(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese filmmaker Ely Dagher won a top award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival on Sunday for his short film “Waves ’98.”
Dagher, 30, won the Palme d’Or award after competing with more than 4,000 short films from around the world.
“Waves ’98” is a 15-minute “visual essay” that explores Dagher’s relationship with Beirut in 1998 as a teenager. Dagher said his attachment to Beirut became “more and more complicated” after moving from Lebanon to Brussels.
Dagher is the first Lebanese director to be awarded at the Cannes Festival since 1991, when famed filmmaker Maroun Baghdadi won the Jury Prize for “Out of Life” (Hors La Vie).
Bagdadi was internationally known for producing popular films with American director Francis Coppola, including several projects that became hits in France.
The prestigious Cannes Film Festival is held annually in southern France. The 2015 festival took place from May 13 to May 24.
The jury for the main competition included American filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, American actor Jake Gyllenhaal, French-Canadian actor and filmmaker Xavier Dolan, French actress and director Sophie Marceau, Spanish actress Rossy de Palma, Malian musician Rokia Traore, and British actress Sienna Miller.
(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Over 1,000 Lebanese expatriates returned to Beirut from May 21 to 23 to participate in the 2015 Lebanese Diaspora Energy Conference, hosted by the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the direction of Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil.
Bassil called on Lebanese parliament to adopt a draft-law to grant nationality to additional members of the diaspora. He said e-registration and e-voting should also be introduced.
“All of us have preserved our Lebanese culture in our blood. We can’t lose it,” he said. “I can’t promise you that we will change facts in Lebanon but I promise you to live the dream.”
Bassil said the conference, which brought expatriates from 73 countries, aims to further strengthen the bonds between Lebanese residents and emigrants worldwide.
Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil started the Lebanese Diaspora Energy Conference last year. (Gebran Bassil Media Office)
The conference was split up into 12 sectorial meetings, including healthcare, engineering, agriculture, media, oil, tourism, and politics, among others.
The Lebanon Oil and Gas Initiative heard from Lebanese emigrants, who expressed concern over potential political deadlocks which could delay or halt the quest for oil.
Seismic scans uncovered the so-called “Levant Basin” in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, suggesting the existence of significant oil and gas resources off the coast of Lebanon.
A “National Council of Emigrants” was recommended to further involve expatriates on decision-making and recommendations for potential oil findings.
A health forum was also held during the conference, which included guest remarks by Dr. Philip Salem, a world-renowned cancer doctor based in Houston, Texas, and the founder of a U.S-based charity foundation.
Expatriates discussed the launching of an international Lebanese Medical Association, to set up a network of doctors in university hospitals to provide jobs for Lebanese doctors in developing countries and launch an institute specializing in autism in North Lebanon.
At the conclusion of the sectorial meetings, an evening gala was held at Casino Du Liban featuring guest singer Massari, a Lebanese-Canadian, and former Miss USA Rima Fakih, a Lebanese-American.
Bassil’s office also organized a field tour to Batroun, which included a visit to old markets of the coastal town and a reception at the “House of the Lebanese Emigrant,” which was launched during last year’s LDE conference.
The tour came just a few days after Bassil and his Mexican counterpart Jose Antonio Meade launched the Lebanese-Mexican House in Batroun aimed at boosting cultural ties between the two countries.
Lebanese Examiner live-tweeted and shared updates from the LDE conference using the hashtag #LDE2015. See highlights below:
Congratulations @Gebran_Bassil for the #LDE2015 another success that brings hope at a time most needed for Lebanon
#LDE2015 A lot of power and a lot of energy at the “Lebanese Diaspora Energy 2015”. Excellent start for a well organized conference. — Massoud Maalouf (@MassoudMaalouf) May 21, 2015
#LDE2015 LIBC the Lebanese International Business Counsil is Proud and Glad to see you all in Lebanon “Bond Together, Strong Forever!” — Elie Tannous (@Elie__Tannous) May 21, 2015
(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah on Sunday urged broad support for his movement’s fight in Syria, saying it was engaged in an existential battle against the Islamic State group.
Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged for the first time that his powerful Shiite group was fighting across all of Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
And he called specifically on his fiercest critics in Lebanon to back his intervention across the border, warning that their support for Assad’s opponents would not save them from jihadists.
“Today we are facing a kind of danger that is unprecedented in history, which targets humanity itself,” Nasrallah said, speaking ahead of Monday’s anniversary of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon in 2000.
“This is not a threat to the resistance in Lebanon or to one sect or to the regime in Syria or the government in Iraq or a group in Yemen,” he added, addressing an audience in the southern town of Nabatiyeh in a telecast broadcast on a big screen.
“This is a danger to everyone. No one should bury their heads in the sand.
“We invite everyone in Lebanon and the region to take responsibility and confront this danger and end their silence and hesitation and neutrality.”
The speech was a full-throated defense of Hezbollah’s role in Syria, where it has acted as a key force multiplier for Assad’s embattled regime since an uprising that began in March 2011.
The intervention has raised tensions in Lebanon, where many Sunnis back the uprising against Assad and accuse Hezbollah of drawing the country into Syria’s war.
But Nasrallah has always framed Hezbollah’s intervention as protecting Lebanon from the threat of extremism.
And on Sunday, he said the choice in Syria is between jihadists from IS and Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front, or the regime and its allies like Hezbollah.
Nasrallah dismissed the US-led coalition fighting against IS, saying the jihadists continued to move freely despite its air strikes.
He directed much of his speech to members of Lebanon’s Future movement, which is fiercely opposed to Hezbollah and its role in Syria, warning they would be the “first victims of IS and Al-Nusra” if they arrive in Lebanon.
He also acknowledged for the first time that Hezbollah was fighting throughout all of Syria, and not just in areas near the border with Lebanon.
“We are fighting alongside our Syrian brothers, alongside the army and the people and the popular resistance in Damascus and Aleppo and Deir Ezzor and Qusayr and Hasakeh and Idlib,” he said.
“We are present today in many places and we will be present in all the places in Syria that this battle requires.”
Former prime minister Saad Hariri, who heads Lebanon’s anti-Hezbollah bloc, criticised Nasrallah’s speech and his movement’s intervention in Syria.
“We in the Future Movement declare publicly that the Lebanese state and its institutions are legitimate and our choice and guarantee,” he said in a statement.
“Defending the land and the sovereignty and dignity (of Lebanon) is not Hezbollah’s responsibility… and our position on Daesh (IS) and the forces of terror does not need to be certified by anyone.”
More than 220,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict there began with anti-government protests before spiraling into a civil war after a regime crackdown.
Assad’s government and allies refer to all those seeking regime change as “terrorists,” and have pointed to the emergency of IS and other jihadists as proof that they are fighting a “war on terror”.
While Lebanon is officially neutral on the conflict next door, the country has been unable to escape the effects of the war.
It hosts more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees, and has seen existing sectarian tensions rise during the war, with the population divided between support for Assad and support for the uprising.
Source: AFP
Examiner StaffComments Off on Hezbollah vows to increase presence in Syria as needed 1629
(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — A New York Times report revealed Israel’s plan to kill Lebanese civilians and target southern Lebanese towns in the event of another conflict with Hezbollah.
A senior Israeli military official told the U.S.-based newspaper that if civilians are killed, it should not be considered Israel’s fault.
“The civilians are living in a military compound,” the official said on the condition of anonymity because he was discussing “delicate” intelligence matters.
The official adds that a future battle with Hezbollah is “inevitable” and could quickly spread to other Lebanese towns, causing mass civilian causalities. Israel blames Hezbollah for using civilians as “human shields.”
“We do not intend to stand by helplessly in the face of rocket attacks,” the official said.
Israel has also blamed Hamas for using civilians as “shields,” despite a former statement by the head of the civil and international law branch at the Israeli Defense Forces, which read: “We are a small country. If you said you can’t put an artillery piece within 30 kilometers of a village, we couldn’t operate.”
United Nations statistics show that last year’s 50-day conflict resulted in more than 2,100 Palestinians dead, most of them civilians. 70 Israelis were killed, according to the UN.
In 2006, Israel killed almost 1,200 Lebanese, a third of whom were children. An additional 4,000 were injured, and almost one million displaced. According to Amnesty International, Israel deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure.
The Israeli military says Hezbollah is placing military sites in southern Lebanese towns, such as Shaqra, which has a population of about 4,000. The New York Times report said the Israeli Defense Forces identified about “400 military sites” in the village.
“At the end of the day, it means that many, many Lebanese will be killed,” said Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser now at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv. “Where is the world? Why does it not stop the buildup?”
The United Nations Security Council issued a report in March expressing “deep concern” over recent episodes of excessive Israeli force, including the killing of a Spanish peacekeeper by Israeli fire in January and “the presence of unauthorized weapons” there.
Israeli also often violates the Lebanese border in the air and on the ground, according to frequent reports from the Lebanese National News Agency.
Hezbollah has come under fire in recent years by some Lebanese political groups for its involvement in the conflict in neighboring Syria. According to the New York Times, before the 2000’s, most Lebanese viewed Hezbollah as a legitimate group that was simply resisting occupation.
But since then, Lebanese political factions have been split on Hezbollah’s role in Lebanon’s domestic politics.
Hezbollah argues that the Lebanese Army is not capable of defending the country from Israel.
Examiner StaffComments Off on Report: Israel plans to kill Lebanese civilians in a future conflict 1514
(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil and his Mexican counterpart José Antonio Meade Kuribrena launched the “Lebanese-Mexican House” in Batroun during a celebration on Tuesday.
Bassil has been hosting the minister since his arrival in Beirut on Sunday, on a trip to “consolidate” bilateral relations between the two countries.
Bassil welcomed the minister, who is of British and Lebanese descent, and noted the presence of 7 ministers of Lebanese origin in the Mexican cabinet, according to Bassil.
“There are 500,000 people of Lebanese origin in Mexico, and they should know that they now have a house in Lebanon,” Bassil said during the ceremony. “They are invited to visit it and get to know their families and villages in Lebanon.”
Bassil stressed the importance of effectively activating the relations between Lebanon and Mexico for both tourism and trade. He noted that Lebanon exports to Mexico are valued at $400,000 annually, while Mexico exports are valued at $50 million.
Kuribrena echoed those remarks during meetings with Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri before visiting the port of Beirut, and laying a wreath at the monument of Lebanese emigrants.
The minister is accompanied by entrepreneurs and representatives of the Mexican community of Lebanese origin who will participate in the Lebanese Diaspora’s Energy Conference, scheduled from May 21 to 23 in Beirut.
Meade’s delegation also includes the general director of ProMexico, Francisco Gonzalez Diaz, and the coordinator of Ports and Merchant Marine of the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation, Guillermo Ruiz de Teresa.
Examiner StaffComments Off on ‘Lebanese-Mexican House’ launched in Batroun 2375
(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — First Salma Hayek, now George Clooney? Will one of the world’s most recognized couples really come to Beirut?
On Tuesday, George Clooney announced that he and his wife Amal Alamuddin were planning to visit Beirut in the “near future” to meet his Lebanese in-laws.
“We’re going to go to Beirut and I’m really excited to do that but I didn’t know much about the Lebanese culture including how many family members I now have in Lebanon, which is a thousand I think,” he said.
Clooney explained how his marriage to Alamuddin, who was born in Lebanon, has taught him about the country’s culture.
“What I have learned from Amal is about Lebanese culture and (it’s) absolutely fascinating to me,” he said.
Alamuddin’s family hails from Baakline, a well-known Druze town and seat of the sect’s religious leader in the Chouf district of the country.
Alamuddin’s father, Ramzi, is a retired professor at the American University of Beirut, while her mother, Baria, is a well-known former beauty-queen turned journalist with the newspaper Al-Hayat.
The family left Lebanon in the 1980s at the height of Lebanon’s civil war. They settled in London, with Amal going on to earn a law degree from the prestigious Oxford University and later a Master’s degree from New York University.
Clooney spoke of the couple’s vested interest in politics and his freedom to talk more openly about his beliefs than his wife, who may deal with different countries in her line of work.
“Well she’s not involved in politics, she’s active on the international stage. I would argue that both of us are equally involved politically. I’m in a much better place and able to do a lot more by not having to compromise,” he added.
The news comes just one day after Clooney called the conflict in Syria “incredibly complex.” He also explained how Amal has given him a “new perspective” on the country.
Clooney also told the BBC that he intends to do more to help the people of Syria without being formally involved in politics.
Examiner StaffComments Off on George Clooney: “We’re going to go to Beirut” 6070
(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The advisor of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini urged Lebanon on Monday to end its presidential vacuum and continue its fight against extremists along the Syrian border.
Ali Akbar Velayati spoke to reporters upon arriving at the Beirut International Airport for an official visit to the country this week. Velayti was the former minister of foreign affairs from 1981 to 1997, before becoming a chief advisor on international affairs for Iran’s leader.
“The solution to Lebanon’s political problems is up to the Lebanese themselves,” Velayati said. “We are confident that, given Lebanon’s longstanding democracy, the Lebanese will find the right solutions to the ongoing presidential vacuum.”
Velayati was received by Hezbollah lawmaker Ali al-Muqdad, Iranian ambassador in Beirut Mohammad Fateh Ali, and Khalil Hamdan, a member of the Shia Amal Movement.
During a meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh, Velayati praised Hezbollah for confronting armed takfiri groups in Syria’s Qalamoun region.
“We are glad to see that the Lebanese have been able to agree on consolidating national unity and moving forward in confronting Israel and extremist forces,” Velayati added.
His trip to Beirut comes two days after Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah announced that jihadists from al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State have been pushed out of large areas of Qalamoun.
Velayati will meet with Prime Minister Tammam Salam and other Lebanese officials to discuss the “fight against dark forces and terrorists.”
The latest high-ranking Iranian official to visit Beirut was chairman of Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi in January.
Examiner StaffComments Off on Advisor to Ayatollah Khomeini calls on Lebanon to elect president 1539
(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — A Lebanese man used a drone recently to organize a surprise proposal to his girlfriend on the rooftop of the Four Seasons Hotel in Beirut.
A relaxing dinner overlooking the beautiful Zaitunay Bay was interrupted by an incoming drone carrying the proposal ring.
Hotel guests sealed the deal as they applauded around the couple.
WATCH the surprise proposal here:
Mabrouk!
Surprise drone proposals are becoming increasingly popular around the world, prompting the United States Federal Aviation Administration to add new regulations on all “small unmanned aircraft systems.”
RELATED: Watch filmmaker Georges Chahoud propose to his Ukranian girlfriend at the Beirut International Airport here!
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(DES MOINES, IOWA) — Four relatives were charged in Iowa on Tuesday with conspiring to smuggle guns and ammunition to Lebanon that were hidden with equipment exports and supplies for Syrian refugees.
Federal agents intercepted cargo containers in March and again last week that were bound for Beirut carrying a total of 152 firearms and 16,000 rounds of ammunition, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday.
The suspects were identified as Ali Herz, 50 and his 22-year-old son, Adam Herz; Ali Herz’s younger brother, Bassem Herz, 29; and Bassam Herz’s wife, Al Sarah Zeaiter, 24. All four live in Cedar Rapids, where they were arrested Tuesday as local, state and federal officers executed search warrants in the city.
During initial court appearances Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Linda Reade ordered them jailed pending a detention hearing set for Friday.
“We believe there is immense risk to public safety,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Rich Murphy.
The four said little in court, where they appeared in street clothes, their wrists handcuffed and legs shackled. Their attorneys declined to comment on the allegations following the hearing.
The complaint says the four came under suspicion as they stockpiled more than $100,000 worth of guns and ammunition legally purchased from dealers in eastern Iowa over the last 17 months. A gun store owner in February expressed concerns to authorities after the group twice purchased all of his store’s 5.7 millimeter ammunition. One of the men also requested accessories for military-style rifles after reviewing a text message written in a foreign language, the owner reported.
On Tuesday, agents searched a pizza shop linked to Bassem Herz; a Cedar Rapids address tied to Adam Herz; and Midamar Corp., a maker of halal foods whose shipping service the alleged conspirators used to transport the firearms.
Adam Ben Ali Herz, Ali Afif Al Herz, Bassem Afif Herz, and Sarah Majid Zeaiter are accused to smuggling the guns.
No one with Midamar was charged in the alleged plot. Midamar attorney Michael Lahammer said company employees were unaware the weapons were in the containers and weren’t involved with packing them. He said a company named in the complaint, Herz Enterprises, contracted with Midamar to use its shipping facility, which is made available to other exporters.
Midamar was “used to facilitate this illegal activity by Herz Enterprises, if what the government says is true,” he said.
The firearms found in March were hidden inside of a container that had three skid loaders that were being exported and Midamar boxes marked “Syria” that were filled with clothing, shoes, honey and household supplies.
Midamar made arrangements to ship the container after its founder, Bill Aossey, promoted a clothing drive for Syrian refugees stranded in Lebanon, the complaint says. In an online posting seeking donations, Aossey wrote that the supplies would be added to an equipment container already scheduled for export.
After the container arrived by train at a seaport in Norfolk, Virginia, investigators found 53 guns and 6,800 rounds of ammunition during a March 26 inspection.
Last week, agents searched a container the suspects had brought to Midamar for shipment that had 99 firearms, over 9,500 rounds of ammunition and firearms parts and accessories that were hidden in skid loaders and inside suitcases and boxes that contained clothing.
The four suspects, who are in the United States legally, are not licensed to sell or export firearms, the complaint says. An earlier shipment wasn’t intercepted, and investigators cannot account for dozens of weapons they purchased.
The Herzes previously caught attention for their ties abroad.
Ali Herz, who was born in Lebanon, had $61,400 in cash on him when he returned to the U.S from overseas in December and has sent and received $160,000 in wire transfers over the last two years, the complaint says.
Adam Herz, a college student born in the United States, was questioned after returning to the U.S. in 2012 and 2014 from what he said were lengthy visits to Lebanon.
Bassem Herz, who was born in Kuwait, has made many trips abroad and previously exported other equipment to Lebanon. Zeaiter said she is a citizen of Lebanon who is a college student.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
Examiner StaffComments Off on Iowa family accused of smuggling weapons to Lebanon 2279
(WASHINGTON, DC) — U.S. President Barack Obama honored Lebanese entrepreneur Ziad Sankari for creating innovative heart technology during a White House global entrepreneurship event on May 11.
The White House invited emerging entrepreneurs from around the world to highlight the importance of investing in young businesspeople and innovative solutions. Sankari was among only five others who were honored.
Sankari started CardioDiagnostics in 2012, several years after losing his father to a heart attack. He pursued studies in understanding the electrical activity of the heart and how monitoring and analyzing that activity can save lives.
Today, his company uses FDA-approved wearable devices that are 24/7 GPS-enabled heart rate monitors allowing for heart monitoring centers to communicate diagnostic and preventive information to patients in the United States and Lebanon. The center has more than 40 employees.
In 2008, Sankari attended Ohio State University on a U.S. Fulbright scholarship. After returning to Lebanon, he was selected to pitch his idea at the 2011 Global Innovation through Science and Technology’s (GIST) Tech-I competition where he won first place.
Sankari received his first round of seed funding and traveled through various U.S. cities to expand his network, learn how to negotiate, and connect with mentors. Given his experiences, Sankari sees education as essential to successful entrepreneurship and to combat rising issues of poverty and extremism.
He hopes to support other startups and build a high-performing educational system in Lebanon and throughout the Middle East that leverages U.S. expertise and connections to open a world of opportunities to younger generations.
The event comes ahead of the President’s travel to this summer’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Kenya and provides a unique opportunity to galvanize global attention on emerging women and young entrepreneurs.
Guest speakers during the event included Shark Tank stars Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, and Daymond John. The White House also named nine other top American entrepreneurs as Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship, according to a news release.
WATCH President Obama recognize Sankari:
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