Subscribe to newsletter

Custom Search 1

You are here

Home

News

English

USD 1,600 to each Yazidi woman survivor from ISIS

28-1-2019

The Iraqi minister of displacement and migration, Nawfal Bahaa Moussa, announced on January 27 the allocation of Iraqi Dinar 2 million (around USD 1600) for each Yazidi woman survivor from ISIS. A ministry statement said Moussa, during his visit to Tal Keif district of Ninawa Province, stressed that Yazidi women have been traumatized and that his ministry will stand by them to this end. The statement cited the minister as saying, that each Yazidi woman survivor will receive a sum of USD 1600 allotted from the 2019 budget. To note, Yazidi women have widely complained of being systematically abducted and sold as sex slaves by ISIS which invaded large areas of Iraq before the Iraqi government declared victory in 2017. (Al Diyar, January 28, 2019)

Share on

New concrete steps to develop Tripoli SEZ

25-1-2019

As parts of the on-going efforts to develop the Port of Tripoli and the Special Economic Zone, SEZ, the minister of public works, Yousef Finianos, discussed yesterday with the director of the Port of Tripoli, Ahmad Tamer, SEZ CEO, Raya Hassan, and the prime minister’s advisor for the North, Abdel Ghani Tabbara, ways of envisaging an economic strategy for the North which boasts many logistic locations with the Port of Tripoli and the various facilities and harbors. Hassan clarified that in the beginning, a protocol of cooperation, integration and coordination will be signed between SEZ and the Port of Tripoli. On the other hand, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Tripoli and the North, Toufic Daboosi, in his participation in the recently held Arab Private Sector Forum, spotlighted sn smbitious national, regional and international investment project that will focus on the Greater Tripoli area. The said economic venture aims at expanding and the current Port of Tripoli facility some about 20 kms north towards Akkar while linking it with the Rene Mouawad Quleiat Airport, Daboosi explained. He added that linking the port to the airfield also covers the oil refinery in Al Badawi. Daboosi pointed out that linking the Port of Tripoli with Quleiat Airport is not only a vital economic investment project, but also will trigger off deep social transformations involving the entire North and will positively impact the national economy in general. In the same vein, the largest Russian oil producer, Rosneft, reportedly signed a 20 year long agreement with the Lebanese ministry of energy to take on the management of the oil storage terminal located in Tripoli. (Al Diyar, An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, January 20, 2019)

Share on

Regie contributed USD 419 million to treasury in 2018 and Casino USD 90 million

25-1-2019

The general director of the Regie Libanaise des Tabacs et Tombacs, Nassif Seqlawi, announced on January 18 that the state-run institution transferred USD 491 million (LBP 628 billion) of its 2018 proceeds to the state treasury. The Regie also extended some 45 development packages to the villages growing tobacco and tambac in the South, North and Beqaa areas, and around 110 scholarships, in addition to organizing awareness campaigns on child labor and women economic empowerment workshops, Seqlawi said. In a related vein, the chairperson of Casino du Liban, Roland Khoury, said on January 12, that the Casino has transferred nearly USD 90 million of its profits in 2018 to the treasury, compared to USD 60 million in 2017. Khoury spelled out promises by politicians to renew the franchise for the Casino, pointing to plans by the administration for the next 20 years. (Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, January 14, 19, 20, 2019)

Share on

‘Paper One Show’ exhibition in Sin el Fil

25-1-2019

In collaboration with the Arab Federation for Paper, Printing and Packaging Industries, and under the patronage of industry minister, Hussein Haj Hassan, Al Furat Paper Trading is organizing on January 28, the 3rd edition of the Paper One Show, 2019, at Biel’s new location in Sin el Fil, Beirut. The head of the organizing firm, Tarek Fakkas, notes that around 80 suppliers and manufacturers in the paper and board production and packaging industry from Lebanon, Europe, Turkey, China, India and Arab countries will partake in the 3-day event. New technologies, paper and card board, machines, raw material, accessories and paper mills lines will be showcased, and some 3,000 industrial experts are expected to attend the event. (Al Diyar, January 25, 2019)

Share on

Kuwaiti Rula Dashti appointed as next ESCWA executive secretary

24-1-2019

The United Nations Information Center in Beirut (UNIC) announced on January 22nd the appointment of Kwaiti Dr. Rula Dashti as the executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) to succeed Mohamad Ali Hakeem of Iraq. Dashti, an economic expert and women’s rights and gender equality campaigner, is currently a member of the Supreme Planning Council in Kuwait. She served as a minister for planning and development and minister of state for parliamentary affairs between 2012 and 2014. She played a significant role in advocating for the ratification of a decree that allows Kuwaiti women to vote and run for parliamentary elections. Dashti also held key positions in research and development institutions, like the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, and worked for major local and international financial and development agencies, such as the National Bank of Kuwait and the World Bank. Dashti, holds a PhD in population dynamics from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, a master’s in economics and finance from California State University-Sacramento, and a bachelor’s degree in agriculture economics from California State University- Chico. (An Nahar, January 23, 2019)

Share on

80 million women needed in India & China to bridge the gender demographic gap

24-1-2019

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a summary of a report to be released this February (c.f: https://bit.ly/2UaOrGL), that India and China, the two largest countries in population size, need around 80 million females to create a balance in the gender gap in population count. India and China, the report said, suffer a severe shortage in female numbers. In some areas of the two South Asian countries, there are 120 men for every 100 women, and the number could rise in the future, the report warned. China’s one-child policy adopted from 1979 to 2015, was among the causes of imbalance in the country’s population composition, according to the report. Many families in both China and India resorted to abortion to eliminate female births. HRW maintained that gender inequality has led to many problems, especially in China, including forcing Burmese women and girls to marry Chinese men for USD 3 to USD 13,000 each. (Al Mustaqbal, January 23, 2019)

Share on

Agricultural risk assessment to alleviate natural disasters

24-1-2019

In collaboration with FAO and the National Council for Scientific Research, CNRS, the ministry of agriculture released yesterday a study entitled, ‘Assessment of risks affecting the agricultural sectors in Lebanon to mitigate disasters and adaptation to climate change’. During the launch ceremony, minister Zeiater said the survey constitutes a fundamental scientific base for the development of a national policy aimed at reducing menaces threatening the sector and work to implement it. This involves reactivating the plan kicked off by the ministry and updating the response plan for disasters and crises developed in 2015 with the cooperation of the Disaster Risk Management Unit at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers affiliated with UNDP. For his part, FAO representative in Lebanon, Maurice Saadeh, explained that this assessment plays a key role in drawing a national agricultural strategy. The economic dimension of these risks, Saadeh maintained, occupies a large part of investments in the sector, in the prevention, adaptation or response aspects. In conclusion, a synopsis of the study was presented which showed that agriculture in Lebanon has always been vulnerable to climate change, diseases, and increased temperatures and precipitation. The study also revealed that with proven climate change and political instability in Lebanon and the region, this assessment serves as a starting point to understand risks involved and improve strategies to manage and reduce those risks. (An Nahar, January 24, 2019)

Share on

Female Palestinian student raped and killed in Australia

24-1-2019

Thousands took part in the funeral of the Palestinian female student who was killed last week in Australia and was buried in her hometown of Baqa al Gharbiya, in the north of Occupied Palestine. Aya Massarweh, 21, was raped and killed on her way home in Melbourne on the night of January 16 when her body was discovered by passers-by near the train station. In a tribute to Aya, women and children carried black banners which read, ‘Women have the right to live in peace.’ While her father, Saeed Massarweh in his obituary, pledged to carry on his daughter’s calling in spreading peace and love, and demanded more humanity irrespective of race and ethnicity. “I hope,” he said, “that my daughter’s murder will be the last offense perpetrated against women.” In Australia, citizens who have been appalled and distressed by the rape and killing of Aya, took to the streets in mass marches and gatherings. The incident has raised many questions on the extent of protection of women on the streets of Australia. (Al Diyar, January 24, 2019)

Share on

Labor market analysis of digital, fashion and jewelry sectors

23-1-2019

In collaboration with partners, the labor ministry organized yesterday a session in Beirut to present the results of of the labor market analysis in the digital, fashion and jewelry sectors. This comes as part of the EU funded ‘Technical Assistance to Support the Promotion of Social Dialogue in Lebanon’ project. During the session, expert Joumana Breihi outlined the outputs which assist the labor ministry and the National Employment Office in establishing close ties within the above sectors in order to help companies discover and recruit skilled labor and facilitate job seekers in their lookout for opportunities. A statement by the project indicated that, the digital sector in Lebanon provides ample prospects for the country’s economy and its potential of growth, pointing out that the number of male workforce is many fold the number of females. The sector, the statement said, is a youth sector, but despite this, nearly 23 per cent of firms do not employ young people. In the fashion and jewelry industries, the statement noted that competition is fierce in the domestic market with a capacity of USD 600 million 37% of fashion companies have reportedly not employed any female, while there are less than 7% of female employees in the jewelry sector, and the youth staff is limited in both sectors, the statement concluded. For more info (in Arabic), kindly visit the following link, https://goo.gl/Q5zDRZ. (Al Mustaqbal, January 23, 2019)

Share on

Boosting women’s access to labor market in Jordan

23-1-2019

The Jordanian minister of international planning and cooperation, Marie Kawar, announced during her presence at the Mashreq Conference for Women’s Economic Empowerment held in Beirut recently (c.f: https://bit.ly/2FL2ijK), that her government has introduced reforms which facilitate women’s access to the labor market. This step, Kawar explained, led to international recognition of Jordan’s efforts to this end through the National Committee for Pay Equity, endorsing the country’s commitment to reduce the gender pay gap. Kawar also mentioned important aspects which strengthened the economic participation of Jordanian women. She said that in legislative and legal terms, the parliament has in the past few days ratified amendments to the labor law to remove obstacles through introducing the notion of flexible working hours or flextime. Jordan also introduced paternity leave, the right to work for children of Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians, provision of a family friendly working environment through the establishment of day cares at the workplace in the private sector, and amendments on certain articles to ensure equal pay for work of equal value between men and women. Kawar pressed for the presence of women in all political, economic and social arenas, noting that Arab countries have completed significant steps towards promoting women’s rights, but that there remains a lot to be done in this respect. She said she hoped to see more partnerships, cooperation and exchange of expertise between Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan to develop policies, strategies and programs that contribute to the economic empowerment of women in the Mashreq. (Al Hayat, January 19, 2019)

Share on

Pages


Subscribe to RSS - News