(WASHINGTON, DC) — Actress and film director Salma Hayek received the “Spirit of Humanity” Kahlil Gibran Award from the Arab American Institute on Thursday during an annual gala in Washington DC honoring successful Arab-Americans.
Hayek returned from a three-day trip to Lebanon on Tuesday, where she launched her new animated film “The Prophet”, which is based on Gibran’s book.
The animated film, which draws on the 1923 book by Lebanese-born writer Kahlil Gibran, tells the story of Almitra, a headstrong girl who forms a friendship with imprisoned poet Mustafa.
The Washington DC ceremony was held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, where Hayek was awarded in the category of “individual achievement.”
“I’m a citizen of the world, and my country is humanity, kids are poets from the moment they’re born; they get Gibran’s message without thinking about the meaning of individual words,” Hayek said.
The institute highlighted the Salma Hayek Foundation’s work to “end violence against women and attract global attention to humanitarian crises.”
Hayek said her trip to Lebanon was “very emotional” and called her new film a “love letter to my heritage.”
“Through this book I got to know my grandfather, through this book I got to have my grandfather teaching me about life,” she said in Beirut.
(MARRAKESH, MOROCCO) — Lebanese billionaire and former prime minister Najib Mikati celebrated his son’s wedding on Saturday at the El Badi Palace in Marrakesh, Morroco.
Sources say over 1,000 people attended Malick Mikati’s wedding, including Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab and Egyptian singer Amr Diab.
The Mikati family also hosted a brunch party at the La Mamounia luxurious hotel on Sunday.
Malick Mikati and his wife celebrate their wedding at the El Badi Palace in Morocco. (Twitter)
The El Badi Palace is a tourist attraction in Morocco, which was commissioned by the Saadian sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, sometime shortly after his accession in 1578.
Najib Mikati served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon two times, from April to July 2005 and from January 2011 to August 2013. He is also the co-founder of telecommunications company Investcom, which he sold in 2006 to South Africa’s MTN Group for $5.5 billion.
U.S. Forbes magazine estimated his fortune at nearly $3.3 billion, making him the richest man in Lebanon.
The courtyard of the El Badi Palace in Marrakesh, Morocco. (Wikimedia)Malick Mikati and his wife celebrate their wedding at the El Badi Palace in Morocco. (Twitter)
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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Actress and film director Salma Hayek visited her ancestral homeland Lebanon for the first time on Sunday to launch “The Prophet,” a new animated feature film she co-produced.
Hayek, joined by Sethrida Geagea, visited the mountain village of Bcharre in northern Lebanon to pay tribute to Khalil Gibran, the Bcharre-born poet who wrote “The Prophet,” which the film is based on.
“Let us have a private moment in this place that we dreamt so long to be a part of,” Hayek said before entering the Gibran Museum.
“The Prophet,” written in 1923, has inspired generations of artists. The book, a series of poems about love, joy, sorrow, work and spirituality, has been translated into at least 40 languages.
Gibran also was a sculptor and a painter influenced by the English Romantics. He migrated to the United States in the late 1890s, dying there in 1931.
Hayek posed with one of Gibran’s towering sculptures outside the museum and dipped her feet in nearby mountain spring waters before visiting his tomb and viewing his work.
“The Prophet” director Roger Allers, who also directed Disney’s “The Lion King,” accompanied Hayek on the trip.
“I have been living with the spirit of Gibran for the last three years and it has been a very intimate experience and now to come to his home is very moving,” Allers said.
The film tells the story of a friendship between a young girl and an imprisoned poet. Quoting from Gibran’s book, Allers said: “‘Work is love made visible.’ And I really feel that about this movie.”
The film premieres April 30 in Lebanon. Distributor Mohammed Fadallah said it will be showing in 20 theaters here before going to the Gulf region and North Africa.
Hayek arrived Friday in Lebanon. The Mexican-American actress’ paternal grandfather was Lebanese and immigrated to Mexico.
A poster outside the museum bearing one of Gibran’s poems also welcomed her: “The children of my Lebanon, those who migrate with nothing but courage in their hearts and strength in their arms but who return with wealth in their hands and a wreath of glory upon their heads.”
Source: Associated Press
Mexican and American actress Salma Hayek, center, Lebanese legislator Setrida Geagea, left, and film director Roger Allers, right, stand for the Lebanese and Mexican national anthems during her visit at the museum of the famed Lebanese-born poet and philosopher Khalil Gibran in the northeast mountain town of Bcharre, Lebanon, Sunday, April 26, 2015. Hayek visited her ancestral homeland Lebanon to launch her latest film “The Prophet,” a screen adaptation of the book by the same name written nearly a century ago by Gibran. Photo: Bilal Hussein, APMexican and American Salma Hayek sits in front of a statue of Lebanese-American poet Khalil Gibran during her visit to his museum in the northeast mountain town of Bcharre, Lebanon, Sunday, April 26, 2015. Hayek visited her ancestral homeland Lebanon to launch her latest film “The Prophet,” a screen adaptation of the book by the same name written nearly a century ago by the famed Lebanese-American poet and philosopher Gibran. Photo: Bilal Hussein, APMexican and American actress Salma Hayek signs the museum guest book during her visit at the museum of the famed Lebanese-born poet and philosopher Khalil Gibran in the northeast mountain town of Bcharre, Lebanon, Sunday, April 26, 2015. Hayek visited her ancestral homeland Lebanon to launch her latest film “The Prophet,” a screen adaptation of the book by the same name written nearly a century ago by Gibran. Photo: Bilal Hussein, APMexican and American actress Salma Hayek, second left, speaks with Lebanese legislator Setrida Geagea, second right, during her visit to Khalil Gibran’s museum in the northeast mountain town of Bcharre, Lebanon, Sunday, April 26, 2015. Hayek visited her ancestral homeland Lebanon to launch her latest film “The Prophet,” a screen adaptation of the book by the same name written nearly a century ago by the famed Lebanese-American poet and philosopher Gibran. Photo: Bilal Hussein, AP
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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese diva Haifa Wehbe came out with her first-ever English music video on Tuesday, in a move to presumably enter the Western music market.
The new song called “Breathing You In” features a provocative Haifa flaunting around Jennifer Lopez’s ex-lover, Casper Smart. Haifa circles Smart until she watches him float into space.
Haifa’s auto-tuned single repeats the lyrics, “Breathing You In” dozens of times.
Directed by Dubai-based businessman and film producer Tarik Freitekh, the music video was shot in Las Vegas in studios previously used by the likes of Shakira, Snoop Dog, and Justin Bieber.
The red-haired Haifa watches as a group of shirtless muscle-men gently caress her.
Haifa has more than 3 million followers on Twitter and 5.5 million likes on Facebook.
Her move to English songs suggests that she’s looking to expand to a wider audience.
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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese singer Najwa Karam released a new patriotic Lebanese song called “Kelmit 7a2” where she appears to address “enemies” of Lebanon.
The song was written by Nizar Francis, composed by Sam Al Amir, and distributed by Tony Saba.
Karam was born and raised in Zahlé, Lebanon to a Catholic family, where she attended a Christian school in Zahlé and later earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.
Karam was previously placed on a black list of “disgrace” artists when she released a song titled “Bashar Al Qaed” where she praised Syrian president Bashar Al Assad at the beginning of the Syrian revolution. She has since been removed on the so-called blacklist after altering her position.
“(The songs) didn’t necessarily take political sides and I don’t like to get involved with revolutions,” Karam once said. “I’m happy to sing patriotic songs, but I avoid politically tense situations.”
But her new song “Kelmit 7a2” seems to offer a new perspective on Karam’s patriotic tunes.
“You make me love Lebanon even more,” wrote one fan on YouTube.
LISTEN to Najwa’s “Kelmit 7a2”:
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(KUWAIT CITY) — A report published by a Kuwaiti-based newspaper revealed that a Kuwaiti man was referred to police after “trying to molest” Lebanese singer Najwa Karam upon arriving at the Kuwait International Airport.
“A security source said several youths gathered around the renowned singer and one of them behaved indecently, so the bodyguard of the singer confronted him,” said Arab Times, the first English-language newspaper published in Kuwait.
The Kuwaiti was referred to Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh law enforcement after allegedly trying to molest the popular singer, according to Kuwaiti newspaper, Al Rai.
Media reports add that the Kuwaiti was released from custody after signing a “pledge.”
Karam, 49, is a Lebanese multi-platinum, best-selling recording artist in the Middle East, who has sold over 60 million records worldwide.
The report comes a few months after Karam lashed out at an audience member in Sydney, Australia after reportedly getting harassed halfway during her show.
“Money does not buy us nor does it buy you, and shame on you for what you are doing,” she told the unidentified man.
Karam has yet to comment on this latest incident.
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(NEW YORK, NY) — Lebanese human rights attorney Amal Clooney has accepted a position as a visiting professor and senior fellow at Columbia Law School in New York City.
Clooney will join the prestigious university’s Human Rights Institute, where she will lecture on human rights law and international tribunal cases.
“It is an honor to be invited as a visiting professor at Columbia Law School alongside such a distinguished faculty and talented student pool,” said Clooney. “I look forward to getting to know the next generation of human rights advocates studying here.”
Clooney graduated from the University of Oxford in England and the New York University School of Law. She also worked for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Kofi Annan as a senior adviser when he was the U.N.’s envoy on Syria.
“We are privileged to have an international human rights practitioner of Amal Clooney’s stature join our faculty,” said Professor Sarah H. Cleveland, co-director of the university’s Human Rights Institute. “Her extensive experience advocating before U.N. and regional human rights mechanisms complements our existing offerings and will enrich the experience of our students.”
Clooney has handled cases before the International Criminal Court and Court of Justice, including several domestic international law cases in the United States and England.
She’s also writing a book called The Right to a Fair Trial in International Law, and is the co-editor of The Special Tribunal for Lebanon: Law and Practice.
Professors say they’re honored to welcome Clooney to their faculty.
“Amal Clooney’s dedication to public service and her diverse human rights litigation experience will inspire and guide our students as they learn how to use the law to advance social justice,” said Sarah Knuckey, director of the Human Rights Clinic.
“We are thrilled to welcome her to Columbia Law School’s community of international law scholars, practitioners, and students.”
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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Former Lebanese pop star turned Islamist militant Fadel Shaker said he wants to return to his “normal, natural life” in an interview with Beirut-based LBC-TV.
Shaker is wanted on charges of committing crimes against the Lebanese Army, after fleeing street battles in Sidon between Sunni Muslim militants and the army in June 2013. The battles killed over 50 people and 17 soldiers, according to Al-Arabiya.
If convicted, Shaker could face the death penalty. But Shaker denies all charges, claiming he never advocated for any radical battles against any member of the army.
“I never participated at all in the battle,” he said. “I never carried a weapon. Everybody knows that and the army knows it too.”
Shaker’s lawyer May Khansa said Fadel planned to turn himself in “in the coming days.” Al-Akhbar reports that this may result in a lighter sentence for the former singer.
In 2013, Shaker was allegedly recorded taunting the Lebanese Army, saying “we have two rotting corpses that we snatched from you yesterday.” He has also appeared in videos calling his enemies “pigs and dogs,” according to ABC News.
But he told LBC he had a change of heart — even saying he hoped the Lebanese soldiers captured by the Islamic State and Nusra Front would be freed.
Shaker became a popular pop star in the Middle East in 2002 after a duet with Arab singer Nawal topped the charts in the Arab world. The singer fell under the influence of Sunni cleric Ahmed al-Assir in 2013 after saying he was quitting his career as a singer to “become closer to God.”
He denies asking his fans to stop listening to his music, and adds that he did not have an official Facebook page or Twitter account.
Shaker appeared clean-shaven and in a black suit in the LBC interview, which was filmed in Sidon’s Ain al-Hilwe Palestinian refugee camp, according to the TV station.
Shaker says he grew up in the Ain al-Hilwe camp to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother. He once said he was proud to be Palestinian, and asked Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to grant him citizenship.
WATCH the LBC Report:
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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Former Miss USA Rima Fakih will compete in season 3 of Lebanon’s version of Dancing with the Stars, according to a recent announcement by Beirut-based TV network MTV Lebanon.
Fakih, 29, will join 12 other celebrities for the show, which airs in most of the Middle East.
MTV said:
Since her revelation in 2010, the Lebanese Miss America has not stopped accumulating successes from numerous Reality TV shows to movie acting. Armed with a quote that her father raised her to believe, “You don’t know who you are until you know where you came from”, Rima Fakih also volunteered at community organizations such as American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. She went on to be honored numerous times and is dedicated to helping remove the stereotype of Arabs in America and all over the world. All the way she has proved that it is possible to be beautiful, sexy, smart and tough. Will her father’s advice help her succeed on the dance floor too?
Judges Darren Bennett, Mira Samaha, Rabih Nahas, and Mazen Kiwan will evaluate the diva’s dancing skills starting on March 1.
Fakih was born in Srifa, a small city in the Jabal Amel region of Southern Lebanon. She is the first Lebanese-American, the first Arab American and the first Muslim to win the Miss USA title.
Fakih has some professional dance experience, according to MTV.
Most recently, she trained to be a professional wrestler in WWE as a WWE Diva. She competed on the fifth season of WWE Tough Enough, but was eliminated on the fourth episode.
Dancing with the Stars, hosted by Carla Haddad and Wissam Breidi, airs Sundays at 8:30pm on MTV Lebanon.
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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — U.S.-born Lebanese model Joelle Hatem seems to have acted on impulse when she took to Facebook to announce a divorce from her husband, singer George Al Rassi.
Hatem, 36, shocked her 60,000 Facebook fans when she wrote:
I announce my divorce from George Al Rassi. This is not a lie for me and George cannot be together anymore. I respect him very much and apologize from everyone I need to relax and I cannot answer anyone at this time. I wanted you to know the news from me personally first.
Jordanian news site Al Bawaba reports that Lebanese singer Cyrine Abdel Nour may have had something to do with the separation.
But a few hours later, Hatem returned to Facebook with a change of heart. She wrote:
I want to tell you from the bottom of my heart and by the life of my son Joe, I truly regret what I had done, it is true that George and I had had a big dispute and he left, but I do not want to get a divorce. I want a happy family and what I said on Facebook was a result of my outrage and anyone who wants to curse me for it do it, and I want to thank everyone who support us and stood by our side.
It was unclear whether the couple will reconcile or continue with the separation. They had their first baby in October of last year.
