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United States donates $45M to Lebanon education system

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The United States Agency for International Development has added $45 million in funding over the next four years for education programs in Lebanon.

The new funding, announced at UNICEF, includes $145 million from the EU. USAID is making a $45 million investment in education over the next four years in Lebanon and up to $45 million by 2019 to improve teaching and learning processes nationwide in public schools in Jordan.

As part of the No Lost Generation initiative, the funding aims to strengthen the school systems between Syrian refugees and the Lebanese system.

“While the devastating crisis in Syria has robbed children of their homes, and in some cases their families, it doesn’t also have to rob them of their future,” USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah said at an event in New York Wednesday.

Already into the Lebanese school year, there are fewer Syrian refugee children in school than there were at this time last year. Lebanon’s education minister, Elias Bou Saab, said that he could get 200,000 children into school immediately if the donor community provided the necessary funds.

According to a statement from the agency, the new project will work on improving reading outcomes for primary-level public school student, strengthen Lebanese institutions to better monitor education and expand access to safe education for all children, including Syrian refugees.

With this latest donation, USAID will have contributed with $170 million in projects to the Lebanese public education sector, all in coordination with the Education Ministry and American educational institutions, according to the statement.

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 City Beat, Los Angeles, News

Gebran Bassil meets with Armenians in CA, NV

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(LOS ANGELES, CA) — The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Western US Central Committee led a delegation, headed by its chairman Dr. Viken Hovsepian, to welcome Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil who was visiting Los Angeles over the weekend.

During a reception on Saturday at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel, hosted by the Lebanese Consulate General to Los Angeles, members of the delegation had the opportunity to welcome Bassil.

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Pictured from left: Ghazaros Ghazarossian, Harry Nadjarian, Maya Ibrahim and Consul General Johnny Ibrahim, Chantal Aoun-Bassil, Toros Kechejian, Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil, Harout Madenlian, ARF Western US Central Committee chairman Chair Dr Viken Hovsepian, Karo Khanjian, Varouj Ourfalian, Hovig Bedevian. Photo courtesy Asbarez Armenian Daily News.

Bassil also visited the Saint Garabed Armenian Apostolic Church in Las Vegas, Nevada. See photos below:

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 New York, News

Afghanistan’s new first lady is a Lebanese Christian

Rula Saade Ghani(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The election of Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai as Afghanistan’s new president makes the country’s new first lady, Rula Saade Ghani, a Lebanese Christian.

Ghani Ahmadzai made history after being elected president on Sunday, winning 55.7 percent of the vote.

Saade Ghani and Afghanistan’s president-elect met in Lebanon during the late 1970s, where they both attended the American University of Beirut. Ghani was a Muslim from a conservative Muslim country, and Saade’s was a Greek Orthodox Christians from a liberal Beirut.

Saade Ghani made her political debut after she spoke at an “International Women’s Day” event in March 2014, when she accompanied her western-educated husband to a political event.

The electoral campaign team said “during the event, women’s rights activists applauded her presence as a positive gesture and called upon other potential first ladies to follow her lead.”

The American-trained anthropologist reportedly helped her husband gather female support, with some women professing their backing because he is a Western-educated, former World Bank official.

Ghani Ahmadzai studied in the United States where he earned a doctorate in Cultural Anthropology from Columbia University in 1982. He worked outside of Afghanistan in academia for several years, before returning to Kabul in 2001.

The couple have two children together — Mariam and Tarek. Mariam is a writer and photographer who studied in New York. Tarek studied computer programming and worked for his father when he held the position of Minister of Finance.

According to the children, their mother did not convert to Islam upon her marriage and their father often accompanied the family to church when they lived in the United States.

[youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqTJ6nJIEOw” width=”500″ height=”300″]

PHOTO: Rula Saade Ghani is Afghanistan's new Lebanese Christian first lady.
PHOTO: Rula Saade Ghani is Afghanistan’s new Lebanese Christian first lady.
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 City Beat, Los Angeles, News

Bassil encourages Lebanese-Americans to invest in Lebanon

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bassil(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — During a trip to Los Angeles, California, Gebran Bassil spoke to a group of Lebanese citizens and Americans of Lebanese descent, saying it was their duty to purchase investments and Lebanese goods.

“We encourage you to invest overseas but to also dedicate some profits to investing in Lebanon through the ‘We Invest to Stay’ project,” he said.

The project intends to financially support Lebanese expatriates who invest in their countries of residence, on the condition of moving 20 percent of their investment onto Lebanon’s economy.

He also called on them to encourage their families in Lebanon to insist on staying in their homeland, “so that we do not become all emigrants without any land.”

Underlining the importance of preserving cultural heritage, Bassil called on the expatriates to stick to their native language, and disclosed a plan to draft a “Lebanese expatriate school” model, in collaboration with the Education Ministry.

See photos of his Los Angeles visit below:

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 City Beat, Detroit, News

Agent: Farid Fata planned to buy $3M castle in Adma, Lebanon

(DETROIT, MI) — A 15-page FBI search and seizure warrant claims Lebanese-American Dr. Farid Fata performed medically unnecessary cancer treatments and directed his staff to lie to patients and insurance companies to justify spending.

On September 17, Fata pleaded guilty to 13 counts of health care fraud, two counts of money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks. He faces sentencing in February before U.S. District Judge Paul Borman.

The FBI believes emails to workers, drug companies, and financial advisors will prove how Dr. Fata committed health care fraud. The 19-page affidavit included several emails.

In one email from July 2012, Dr. Fata wrote to a drug manufacturer after they denied a grant to his charity, “Swan for Life.” The FBI says the drug manufacturer was told to donate $10,000 to the charity or Dr. Fata would stop ordering the drug.

He writes, in part:

PHOTO: Fata speaking at a "Swan for Life" fundraising event.
PHOTO: Fata speaking at a “Swan for Life” fundraising event.

“I expect further support form AMAG, Please proceed ASAP. I will be happy to talk to Dr. XXXXXX to reconsider IF ANYBODY DESERVES SUPPORT IT IS US! i.e. SFLCF Please advise, Dr. Fata.”

Reports also say Fata was looking at investment opportunities in Lebanon, particularly in luxury properties in the Jounieh coastal area.

FBI Special Agent Bryan Drake focused on an August 2010 email exchange between Fata and his financial advisor. The subject line read “URGENT!!!!!”

Dr. Fata wrote:

“I need a favor from you. My dad has a great deal on a castle all furnished in Adma/Lebanon! … Can you pls get in contact with my dad and go see the house! It is for $3,000000…Let me know if you can see the house. What is the economic benefit and the housing market in Adma? Is there an economical value in investing in such house?”

Fata asked if he could tap one of his numerous trusts to pay for the castle.

PHOTO: Emails released by the FBI say Fata wanted to use money from the foundation he used to donate to church, to buy a $3M property in Lebanon.
PHOTO: Emails released by the FBI says Fata wanted to use money from the foundation he used to donate to church, to buy a $3M property in Lebanon.

“Can this be funded from the Fata Foundation?” he wrote, according to the search warrant.

The “Fata Family Foundation” was also used to make contributions to a Melkite Catholic church in Warren, according to public 990 forms.

It is unclear if Fata ever invested in the castle.

PHOTO: Dr. Farid Fata's wife has fled to Lebanon with her three children.
PHOTO: Sources say Fata’s wife has left to Lebanon with her three children. (Hour Detroit)

Meanwhile, Samar Fata, the wife of Dr. Farid Fata and the CFO of Michigan Hematology Oncology, P.C., has left the country to Lebanon with the couple’s three children, sources said.

Federal investigators alleged that from August 2007 to July 2013 Fata’s health maintenance organization practice billed Medicare for around $225 million, of which $109 million was for chemotherapy or other cancer treatments.

Of the approximately $225 million, Medicare paid more than $91 million to Fata’s medical practice. Many of the treatments, government attorneys charge, were administered to patients who did not even have cancer.

The FBI wanted to search the doctor’s Hotmail account to trace tens of millions of dollars that flowed through various Fata-related entities, according to the search warrant.

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UN agency heads visit Bekaa Valley refugees

United-Nations-Visit-To-Bekaa-Valley-Lebanon(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″]

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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.349001_img650x420_img650x420_crop

“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.

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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.

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

116138SB14(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.

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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.”

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