join Lebanese from across the world.

In the second event, nearly 2,000 people gathered in Martyrs Square in Beirut on Nov. 22 to form a big letter “U” for united.

See photos below:

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 News

Syrian man arrested in Metn for prostituting 14-year-old wife

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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces arrested a Syrian man and his 14-year-old wife over a prostitution ring in the Metn region of Lebanon on Monday.

Police say they received a tip about a man who prostituted his teenage wife and several other women in Jounieh and Tabarja.

Investigations into the case led to the arrest of a 36-year-old Syrian man, a 14-year-old Syrian girl, and two Iraqi sisters aged 19 and 31.

The group was arrested on Nov. 29, according to the Internal Security Forces.

The man reportedly confessed to prostituting his wife and the two Iraqi women. The Iraqis also confessed to prostitution even “without an agent,” according to a statement.

This most recent arrest comes one month after security forces arrested one Lebanese man and five Syrians accused of forming a prostitution ring and using it for human trafficking.

Watch France 24’s report on prostitution in Lebanon:

RELATED: Prostitution ring busted by security officials in Lebanon. Read more

RELATED: Lebanon police bust Kaslik prostitution ring. Read more.

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 Lifestyle, News

VIDEO: Thousands bid farewell to Lebanese icon Sabah

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Thousands of mourners gathered in Beirut on Sunday to celebrate the life of Lebanese singer and actress Sabah who died this week at the age of 87.

A military brass band played in the street outside St. George Cathedral in downtown Beirut, where fans clapped and sang their favorite Sabah songs.

Earlier, a troupe of dancers in traditional dress performed to the diva’s music played from loudspeakers.

Her coffin, which was draped with a Lebanese flag, was brought to church where Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai presided over the religious ceremony.

“I will call it celebration, not a funeral,” said Lebanese actress Ward El-Khal. “We feel today that we came here to share her feelings and to remember her. We will miss her.”

Sabah was buried on Sunday in the village of Bdedoun, where she was born.

The iconic singer and actress was beloved throughout the Arab world, with her seven-decade career and her colorful love life keeping her in the headlines until the end.

Born Jeanette Gergis Feghali, she later took the screen name Sabah, but was affectionately known as Sabbuha, or the nickname Shahrura, or songbird.

She began performing in the 1940s, earning a reputation for her renditions of patriotic songs as well as folkloric ballads. She was also an icon of the big screen, appearing in more than 90 movies.

Watch Part 1 of Sabah’s funeral below, courtesy of MTV Lebanon:

Watch Part 2 of Sabah’s funeral below, courtesy of MTV Lebanon:

RELATED: Lebanese icon Sabah dies at 87. Read more.

Share your thoughts on Facebook, at this link.

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 Lifestyle

VIDEO: Marriage proposal at Beirut International Airport

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — A Lebanese man organized a surprise marriage proposal to his Ukrainian girlfriend Yana Kozachina at the Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport on Nov. 25.

Georges Chahoud brought his film crew to document his big day on camera!

“It was amazing! Words are not enough to express all my feelings at that moment,” wrote Yana Kozachina on Facebook.

Chahoud has photographed over 90 weddings in Gulf countries and Europe and over 1,400 weddings in Lebanon, according to his website.

Watch the proposal below:

She Said Yes………… from Georges Chahoud on Vimeo.

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 News

Ex-Jumblatt aide jailed 2 years, fined $3.45M

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Ex-Jumblatt aide and businessman Bahij Abou Hamze was sentenced to two years in jail and ordered to pay $3.45 million on Friday over charges of breach of trust and embezzlement from the Safa football team, sources told Beirut-based newspaper, The Daily Star.

The decision marks the first sentence against Abou Hamze, the former head of the board of trustees for the football team. Abu Hamze is also the husband of TV personality Mona Abou Hamze, most notable for “Talk of the Town” on MTV Lebanon.

Abu Hamzeh’s lawyers have been petitioning for charges against the defendant to be dropped. The case was filed by the chairman of the Safa football team Issam Sayegh, who is currently representing the team.

Abu Hamzeh was earlier charged with impersonating Sayegh by forging documents and using counterfeit papers, but that case was dismissed, a judicial source told The Daily Star.

Abu Hamzeh still faces several other charges filed by Jumblatt.

The lawsuits are the culmination of a dramatic deterioration of relations between Jumblatt and Abu Hamzeh, who used to run Jumlatt’s real estate endeavors and managed his private properties for more than two decades.

Abu Hamzeh’s family has consistently worked for the Jumblatt family over the past century.

In one of the lawsuits filed by Jumblatt, he accused Abu Hamzeh and business partner Hussein Bdeir of selling him a piece of land that did not actually exist.

Abu Hamzeh is a chemical engineer and a Middle East agent for the U.S. pharmaceutical company Upjohn, Abu Hamzeh lived in Paris before moving to Lebanon in 1987 at the request of Jumblatt in order to manage the PSP chief’s companies.

He is also the former head of the Association of Oil Importing Companies and served as the head of Safa’s board of trustees.

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