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Lebanese American journalist recognized as ‘Trailblazer’

DETROIT – Former CBS News correspondent Aleen Sirgany was recognized Saturday as a ‘Lebanese American Trailblazer’ for her career in journalism and service to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The gala was held in Detroit by the Lebanese American Club of Michigan (LACOM), a non-profit organization which aims to preserve Lebanese culture in the state.

“I’m honored by this recognition,” Sirgany said. “Lebanon is always in our hearts, in our lives, in our family.”

The former journalist now serves as a senior advisor to the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities, the fundraising wing for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

As a Washington-based CBS correspondent, Sirgany covered dozens of global headlines, including the White House, the attacks on September 11 and Hurricane Katrina.

She was born in Beirut, and spent the first five months of her life in a Lebanese orphanage.

While covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2005, Sirgany wanted to visit Lebanon and see the orphanage where she was born.

“I thought, there is no way I’m going to be so close to Lebanon and not go see my family,” she said. “I did not know I could not have my passport stamped.”

It took Sirgany 10 years to make the trip.

“I fell in love with Lebanon,” she added. “It was so emotional, that it was almost surreal.”

WATCH: Aleen Sirgany Tribute Video

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Clinton, Trump and their Lebanese American advisers

WASHINGTON – Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have appointed Lebanese Americans to serve as foreign advisers on their quest to the White House.

Clinton has sought consultation from Peter Daou, a longtime confidant and Democratic Party fundraiser, while Trump has designated FOX News commentator Walid Phares as a foreign policy adviser.

Peter Daou

Daou is a former adviser to Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, and CEO of ShareBlue, a left-leaning political news peter-daou-1-x-1website. He also served as a senior consultant to the Clinton Foundation’s Global Initiative.

According to his website, Daou was born in Beirut and lived through the Lebanese Civil War. At 15, he joined the Lebanese Forces and received combat training for three years, he says.

He once tweeted: “What frustrates rightwing haters when I engage them is that I served in the Lebanese Forces militia in Beirut, so they can’t use that card.”

Daou has organized media roundtables for President Bill Clinton and has designed digital strategies for the UN Foundation, Department of Energy and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Walid Phares

Phares is a FOX News commentator and longtime conservative analyst on global terrorism and foreign affairs. walid-phares-1-x-1Prior to FOX, Phares provided commentary to NBC, and has testified before the U.S. Congress, and committees of the U.S. State, Justice, Defense and Homeland Security.

Similar to Daou, Phares served as a civil war consultant to the Lebanese Forces and as head of the party’s External and Diaspora Affairs Office.

In a controversial policy article for an Israeli think tank, Phares once proposed Southern Lebanon becomes a state of its own and becomes a close ally to Israel.

“A Christian enclave is needed somewhere in Lebanon,” he wrote.

Phares previously served as foreign policy adviser to Mitt Romney for his 2012 presidential campaign.

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Saad Hariri named Lebanon’s new prime minister

(BEIRUT) – Lebanon’s two major parliamentary blocs on Tuesday named Saad Hariri, a former prime minister and a Sunni leader, as their candidate for premier in the government being formed after a new president was elected.

The widely expected endorsement by the Future bloc, led by Hariri, and the majority Christian bloc comes a day after Michel Aoun was elected president. Hariri was promised the post in exchange for backing Aoun’s presidential bid in parliament, ending a two-and-half-year deadlock that left Lebanon without a president.

Aoun is receiving the different parliamentary blocs Wednesday before naming the prime minister, likely before the weekend.

In the country’s sectarian-based political system, the prime minister, always a Sunni, is likely to face a daunting job, balancing different and often rival groups, to form a new Cabinet.

Gebran Bassil, who heads the Free Patriotic Movement of Aoun, said they back Hariri’s nomination for the premier post.

“We accept whoever accepts us. All our votes will go to Hariri because he recognized us and we will side with him in all the difficulties he will face,” Bassil told reporters.

Lebanon has been without a head of state since May 2014. According to the power sharing system governing Lebanese politics since the 1990s, the president must be a Maronite Christian.

Parliament failed in 45 different sessions to vote for a president, amid political infighting and boycotts, before Monday’s election of Aoun. Hariri’s about-face in support of Aoun last month broke the deadlock and changed the political landscape in Lebanon, bringing old-time foes on the same side, while allies differed.

Hariri, 46, served as prime minister briefly between late 2009 and 2011, when his government was brought down by powerful Lebanese Hezbollah group, now a major Aoun backer. He since left Lebanon, and was a vocal critic of Hezbollah. He returned earlier this year, sounding a more conciliatory tone.

Hariri is the son of late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in February 2005 with massive bomb on a Beirut seaside street.

The U.N. Security Council welcomed Aoun’s election as “a long-awaited and critical step to overcome Lebanon’s political and institutional crisis.” It urged the new president to promote the country’s stability and swiftly form a unity government and elect a parliament by May 2017, saying these steps “are critical for Lebanon’s stability and resilience to withstand regional challenges.”

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Washington that Secretary of State John Kerry called both Hariri and Aoun to congratulate them and express, “our desire to see now that the Lebanese people have a chief executive, to see that Lebanon can move forward.”

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Kerry phones Aoun to offer congratulations on presidential election

(WASHINGTON D.C.) – On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called President Michel Aoun to congratulate him on his election to the Lebanese presidency, according to the Lebanon’s National News Agency.

Kerry said he was glad the presidential vacuum was over, and promised the U.S. will maintain its support for the Lebanese army. He also urged for a speedy formation of a new government, according to state-run media.

Kerry’s message comes days after he voiced caution of electing Aoun to the presidency, and expressed uncertainty of the future of U.S.-Lebanon relations. But his phone call signaled hope for a peaceful, working relationship between the two leaders.

Aoun stressed the importance of maintaining U.S. assistance to the Lebanese army, and noted he hopes the U.S. will assist in the plight of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

“Reaching a quick political solution to the Syrian crisis will reflect positively on the situation in Lebanon,” he said. “This is especially in terms of finding a solution to the tragedy of displaced Syrians in Lebanon.”

Aoun was elected president on Monday after a 29-month stalemate, and an unlikely endorsement from former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri.

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Gas station offers free fuel to celebrate Aoun election

(SYDNEY, Australia) – Australian motorists were in for a surprise Wednesday when a Lebanese gas station owner offered free gas for an unlikely reason.

According to 7 News Sydney, the owner wanted to celebrate the appointment of General Michel Aoun to the Lebanese presidency.

The deal was offered for about 30 minutes at lunchtime, and lucky motorists lined the streets to fill up their car. A photo of Aoun even overlooked the pumps!

WATCH:

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Beirut lands on list of world’s most expensive cities

(LUXEMBOURG) – Beirut is the ninth most expensive city in the world for expats, according to a new report published by the Eurocost International Survey in Luxembourg.

The report measures the cost of living for expats, including rental costs, living conditions and school fees. According to the rankings, Tokyo is the most expensive place in the world for expats.

Last year, Beirut was listed as the 14th most expensive city in the world, and the most expensive location in the Middle East.

The study is based on prices collected in June 2016 and updated with August 2016 exchange rates; it compares expat living costs in major locations worldwide, including housing costs.

During the last two years, exchange rates have regularly fluctuated and no less than four cities have occupied the top spot in the world’s ranking of the most expensive location for expats: Moscow, Luanda, Hong Kong and now Tokyo, back to the spot it had occupied until 2012.

In the Middle East, Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi were listed as “expensive cities” too, but not as costly as Beirut.

Major highlights

  • Tokyo is the most expensive city in the world again
  • Top cities are subject to exchange rate fluctuations
  • London is always more affordable for expats

The most expensive cities worldwide – 2016

  1. Tokyo
  2. Hong Kong
  3. Luanda
  4. Geneva
  5. Singapore
  6. Shanghai
  7. Seoul
  8. Beijing
  9. Beirut
  10. Zurich
  11. New York, NY
  12. London
  13. San Francisco, CA
  14. Guangzhou
  15. Lausanne
  16. Kinshasa
  17. Honolulu, HI
  18. Mumbai
  19. Abu Dhabi
  20. Wuhan
  21. Sydney
  22. Bern
  23. Moscow
  24. Tel Aviv
  25. Dubai
  26. Copenhagen
  27. Basel
  28. Doha
  29. Chengdu
  30. Washington, DC
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Lebanon elects Michel Aoun as president; ends two-year stalemate

(BEIRUT) – Lebanon’s parliament elected former General Michel Aoun as president Monday, after a 29-month vacuum plunged the country into a political crisis and left citizens questioning the effectiveness of their government.

The 81-year-old Aoun secured 83 votes in the 128-seat chamber, giving him a majority to prevail against opponent Suleiman Franjieh, a fellow Maronite Christian.

Fireworks echoed across Beirut after the results were announced in a television broadcast from parliament. In his acceptance speech, Aoun called for the establishment of fair electoral law, and the implementation of the Taif accord to normalize Lebanese institutions.

In an unlikely agreement, Aoun was backed by many of his March 8 allies and former enemies, including Sunni leader and former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, a March 14 ally.

Under the agreement with Aoun, Hariri, whose business in Saudi Arabia is struggling, will likely become the country’s next prime minister.

Hariri said the endorsement came after he had exhausted all other options and was intended “to preserve the political system, reinforce the state, relaunch the economy and distance us from the Syrian crisis.

The unforeseen endorsements of Hariri, wartime enemies Samir Geagea, a rival Christian, and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, gave Aoun enough votes to secure the race.

But Aoun had powerful adversaries opposed to his election, including Parliament Speaker and Shi’ite leader Nabih Berri.

Aoun notoriously led a “war of liberation” against the Syrian army in Lebanon in 1989-90, but reconciled with the Syrian leadership in 2005 after Syria pulled out of Lebanon.

He has been a strong supporter of Hezbollah’s involvement on the side of Assad in the neighboring country’s civil war, now in its sixth year.

“Aoun’s election is a clear victory for the pro-Iranian axis in the Levant and another climb down for Saudi Arabia,” wrote Paul Salem, vice president for policy and research at the Washington-based Middle East Institute.

Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Sleiman stepped down at the end of his term in May 2014, without an agreement on a replacement.

Aoun has been a running candidate from the beginning, and has refused to stand down in favor of  other candidates. Parliament has met more than 40 times since then, each time failing to elect a president because of a lack of quorum.

Many Lebanese citizens hope the election will reactivate the country’s political institutions and parliamentary restrains, which have been paralyzed by the crisis. The crisis has forced parliament to extend its own term twice, with the current one running until May 2017.

STAY WITH LEBANESE EXAMINER FOR UPDATES TO THIS BREAKING NEWS STORY.

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Three-year-old Beirut bombing victim to meet Cristiano Ronaldo

(BEIRUT) — Three-year-old Haidar Moustafa lost both of his parents on Nov. 12, following the double suicide bombings in Beirut which killed at least 43 people and wounded more than 239 others.

Haidar’s story captured media attention when he told reporters he witnessed his mother burning, and father bleeding from the head, according to Maya Cheatani, who set up a fund to raise money for Haidar’s medical expenses and future education.

And now thanks to an army of social media users, Haidar will meet his favorite football player, Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.

According to journalist Rana Harbi, the hashtag #CristianoMeetHaidar was trending on Twitter just one day after the campaign first began.

“I’m out of words. Can’t believe Haidar will actually meet Cristiano Ronaldo,” Harbi tweeted. “Thanks everyone. Never underestimate the power of a tweet.”

The twin suicide bomb attack struck the southern Beirut suburb of Burj al-Barajneh during rush hour. Media outlets report at the time of the bombing, Haidar’s family were heading to buy bread.

Haidar was reportedly sitting in his mother’s lap when the first bomb detonated on the passenger side of their car.

Cheatani, a Lebanese-Canadian, set up a GoFundMe page on Nov. 16 called “Fund for orphan Haidar Mustafa.” She said since crowdfunding sites are not widely available in Lebanon, she will forward 100% of the donations to Haidar’s close family.

“Nothing will replace the presence of the orphan’s young parents but our humanity can help make his life a little easier,” Cheatani wrote. “Contributions are all welcomed, big or small, we thank you for the helping hand.”

More than $17,000 has been collected so far. To donate, visit gofundme.com/HaidarOrphan.

(Photo via @RanaHarbi/Twitter)

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Saudi prince caught with two tons of drugs at Beirut airport

(BEIRUT) — Saudi prince Abdel Mohsen Bin Walid Bin Abdulaziz and four others were arrested on Monday in the largest drug bust in the history of the Beirut airport, according to a security source.

The prince was allegedly attempting to “smuggle about two tons of Captagon pills and some cocaine,” a security source told AFP.

“The smuggling operation is the largest one that has been foiled through the Beirut International Airport,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

Captagon pills, which typically contain amphetamine and caffeine, is the brand name for phenethylline, a synthetic stimulant. The drug has been manufactured and distributed in Lebanon and Syria.

Reports said the banned drug has been widely used by fighters in Syria, and its manufacturing has become a gateway for distribution in the Gulf.

According to the security source, the drugs were packed into cases that were waiting to be loaded onto a private plane headed to Saudi Arabia.

The Lebanese National News Agency reports the private plane was headed to Riyadh and was carrying 40 suitcases of the drugs.

In April 2014, security forces foiled an attempt to smuggle 15 million capsules of Captagon hidden in shipping containers full of corn from Beirut’s port.

The U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime said in a 2014 report that the amphetamine market is on the rise in the Middle East. There have been busts mostly in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria accounting for more than 55 percent of amphetamines seized worldwide.

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Heavy rainfall triggers flooded trash streams in Beirut

(BEIRUT) — Heavy rainfall triggered streams of trash to flow through Beirut’s streets on Sunday, causing traffic congestion and widespread rivers of garbage.

Lebanese #YouStink activists posted photos and videos on social media showing piles of trash scattered through side streets and around cars.

The garbage has occupied Beirut’s streets for months now after the government shut down the country’s main landfill in Naameh without finding an alternative.

Over the last few months, #YouStink campaign officials have led historic protests against the government, demanding basic services and trash pickup.

The cabinet approved a plan in early September which would temporarily reopen the Naameh landfill while the government searched for new sites. But many locals voiced concern over that plan, causing the government to reconsider other alternatives.

Several government officials are concerned that solutions to the trash crisis have reached a dead end, indicating the failure to provide the most basic services to residents.

According to the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat, a ministerial source said Prime Minister Tammam Salam would not remain in office if the trash disposal plan of Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb is not adopted.

The plan – announced after six hours of deliberation between the Lebanese cabinet – aims to decentralize waste management by giving municipalities the responsibility.

On Sunday, Minister of Transportation and Public Works Ghazi Zoaiter took blame for the rivers of trash, citing a failure by the government to act swiftly.

“I assume responsibility in my position as minister of public works, but I have for months warned of an environmental disaster after the first rainfall,” he told Voice of Lebanon Radio (93.3).

Zoaiter urged the ministerial committee assigned to the trash crisis to make a , “because we are only at the beginning of the winter season.”

According to Beirut’s Civil Aviation meteorology department, widespread showers are expected to continue until Thursday.

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