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Syrian awareness campaign against marrying foreign fighters

23-3-2018

In its issue of today, Al Diyar newspaper shed light on a new phenomenon seen in a number of Syrian cities which involves local women marrying foreign fighters and a counter awareness campaign to stop it. To this effect, Syrian activists launched in December 2017 so-called ‘who is your husband’ campaign that seeks to prevent and discourage Idlib and Aleppo women from having relationships with non-Syrian combatants and trying to educate the public through posters and graffiti – about the challenges these women and their children face. The campaign founder, Asem Zeidan, told the British Guardian that foreign fighters who disappear or get killed leave behind their children and wives which negatively affects their lives. Zeidan pointed out that since the start of the campaign, their team of 150 volunteers recorded around 1,735 women in Idlib and west Aleppo who have wed foreign jihadists, and that 1,124 of those women have given birth to some 1,826 children. The campaign, Zaydan went on to explain, has another goal, which is to help the children born of such marriages to receive recognition from their local councils, noting that only these councils can give children the required official documentation. On the subject, The Guardian said in a report published on March 21 that the reasons for marriage to foreign fighters vary in degrees. Some women feel that they have no other options, while others seem to be excited and thrilled to marry someone who they believe is brave and dauntless. These women, the Guardian added, have many things to worry about, especially that the Syrian woman cannot pass nationality to her husband. (For the full report, please visit the link below: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/mar/20/syrian-women-wed-foreign-fighters). (Al Diyar, March 23, 2018)

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Honoring, prizes at Horeca 2018 hospitality fair

23-3-2018

Hospitality Services inaugurated on Tuesday the 25th edition of Horeca (until March 23) under the slogan ‘From Lebanon to the World’. During the opening ceremony, the International Hotel and Restaurant Association awarded Nuhad Dammus for his remarkable contributions to the hospitality sector. Honored as well were a number of pastry owners for their pivotal role in establishing the Arabic sweets industry, and the Cedar Ambassadors who were recognized based on their originality, service and high quality Lebanese food. Some 14 famous chefs from Lebanon artfully presented a series of Lebanese dishes with the latest cooking methods, and were commended by the minister of tourism who shared the tasting experience during his tour of the exhibition. Also during the National Extra Virgin Olive Oil Contest, on the sideline of Horeca 2018, the director general of the ministry of agriculture, Louis Lahud, handed the 1st Golden medal to the winning competitor ‘Bustan al Zaytun’ from Green and Pure who was chosen out of 14 producers by a jury of local and international connoisseurs. On the other hand, the school of agriculture and food sciences at USEK celebrated Mother’s Day by inviting the mothers of faculty members and administrators and students to the contest, ‘My Mother’s Bite’. The acclaimed chef Antoine Haj was there to answer the questions of the participants and give them some tips and advice on mouneh preparation. The mothers prepared a variety of dishes within a competition to choose the best traditional Lebanese dish by Haj. (Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, March 22, 23, 2018)

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Fransabank launches three youth educational initiatives

23-3-2018

During the Global Money Week, from March 12-18, and as part of its continuous support to the young people of Lebanon and its commitment to social responsibility, Fransabank launched three educational initiatives targeting youth. The first is a training and education day organized by the Bank for some 250 school students from the following schools: College Protestant, Greenfield College, International College, Lycee Verdun and Melkart College. It included panel discussions with Bank officers and staff who gave a presentation on the basic banking concepts and mechanisms and how the bank operates, an overview of its corporate social responsibility initiatives, as well as the products and services offered to the youth. The second is in cooperation with Injaz Lebanon, where Fransabank held the Camp Business Challenge competition on March 17 at USJ with the participation of 6 student teams. The beneficiaries have completed a training workshop focused on several topics, mainly, the support and development of the innovation and entrepreneurship system; orientation on a healthy commercial attitude; financial knowledge; marketing strategy and teamwork. The third initiative is La Dictee des Finances competition implemented on March 12 by Fransabank in collaboration with Basil Fuleihan Institute. (An Nahar, Al Akhbar, March 23, 2018)

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New campaign to promote Lebanon globally

22-3-2018

The minister of tourism, Avedis Guidanian, launched yesterday the new international promotional campaign, ‘Lebanon, Passion for Living’ following a competition organized by Rethinking Lebanon association to come up with a smart slogan to this effect. The first, second and third place winners were announced among the participating school and university students, as well as Lebanese expats. In an another news, the total value of Lebanese industrial exports in 2017 slightly marginally declined to USD 2.474 billion against USD 2.526 billion in 2016, according to a report by the Industrial Information Department, the ministry of industry. The value of imports of industrial machinery and equipment during the past year stood at USD 257.4 million compared to USD 235.5 million in the same period of 2016, with a 9.3% increase, the report said. (Al Diyar, Al Hayat, March 22, 2018)

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A discriminatory draft amendment to Lebanese nationality law

22-3-2018

On Mother’s Day, foreign minister Jibran Bassil, presented in a press conference yesterday an amendment to the current nationality law allowing Lebanese women to pass nationality to their children, just like men, with the exception of the neighboring states, in connotation to Syrian and Palestinian children. The exception also applies to Lebanese men married to refugees or displaced women, on pretext of preventing collective naturalization or resettlement. Commenting on Bassil’s move, the coordinator of My Nationality is A Right for Me and My Family campaign, Karima Shebbo, said the new proposal which is projected to prevent discrimination on the basis of gender does in fact discriminate between Lebanese women and continues to undermine the right of a woman to choose her partner irrespective of his nationality. Shebbo warned that the file should be handled separately from the electoral bazaar and political skirmishes. Lebanese mothers married to non-Lebanese have been struggling to prevent the alienation of their own children and to guarantee them a decent life in the face of the pervasive patriarchal nationality law which according to its first article, ‘a child is deemed Lebanese if the child is born of a Lebanese father, with no mention of the mother at all!. (For more on the draft law: http://bit.ly/2pvP7cY). (Al Akhbar, Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar March 22, 2018)

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Touch and LG also celebrate women and mothers’ days

22-3-2018

The leading mobile and data operator in Lebanon, Touch, hosted its annual Mother’s Day luncheon in honor of women in the media, journalists, customers and Touch mothers, as well as, mothers working at the ministry of telecommunications. On the occasion, Touch CEO, Emre Gurkan, praised the perseverance of mothers to reconcile work and motherhood, pointing to this year’s campaign under the slogan #Naturally Connected# because not every connection needs technology like the mother-child connection. For its part, LG launched its free application ®LG SmartThinQ which allows women to coordinate the daily chores in their kitchen in just one click using a simple application on their smartphones. LG Levant general manager, Hong Ju Jeon, said the company focuses its March women celebrations on female consumers, stressing that LG is a gender sensitive workplace and always strives to design innovative products adaptable to the woman’s needs in terms of saving time and making housework easier. (Al Mustaqbal, March 22, 2018)

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Regulatory framework impedes Lebanese business startups

21-3-2018

L’Orient Le Jour published a report by Arabnet on Lebanese startups based on a survey of some 90 emerging entrepreneurial ventures between November 2017 and January 2018. According to the report, the Lebanese regulatory framework is the main concern for (two-thirds) of entrepreneurs who related difficulties to three main aspects: The taxation system, an absence of financial and e-payment procedures and business registration and incorporation issues. One startup owner, Carl Naim, said it took him two weeks to register the establishment in Beirut, compared to 48 hours in UK and one week in Dubai, and spent nearly USD 5,000 in registration fees. In a parallel development, the minister of economy and trade, Raed Khoury, said during the Financial and Investment Education conference on Saturday, that the Lebanese youth suffer from the absence of a comprehensive financial culture due to a lack of a national economic vision, which causes a lack of understanding of the government decisions. “Our youth lament a deficiency in economic planning which should be integrated in the curricula,” Khoury said. He pressed for the formation of a committee to study labor market requirements, in collaboration with the universities, in order to focus on the needed competencies and, therefore, build up prospects of employment for the young people of Lebanon. (L’Orient Le Jour, March 19, 21, 2018)

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Gloria Abu Zeid, Director of Cooperative, back to her post

21-3-2018

After the decision of the Shura Council on May 31 to suspend the execution of an order by minister of agriculture, Ghazi Z3eiter, giving the General Director of Cooperatives, Gloria Abu Zeid, a forced leave and appointing a replacement (c.f: http://lkdg.org/ar/node/16444), Z3eiter on Monday issued an ordinance to return Abu Zeid to her work. He surprised the staff by visiting the directorate premises in Baabda accompanied by the re-assigned director where he headed a large meeting. Abu Zeid thanked the minister for his move and the trust he granted her to run this public facility. (Al Diyar, L’Orient Le Jour, March 21, 2018)

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Nayla Geagea and Nadine Mussa, human rights candidates

21-3-2018

In support of women’s nomination for the parliamentary elections, L’Orient Le Jour spotlighted the career life of Nayla Geagea running on ‘Li Baladi’ electoral list (Beirut 2nd constituency) and the independent candidate Nadine Mussa (Metn area). Geagea, L’Orient Le Jour wrote, is a lawyer from South Lebanon holding a degree from the Lebanese University. She has been campaigning since 2005 to endorse the optional civil marriage law and eventually, a civil state. Her program for the elections focuses on the garbage crisis, unemployment, full health coverage, development policies and social justice, in addition to elimination of all forms of discrimination, not only against women but also against marginalized people, elderlies and migrant workers, she told L’Orient Le Jour reporter. Nadine Mussa, on the other hand, is also a lawyer with a degree from USJ and a Master’s from Sorbonne University, France. She is an acclaimed political, social and human rights activist and the first Lebanese woman to run for the Presidential elections back in 2014. She also believes that reforms cannot be achieved without relevant legislations, particularly in relation to corruption which she has given special attention in her elections program, besides the waste management, traffic, pollution, joblessness, inflation, electricity and water issues, the newspaper reported. (L’Orient Le Jour, March 20, 21, 2018).

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Four Egyptian women stand up to “takfirees”

21-3-2018

In its Monday’s issue, Al Hayat daily spotlighted a short documentary, ‘Dil’ A’waj’, by four young women from Egypt, Suha Bilal, Zeina Balasi, Amira Badr and Lamis Hilmi screened to coincide with women’s March celebrations. The film depicts the life of three Egyptian women under pressure of a society washed-out in the past decades by religious extremism. Al Hayat spoke to Suha Bilal who clarified that the Egyptian society is not used to religious discourse and anyone who dares to discuss religion is faulted and censured. Yet, it is time to start a debate on similar matters despite that our community is still ruled by a patriarchal mindset at every level of life, not only in religious or feminist issues. For her part, Zeina Balasi said the audience was shocked in general but was prompted to think and discuss the topic, which in itself is an accomplishment. In conclusion, Zeina and Suha voiced their happiness over the successful output of their documentary, especially in inspiring young women to think about themselves and their problems through the three examples portrayed in the movie. It also allowed men to see for themselves how their daughters and wives view their actions. They finally said the film presents a real call for reason in defiance of the Takfiri extremists. (For more, kindly visit the link below: :https://goo.gl/BsDjcu). (Al Hayat, March 19, 2018)

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