(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The American University of Beirut (AUB) has received a grant of $2 million from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for the establishment of a Center for Arts and Humanities.
The grant is the largest Mellon Foundation commitment to the University to date.
Over the next five years, the grant will fund 15 faculty fellowships and 10 postdoctoral fellowships in addition to writers and artists in-residence, high-profile public arts events, regional collaboration with scholars and universities, and other program activities and exchanges.
“Given the radical transformations underway in the region, the humanistic role of AUB is more critical than ever,” said AUB Provost Ahmad Dallal, the champion of this initiative.
“This new center will provide an alternative Middle Eastern site for the production of humanistic knowledge rooted in local and regional cultures.”
Officials at the Mellon Foundation said the grant would further establish “East-West cultural dialogues” and liberal arts education programs.
“As one of the leaders of liberal education in the region, AUB is well positioned to advance creativity and to promote freedom of expression, tolerance, diversity, and dialogue,” said Eugene Tobin, a senior program officer at the Mellon Foundation.
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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — A coalition of Arab television networks announced plans to institute legal proceedings against any illegal TV providers claiming to provide free Arabic programming in the United States.
Officials at the International Broadcasters Coalition Against Piracy (IBCAP) said they’re monitoring unauthorized video service providers and launching criminal investigations against them.
The group represents 90 television networks from the Middle East and South Asia.
“The purveyors of pirated content are often deceptive, leading customers to believe they are buying services with authorized channels when in fact many of the top channels are being pirated,” said Joe Boyle, an attorney for IBCAP.
Boyle said the coalition of Arab television networks have been successful in recent copyright cases.
“Customers of these services, many who have paid $300 or more for a set top box, are often left without their favorite channels when legal action occurs or the unauthorized services are shut down,” Boyle said.
Dubai-based broadcasting company MBC is a member of the coalition, which includes Lebanese networks LBC, LDC, MTV, NewTV, among others.
“We joined IBCAP after our channels were illegally marketed and sold by pirates, a rampant problem in the United States that we want to help solve,” said Fares Akkad, Head of Distribution for MBC. “While MBC content may be offered free-to-air in the Middle East, the same is not true for the U.S.”
IBCAP members including Al Jazeera Media Network and MBC recently filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in the Eastern District of Virginia against Cres IPTV, ShavaTV and related dealers for allegedly engaging in the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted content.
Other lawsuits include a DISH Network federal suit against Global Satellit and its president Basem Halabi. The suit resulted in $956,649 in damages under the Copyright Act.
“We will not tolerate the illegal distribution of Arabic channels in the U.S.” said Karim Abdullah, CEO of IMD, distributor of channels such as ART, LBC, LDC, Hekayet and NewTV. “Through IBCAP and other efforts, we are tracking down those who are illegally broadcasting our content while at the same time raising consumer awareness about the dangers of purchasing devices with infringing content.”
In addition to filing lawsuits, IBCAP coordinates with U.S. trade offices, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) and hardware and software manufacturers to monitor unauthorized distribution of their content.
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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Lebanese American University Business School during their commencement ceremony over the weekend.
“When I started my career 33 years ago I had a burst of energy and determination to succeed,” Saab said during the ceremony, according to Beirut-based newspaper The Daily Star.
Saab, 50, was born in Beirut, where he launched his fashion label at age 18. Saab credits a “result of work and effort,” but admits that times have changed.
Saab said his interest in fashion started when he was 9-years-old, when he began making clothes for his sisters.
“Nowadays your future lies in education, which will help you fulfill your dreams,” Saab said. “Your degree is your key to the real world.”
In 2013, LAU teamed up with Saab to launch the university’s first English-language bachelor’s degree in fashion design. The program continues in collaboration with Saab’s brand and the London College of Fashion.
“This honorary degree has increased my responsibility,” Saab added, “I thank (LAU President Joseph) Jabra for the trust he put in me and I wish students all the luck and success.”
Saab is originally from Damour, a southern coastal Beirut suburb, but currently owns homes in Gemmayze, Rabieh, and Faqra. He also owns properties in France and Switzerland.
Saab has dressed over 150 international celebrities for key global events over the past year.
His creations can be found all over the world, with boutiques located in Beirut, Dubai, Doha, Paris, London, Geneva, Hong Kong, and Mexico. Saab has 100 retail outlets all over the world.
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(LOS ANGELES, CA) — American-Lebanese basketball player Jackson Vroman was found dead in his Los Angeles County home on Monday, according to California medical examiners.
Vroman, who was 34, joined Lebanon’s national basketball team in 2009 after being naturalized as a Lebanese citizen to play.
The cause of death was not immediately available, but a Los Angeles County spokesperson said an autopsy was scheduled for later in the week.
“We sadly announce the death of former Lebanese national team player Jackson Vroman,” the Lebanese Basketball League wrote on Twitter.
American poker player Dan Bilzerian, a friend of Vroman, said he died from an accidental drowning.
“He was sitting down, he got up to go inside the house, tripped on the stairs, hit his head and drown in the pool,” Blizeran wrote on Twitter.
He was sitting down, he got up to go inside the house, tripped on the stairs, hit his head and drown in the pool #RIPpic.twitter.com/7xvc972UBG
Vroman started his professional career in 2004 when he joined the Phoenix Suns. He later played for the New Orleans Hornets, and for teams in Puerto Rico, South Korea, and Spain, before joining Lebanon’s team.
A native of Bountiful, Utah, Vroman averaged 13.9 points per game his senior season (2003-04) and led the Big 12 Conference in rebounding at 9.6 per game. His career rebounding average of 9.5 is a mark that ranks ninth all-time in school history.
He retired from professional basketball last year.
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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Beirut’s economy could see major shifts in the next few decades, according to Lebanon’s Central Bank, which has committed millions of dollars for tech growth in the city.
A recent report by CNN labeled Beirut as a “resilient, transformation city” with a culture of freedom and diversity which could serve as a solid base for the Middle East’s growing tech revolution.
According to industry publisher Tech Crunch, Beirut’s tech sector has grown by an average annual rate of 7.9 percent to reach a market size of $381 million in 2014.
The growth is partly as a result of the Beirut Digital District (BDD), launched in September 2012 as a tech incubator for startups and existing nontraditional digital businesses.
“Beirut is rapidly shaping up to be a powerhouse for startups in the Middle East. It has many of the key elements: a highly entrepreneurial culture; incubators and accelerators; venture capital; some gradually favorable government policy; and access to growth funding,” said Mike Butcher, editor of Tech Crunch.
International tech investors are adding projects in Beirut — in hopes of establishing an up-and-coming tech hub for the MENA region.
Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) have raised “at least $50 million” to assist in this project. They’re working closely with Beirut-based Leap Ventures on a new $71-million venture capital fund focused on the Middle East.
Lebanon’s Central Bank is also adding $400 million into the startup tech economy through its “Circular 331” initiave. The project allows local entrepreneurs to receive a seven-year interest-free credit from the Central Bank (BDL), which can be invested in treasury bonds that return interest rate of 7%.
Even Britain is joining the momentum by launching a new project in cooperation with the Central Bank called the U.K-Lebanon “Tech Hub.”
A new office for Lebanese tech entrepreneurs opened in London recently, which is meant to allow Lebanese entrepreneurs a chance to use the UK as a springboard for global growth.
The London office is the first overseas base of the new UK Lebanon Tech Hub, which aims to support the growth of the knowledge economy in Lebanon.
“For thousands of years Lebanon has had a reputation for trading and entrepreneurship,” said Colm Reilly, CEO of the UK Lebanon Tech Hub. “Despite tough conditions in the region, this spirit is evident in the new generation of entrepreneurs that are developing the country’s tech scene.”
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s technology industry still faces performance problems, especially for tech investors interested in web-based platforms and Internet services.
According to BBC World News, Lebanon has one of the slowest Internet connections in the world. But Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb said he will launch a five-year national telecommunications strategy on July 1st to boost Internet performance in the country, according to The Daily Star.
Beirut’s tech future still has many unanswered questions because of the region’s political instability and Internet capabilities. According to CNN, the future of tech growth will rely heavily on the country’s political leaders.
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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanon has launched a 24-hour hotline for female domestic workers to allow them to report abuse or mistreatment and receive help.
The country hosts more than 200,000 migrant domestic workers, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO), employed under the “Kafala” sponsorship system, which binds them to a single employer and leaves them vulnerable to abuse.
Social workers operating the hotline will document complaints and provide referrals to healthcare, legal assistance and relevant government institutions.
“This project is the practical implementation of the Ministry of Labor’s concern for human rights,” Sejaan Azzi, Lebanon’s minister of labor, said in a statement.
“Every domestic worker now has an address to turn to lodge a complaint in the event she is subjected to any kind of harm or violation of her dignity, and that address is the Ministry of Labor.”
Eighty three percent of the world’s 53 million domestic workers are women, according to ILO. Often unregistered and unprotected by labor laws, they are among the most vulnerable groups of workers in the world.
The Kafala system, used throughout the Middle East, requires migrant workers to seek permission from employers to change jobs and excludes them from the protections of labor laws. Many of Lebanon’s domestic workers are from Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Philippines and Sri Lanka.
Maids are often kept under lock and key by their employer, forced to work long hours, deprived of food and wages or threatened and physically and sexually abused, activists say.
In March, Human Rights Watch called on the Lebanese authorities to recognize a union for domestic workers and said Azzi should make good on promises to protect the rights of domestic workers and bring their abusers to justice.
The hotline, accessible through a quick-dial number 1740 from within Lebanon, is being promoted with billboards in several languages to alert migrants of its existence.
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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Leaked videos showing the torture of Islamist inmates has sparked a political controversy in Lebanon, forcing Lebanese politicians to respond to allegations of ill-treatment in the country’s notorious Roumieh prison.
The graphic videos show at least two guards repeatedly striking shirtless prisoners seated on the floor with their hands behind their backs. Some had been stripped down to their underwear and beaten with a green hose, according to videos.
Other clips show a second guard taunting and insulting a bearded detainee while repeatedly hitting him. The detainee can be heard begging for mercy, and later kicked in the face.
One guard can be heard shouting: “Lower your voice or I’ll put your eyes out.”
Machnouk said the two guards shown in the video have been arrested, pending an investigation by Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi’s office. Machnouk vowed to bring the guards to justice without “political cover” for anyone.
According to The Daily Star, five total police officers were arrested, including the two involved in the beatings, two who knew about the beatings but never came forward, and one who filmed the incidents.
Machnouk blamed past governments for the poor conditions at the Roumieh prison, adding that he only “inherited” the problems.
“I am responsible for the human rights of all prisoners, regardless of their (ideological) persuasion,” Machnouk said. “I have inherited that prison, these conditions, and those prisoners.”
Machnouk ordered the clearing of Roumieh’s Block B in January, after years of reported overcrowding which allegedly served as a meeting point for militants to plot attacks.
Rifi said the behavior in the video was a “crime against the nation and humanity” and pledged to carry out a full investigation. He also accused Hezbollah of leaking the videos, adding that “only Hezbollah had access to some of them,” according to The Daily Star.
“This crime cannot go unpunished,” Rifi said. “I pledge to pursue the investigation until the last perpetrator is in custody.”
According to Al-Arabiya, the families of prisoners allege that injuries included blindness, broken bones, and dislocated shoulders. Lebanese officials said they could not comment on specific injuries in recent press conferences.
The leader of Lebanon’s Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, took to Twitter to denounce the videos, comparing them to “a scene from a Syrian prison.”
According to Middle East Monitor, three of the prisoners in the videos have been identified as Sheikh Omar Atrash from the northeastern border town of Arsal, Qatibah Al-As’ad from the Lebanese border area of Wadi Khaled, and Wael Al-Samad from the Dinnieh town of Bakhoun in north Lebanon.
Prisoners began rioting on June 23, demanding Wi-Fi connection and access to mobile phones, among a list of other requests for improved conditions.
Meanwhile, United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag expressed concern over the reported human rights violations in Roumieh prison, adding that Lebanon’s government has previously worked to “end impunity.”
Kaag urged Lebanon to implement recommendations by the U.N. Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture in 2010 and by the U.N. Committee Against Torture in 2014.
WARNING: The following video may be disturbing to some viewers.
Examiner StaffComments Off on Graphic video shows torture of Roumieh inmates; uproar continues 1964
(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — European Union Foreign Ministers called on all political forces in Lebanon to elect a new president and put national interests ahead of partisan politics, according to a EU statement on Monday.
Conclusions adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council said the crisis undermined the functioning of Lebanese institutions, and increasingly affected Lebanon’s ability to address the challenges resulting from the conflict in Syria.
“The EU urges the Parliament to meet for urgent legislative matters, including the implementation of international aid. This institutional stalemate has a negative impact also on the country’s economy. It is increasingly difficult for donors to operate in Lebanon in such conditions,” the statement said.
Ministers said the EU was aware of the “extraordinary challenges” that the refugee crisis was posing on stability in Lebanon, and commended the authorities and population for their efforts to host refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria.
The statement comes just a few days after a new United Nations report revealed that Lebanon was hosting the highest number of refugees per capita.
1 in every 122 humans globally is either a refugee, internally displaced, or seeking asylum. (Photo via Forbes)
Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Sleiman left office on May 25, 2014. There have been almost two-dozen Parliamentary sessions to elect a president, but none have met quorum to allow a vote to be held.
Stressing the EU’s strong partnership with Lebanon, ministers highlighted “the importance of upholding Lebanon’s freedom and diversity as a model of moderation in the entire region.”
The European Union is a politico-economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe.
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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Hollywood actress and human rights activist Angelina Jolie made an unannounced trip to Lebanon on Friday to introduce her 9-year-old daughter Shiloh to Syrian refugees in the Bekaa Valley.
People Magazine reports that the one-day trip was meant for her daughter to meet a 12-year-old Syrian girl named Hala, who Jolie met during her last trip to Lebanon in 2014.
“Shiloh is very aware that I hold refugee families in high regard and has been asking to come on missions and meet them for many years,” Jolie told People Magazine. “She had heard about Hala since my last visit to Lebanon, and has been wanting to meet her and her brothers and sisters.”
Hala has no parents and lives with her five brothers and sisters in a settlement near Zahle. Over 50 percent of the 1.2 million refugees in Lebanon are children, according to the UN.
Jolie’s 9-year-old daughter Shiloh playing with a refugee child in Lebanon. (Photo via PEOPLE Magazine/Bryan Denton)
“It was wonderful that they were able to meet, play together, and make friends. So many refugees are children,” Jolie said. “I’ve often heard them say that the most painful thing is not that they have lost their homes – it is that they have lost their friends.”
Jolie said it was “humbling” to see Hala and her siblings again, and have the chance to introduce her daughter to a refugee family.
“Upon leaving the family, Shiloh asked many questions,” Jolie added. “It is of course hard to explain all of the harsh realities of war and displacement. She said she felt sad, but was happy that she went and is looking forward to the next visit.”
After leaving Lebanon, Jolie traveled to Turkey to attend an Iftar dinner in a Syrian refugee camp near the southern Turkish province of Mardin.
Jolie, 38, previously visited Lebanon in February 2014 to highlight the plight of Syrian children.
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(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Most of Lebanon’s people are considering emigration, and 35% are reportedly waiting for travel visas, the Patriarch of the Melkite Catholic Church reported as he opened a Synod of Melkite bishops in Beirut.
Patriarch Gregory III Laham said that 60% of all Lebanon’s population is weighing a move out of the country, and Christians account for most of the potential emigrants.
Noting that Christians face even more difficult situations in neighboring countries, he asked: “If this is the case for Lebanon, what will happen in countries with less stability?”
The Melkite Patriarch stressed the urgency of finding ways to bring stability and security to the Middle East, enabling Christians to remain there.
“It is necessary to operate in every way possible to try to stop this bleeding,” he said.
The annual assembly of the Synod of the Maronite Church also met in Lebanon on June 18 — at the same time of the Melkite gathering.
The four-day gathering of Maronite bishops urged political powers to overcome their disputes to “keep the Lebanese population here.”
Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai later held a mass to mark the end of the Synod. He said political foes should resolve their differences, urging them to “assume their historic responsibilities and for MPs to elect a president.”
“We must sit together, hold frank talks, and reach a reconciliation,” he said, according to the daily newspaper, An-Nahar.
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