Examiner Staff

Source: Amal Alamuddin’s parents ‘paying for most’ of wedding

(LOS ANGELES, CA) — A source says George Clooney’s fiancée’s family are paying for most of their upcoming wedding in Venice, Italy.

The 53-year-old actor, who has an estimated fortune of $180 million, reportedly isn’t footing the bill for his lavish nuptials later this month, as Amal Alamuddin’s parents have insisted on sticking to the tradition of the bride’s family paying for the event.

A source told Us Weekly magazine: “Crazy enough, her family is paying for most of it!”

The British barrister’s mother and father, Ramzi and Baria Alamuddin, also helped them decide on a location and date. An insider previously explained: “[They are] old-fashioned when it comes to these things.”

The brunette beauty’s mother is an editor at Lebanese newspaper Al Hayat, while Ramzi, is a retired business professor, who taught at the Beirut campus of the American University.

The couple are expected to tie the knot on September 27 at a black-tie affair, and final preparations are already underway.

The source said: “It’s all very classy.”

Actor Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana Barroso, and supermodel Cindy Crawford and her husband, Rande Gerber, who is expected to be George’s best man, will be among the small number of guests.

The insider added: “He wanted just 60 genuine friends and family.”

Earlier this month, two-time Oscar winner George admitted he can’t wait to get married.

The “Monuments Men” star said: “I would just like to say to my bride-to-be, Amal, that I love you very much. And I can’t wait to be your husband.”

Examiner StaffSeptember 19, 2014, 4:30 pmSeptember 19, 2014 Comments Off 2383

News

UN agency heads visit Bekaa Valley refugees

(BEKAA VALLEY, LEBANON) — The heads of UNHCR and the UN Development Program visited Syrian refugees and joint projects in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. High Commissioner António Guterres said that the Syria crisis had become the worst humanitarian tragedy of our times.

The visit underscored a shift in the international response to the Syrian crisis: not only should assistance flow to refugees, said Guterres and Clark, but increasingly it must also flow to host communities in neighboring countries to help them cope with the burden.

“The international community is not doing enough for Lebanon,” Guterres said, while visiting a refugee settlement. “The impact on the daily life of the Lebanese, on their salaries, on their rents, their school system, the health system, the infrastructure, water, electricity: all this requires massive solidarity from the international community and Lebanon has the right to ask the international community to share this burden.”

He added that, “preserving Lebanon’s stability is everybody’s business.”

According to an official report, the number of registered and unregistered refugees in Lebanon reached 1.5 million, around 30 percent of Lebanon’s population.

The three-year-old conflict in Syria has displaced some 6 million people, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency.

Watch the UN report:

[youtube url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjTet5gbQN0″ width=”500″ height=”300″]

Examiner StaffSeptember 19, 2014, 4:07 pmSeptember 19, 2014 Comments Off 1392

News

United States donates vehicles to Lebanese police

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — United States Ambassador David Hale announced the delivery of 38 vehicles to Lebanon police on Friday, including 23 prison vans to the Internal Security Forces, in hopes to ease overcrowding in Lebanese prisons.

Hale held a ceremony at the police barracks in Dbayeh to mark the delivery of 38 new vehicles in total.

“The vehicles delivered today, valued at $1.6 million, include 23 prisoner transport vehicles that will allow the ISF to increase the number of prisoners that can be escorted to courts for hearings,” Hale said. “This will alleviate prison overcrowding by addressing a key factor in the backlog of court cases and facilitating an important part of the judicial process.”

Hale said the other vehicles, which include five Dodge Ram pickup trucks, 23 Ford prisoner vans, and 10 Ford Explorers, is immediately available for police use.

An embassy statement said the U.S. government would provide the Internal Security Forces with over $20 million worth of equipment, specialized training and infrastructure support over the next 12 months.

Hale called the Internal Security Forces a “key pillar of public security in Lebanon.”

Since 2008, the United States has provided over $140 million to the ISF.

Examiner StaffSeptember 19, 2014, 10:31 amMarch 16, 2015 Comments Off 1802

News

Death threats shouted at Our Lady of Lebanon Church in Sydney

(SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA) — Maronite church-goers in Sydney, Australia are left shaken after four assailants in a vehicle bearing the flag of the Islamic State drove past Our Lady of Lebanon Church shouting death threats, according to media reports.

“Four youth in an unknown car and waving the flag of ISIL drove by the church threatening church-goers with murder and with slaughtering their children,” Monseigneur Shora Maree said.

Maree says he contacted police ahead of the church’s 7pm mass on Wednesday night. Officers were sent down to patrol the Harris Park church while hundreds took part in mass inside.

The assailants caused panic among people as the Australian police is investigating the incident to identify the four youth.

“This is now in the hands of police who are fully investigating. Please do not respond to or circulate any other version of the truth on social media as it creates unnecessary panic,” Maree said in a social media statement.

On Thursday, Australia’s largest ever counter-terrorism raids detained 15 people and foiled a plot by Islamic State jihadists to conduct “demonstration killings”, reportedly including beheading a member of the public on camera.

The Australian government believes up to 60 Australians are fighting alongside jihadists for Islamic State, while another 100 were actively working to support the movement at home.

The latest raids followed the arrests of two people last week in Brisbane who were charged with allegedly recruiting, funding and sending jihadist fighters to Syria.

Examiner StaffSeptember 18, 2014, 10:23 amFebruary 5, 2015 Comments Off 2171

Entertainment

Marwan Khoury signs with Universal Music MENA

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Universal Music MENA announces today the signing of major Arabic artist, Marwan Khoury to the label and his latest studio album ‘El Aad El Aaksi’ which is now available to stream on exclusively on Anghami with remaining music platforms releasing on September 15.

“Having Marwan on board with us at Universal Music MENA is a huge achievement as he is such a globally recognized talent for his compositions and writing of Arabic music for both himself and other Arab artists,” said Tamer El Betar, licensing manager at Universal Music MENA. “We are dedicated to further Marwan’s musical career internationally and look forward to many more years of success with him.”

‘El Aad El Aaksi’ is Marwan’s sixth studio album, which took him 2 years to produce from his studio in Beirut, Lebanon.

“We are incredibly excited to have such a profound local talent with us at the label and we look forward to continuing his successful journey together with his new album,” said Patrick Boulos, CEO of the company.

What’s being tipped to be the regions hottest Arabic album of 2014, the Lebanese national who is considered one of the most respected Arab artists globally, is no stranger to writing well produced compositions which have become internationally recognized bestsellers and adapted in many other countries.

His work been performed by some of the most famous artists in the Arab World and has also written and composed hits for a vast list of leading Arabic artists such as Majida El Roumi, Warda, and Saber Al Roubai.

Examiner StaffSeptember 16, 2014, 7:09 pmSeptember 15, 2014 Comments Off 1952

Business

Study: Lebanese among most pessimistic in the world about economy

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — A recent study published by the Pew Research Center says the Lebanese population is one of the most pessimistic about its economic future and dissatisfied with how its country is doing.

Only beaten by Greece, Ukraine, Spain and Italy, Lebanon had 91 percent people respond that the economy was performing “bad.” 46 percent of the Lebanese said it would be worse “over the next 12 months.”

According to the same study, Lebanon is the country who worries the most about the gap between the rich and the poor.

But while less than half the Lebanese surveyed expect more hard times, the IMF forecasts Lebanon’s economy to accelerate from 1% growth in 2014 to 2.5% in 2015.

84 percent of the Lebanese said they thought economic inequality was a “very big problem.” 92 percent said the most dangerous of economic issues was the rising prices, or inflation.

Examiner StaffSeptember 16, 2014, 6:04 pmJanuary 31, 2015 Comments Off 1486

City Beat, Detroit

Dr. Farid Fata pleads guilty to 16 counts of healthcare fraud

(DETROIT, MI) — A Detroit-area cancer doctor of Lebanese descent has pleaded guilty to 16 federal charges and admits he gave patients unneeded treatments before billing Medicare and other insurers.

Dr. Farid Fata made the pleas Tuesday in U.S. District Court, where he was scheduled to go on trial on October 14.

Farid-Fata-home-jpg — PHOTO: Fata’s home in Oakland Township, MI during an FBI raid last year.

There was no plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department. Fata pleaded guilty to 13 counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy and two counts of money laundering.

Fata owned Michigan Hematology Oncology, which had many offices in suburban Detroit. He told Judge Paul Borman that he ordered treatments for patients knowing that they were unnecessary and then submitted insurance claims.

“It is my choice,” he said of his decision to plead guilty. “I knew that the infusions were medically unnecessary.”

The government says Fata used a Hotmail account to execute his alleged crimes, including orders to staff and inquiring about a $3-million castle in Lebanon, his native country.

Fata and his family were active members of the Lebanese-American community. He was also the founder of the “Swan for Life Cancer Foundation,” an organization supported by several Lebanese-Americans.

Examiner StaffSeptember 16, 2014, 5:39 pmFebruary 6, 2015 Comments Off 2309

News

Araiji says Qatar will help Lebanon build central prison and lift travel ban

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese Culture Minister Raymond Araiji said on Monday that Qatari assistance to Lebanon will go beyond the current Arsal hostage crisis, with the country pledging to lift its travel advisory to Lebanon.

Araiji also says Qatar will assist in building a new central prison system in Lebanon.

Qatari officials have “confirmed their willingness to help Lebanon in many affairs,” said Araiji during a press conference.

The culture minister said that Qatari assistance would help “ Lebanon to bear the burden of Syrian displacement, and would also help build a central prison.”

Araiji also said that the “Qatari prince has announced that he is heading towards lifting the travel advisory,” after the country issued warnings to its citizens over traveling to Lebanon due to security concerns.

A Lebanese delegation headed by Prime Minister Tammam Salam met with the Qatari emir and prime minister in Doha last weekend.

The talks with Qatar are aimed at freeing the 22 Lebanese soldiers and policemen being held hostage by the Nusra Front and ISIS.

Qatar became involved in the hostage crisis two weeks ago, announcing it would be carrying out negotiations between the Lebanese state and the extremist groups that kidnapped at least 30 soldiers and police officers during clashes with the Army in Arsal last month.

Examiner StaffSeptember 16, 2014, 12:35 pmSeptember 15, 2014 Comments Off 1185

News

Sisi says he pledges to support Lebanon stability efforts

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi vowed to cooperate with Lebanon’s allies on Monday in order to ensure the country’s stability during times of security concerns, plagued by the spillover of Syria’s civil war.

After his meeting with the Lebanese Labor Minister Sejaan Azzi in Cairo, Sisi expressed his “confidence in Lebanon’s ability to overcome current ordeals.”

He went on to say that Egypt “stands by Lebanon and is ready to cooperate with the friends of Lebanon and the Arab brothers.”

Sisi said that cooperation efforts aim “at creating a dynamic solution that would preserve Lebanon’s stability and unity at this stage.”

After the meeting, Azzi said that Sisi had expressed “his determination to address widespread social and economic issues,” highlighting that unemployment in Arab communities was at the forefront of the president’s concerns.

Sisi met Lebanon’s labor minister and Tourism Minister Michel Pharaon on Monday, when Cairo hosted conferences for both The Arab Labor Organization and the World Tourism Organization for the Middle East.

Pharaon said that Sisi stressed the “importance of stability in Lebanon’s growth, especially in terms of tourism investments.”

Examiner StaffSeptember 16, 2014, 8:34 amFebruary 1, 2015 Comments Off 1458

City Beat, Detroit, Photos

PHOTOS: Lebanese Forces Michigan Memorial Mass for Bachir Gemayel

(WARREN, MI) — The Lebanese Forces Michigan Chapter recently hosted a memorial mass for Bachir Gemayel, Lebanese politician, militia commander, and president-elect, who was assassinated on September 14, 1982 at the age of 34.

The mass was held at Saint Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church in Warren, Michigan.