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Finally, the Discriminatory Public Prosecution appealed the “unjust” decision reducing the prison term for the killer of wife Manal Assi after slackness on the part of the Appellate which gave the culprit a mitigated sentence. In the details, the discriminatory public prosecutor Judge Samir Hammud made a request yesterday before the Court of Cassation to veto an earlier ruling by the Beirut Criminal Court which he spelled out as “a mistake in explaining and implementing Article 549 of the Penal Code which allows the mitigation of punishment.” Hence, Hammud  demanded a re-trial for the defendant and upholding the decision to criminalize him with maximum punishment.  However, the State Prosecutor, according to As Safir newspaper, said the case has not closed yet pending the decision of the Supreme Court (Cassation). He stated that he has specifically noticed the torture that the killer practiced on his victim for 7 long hours, a fact disregarded by the Criminal Court when pronouncing the reduced sentence. Commenting on Judge Hammud’s appeal, lawyer Manar Zeiater , said it is significant for it acknowledges the legal error substantiated by the mitigated sentence, noting that this would be a guarantee not to use Article 252 as a pretext justifying the honor killings any further. Zeiater considered the move as exceptional attributing it to many factors, including the relentless pressure exerted by feminist groups. “Hammud does not want to endorse macho doctrines,” she maintained. Likewise, the information officer at Kafa Enough Violence and Exploitation Maya Ammar hailed the ‘unprecedented’ action by the state prosecutor, arguing that the “inexcusable legal loophole validated by the Criminal Court decision justifies its repeal.” (An Nahar, As Safir, Al Akhbar, August 23, 2016)

 

Previous related news: 

Justice fails Manal Assi while last hope resides in the Discriminatory Prosecution

 

The minister of industry, Hussein Haj Hassan disclosed yesterday that he will re-issue a pre-existing memo banning any industrial establishment that does not observe the environmental standards from receiving or benefiting from the certificate of industry, urging any party having difficulties in disposal of its solid waste to seek the help of competent authorities. Haj Hassan was speaking during a workshop organized by the ministry, in cooperation with the involved state ministries and Beqaa municipalities, on the projected clean up of the polluted Litani River and the adjacent Qaraooan Lake, as well the reduction of industrial pollutants. Haj Hassan underlined the role of industrialists as the pillar of domestic economy, in terms of job creation, production, exports and the balance of payments and trade. (Al Diyar, An Nahar, August 23, 2016)

 

Summer festivals are flourishing across Lebanon with the efforts of the local community and thanks to foreign funding despite a relative slackness on the part of the government, as reported by L’Orient Le Jour last Saturday. The newspaper shed light on municipal efforts to generate additional resources for their limited budgets and to seek foreign funding to similar undertakings. On the subject, Yahya Fattal, head of the tourism committee for Tripoli, disclosed that in the absence of a clear and systematic official plan, his municipality is looking for the support of the international community and local politicians. Similarly, Ehden municipality member, Shafik Ghazali, referred to a joint campaign with the ministry of tourism to attract foreign tourists, pointing to a long list of projects planned for the city. Regarding funding issues, Ghazali said the municipality is still on the lookout for resources. L’Orient Le Jour brought out a good example of a fruitful team effort with a foreign agency in the domain of tourism. In Hadath al Jibbeh, Kadisha, the newspaper wrote, USAID supported the renovation of a local hotel and the construction of 10 long walking trails all over the village, which contributed to increasing the number of tourists by 20% in 2015.

On the festivals front, yesterday saw the opening of the Maghdoosheh touristic festivities for 2016 organized by the Green Rabyeh Club in collaboration with the town’s municipality and the sponsorship of the ministry of culture. The festival is expected to continue till September 7 and will include various cultural, traditional, sports, recreational and musical activities to be held at the town’s public square. In parallel, Ehmej inaugurated its sixth touristic festivities in the presence of tourism minister Michel Pharaon and public figures. (An Nahar, Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, L’Orient Le Jour, August 22, 2016)

 

The Lebanese labor minister said in a statement that as of the end of last week, all the working permits for Nepalese migrant women domestic workers (MWDW) have been suspended. The ministry clarified the reasons for the sudden decision by saying that it received direct calls and letters from the Nepalese embassy in Cairo advising that it will sponsor the arrival into Lebanon of its nationals wishing to work there, while stressing that the said consulate has no official representative status with the Lebanese government. The statement went on to say, that the Nepalese consul in the Egyptian capital has imposed an equivalent of $1000 on every Lebanese citizen willing to bring in a Nepalese MWDW (apart from the $1000 deposited as insurance on part of the employer at the Housing Bank of Lebanon) and $10 thousand for each recruiting agency willing to use Nepalese workers. The Lebanese labor ministry considered that the said conditions or practices are in clear violation of diplomatic relations as they enforce illicit fees on both the MWDWs and the Lebanese employers or recruitment agents. The statement announced that it will halt issuing new working permits pending a solution of the problem, while noting that this measure does not apply to renewal of permits for Nepalese MWDWs currently working and residing in the country. (An Nahar, August 20, 2016)

 

The summer season is not very promising to employees or people on the lookout for jobs in Middle East and North Africa, according to the ‘Summer in the MENA Workplace’ survey conducted by the leading job portal in the area, Bayt.com. The survey which targeted some 7024 people from 16 different Arab states has shown that employees consider the summer as one of the most draining seasons. Nearly 35.2% of respondents pointed to a buildup of assignments and working hours during that period, with 34.5% saying their employers do not show flexibility in this regard. However, the job portal mentioned a positive aspect related to an upsurge in productivity during the summer (42.5% of respondents). On the other hand, half of the job seekers covered by the survey, stated that the summer is not the ideal time to search for a job in the region. The main reason is that human resources managers tend to take their vacations in the summer, as explained by Suhail Masri, vice president of recruiting solutions at Bayt.com. Masri said that about 72.4% of professionals in the MENA region plan their annual vacations in the summer, with 44.1% preferring to spend their annual leave resting at home and 55.9% outdoors (32.4% with family or visiting friends; 28.4% at the beach….). (Al Akhbar, August 20, 2016)

 

A number of women from the southern town of Baysariyeh are currently attending intensive training sessions on the principles of food safety and quality organized by Atayeb al Reef cooperative association. The training program is implemented by UNDP jointly with the ministry of social affairs and the municipality of Baysariyeh with the aim to create a cooperative specialized in the production of traditional rural goods. This activity comes as part of the Lebanon Host Communities Support Project funded by the British Agency for International Development in order to empower women economically and help them become productive through enhancing their marketing and sales capacities. In this respect, Fatmeh Khalil, project coordinator in the south underlined the importance of the training workshops in terms of helping local women to provide for their families and partake in decision making. Inside a room made available by the municipality, women are now busy preparing all kinds of sauces, jams, aubergine pickles and labneh, and will later expand to a new line of pastries and traditional cuisine. Upon the registration of the new cooperative, products will be marketed locally while baring the trademark of the cooperative . (The Daily Star, August 22, 2016)

 

Sex is still largely considered a taboo subject in Lebanon, and despite relatively liberal attitudes, is yet tackled with a lot of misinformation and myth. To shed more light on the issue, the Network of Arab Scholars on Sexuality and Sexual Health (NASSS) held a meeting at the American University of Beirut School of Health Sciences with the aim to spread awareness on sexual health notions and approach the subject in a scientific manner. To note, the NASSS has since 2006 been communicating with Arab students and has designed handbooks to this effect, with funding from the AUB. The group also plans to publish a book in 2017 about sexuality in the Middle East region. During the meeting, the network’s coordinator, Dr. Faysal al Qaq, underlined the importance of starting a conversation about sexuality in the region. He pointed out that in Lebanon, the subject is largely tarnished by violence, particularly that there are more women than men in the country who are pressured into violent sex sometimes to appease and entice or keep their male partner. Qaq considered that tackling such issues is still a challenge in a country of 18 religious confessions, each having its own views and interpretations of sexual relations. “Some are tolerant, others conservative,” Qaq maintained, which “requires researchers to get smart while addressing these matters in a different way,” he added. 

In a related vein, the Lebanese Women Council thanked in a statement issued yesterday all the political parties youth, human rights and women organisations which  united in a show of solidarity (news: http://bit.ly/2bbGazg) with women increasingly exposed to domestic violence. (The Daily Star, Al Mustaqbal, August 19, 2016)

 

The program of the Saida International Festival, planned for the forthcoming September, and launched two days ago, will include several musical concerts, the organisation of a one day touristic tour of the city and its port, and sport activities on the Saida seafront under the slogan “Saida in colors”. On a similar note, the Traders of Batroon and the Caza launched in a press conference yesterday the September shopping festival and the Guinness World Records event for the biggest seafood display scheduled on September fourth at the fisherfolks port. The event is supported by the municipality of Batroon, in addition to the ministries of trade and tourism, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Tripoli and the North, Credit Libanais, Touch company and Burger King. The association President, Rock Atiyeh, disclosed that around 2700 kg of seafood delicacies and products will be displayed to break the present world record won by the Netherlands back in 2011, naming the products and projected quantities to be showcased. “At first, we thought of distributing free seafood at the end of the display,” Atiyeh said, adding, “we finally decided to allocate the contributions to support the local fisherfolks who will prepare and sell the food to customers.” Atiyeh also added that the local Batroon breweries and wineries will partake in the event as well. (Al Diyar, August 19, 2016)

 

In cooperation with the Mansurah municipality, the Future Movement Women’s Sector in West Beqaa and Rashayya organized yesterday a health seminar entitled, ‘Our children and importance of making healthy food choices’. Present at the talk, were the Future Coordinator in the area, Hamadi Janem, Mansurah mayor, Dani Jawish, Assistant Organizational Affairs in the Central Sector, Nawal Mdalalli, the Sector’s Coordinator in the area, Asmaa Sakhr, the Health Committee Officer, Fadia Jbara, Assistant Organizational Affairs, Lina Khatib, in addition to members of the Coordination Committee members, the Municipal Board and local area women. During the seminar, and after lecturing on healthy food choices and protection of children from food-related diseases, pediatrician Nada Wehbi conducted a free medical checkup and distributed free medications and presents to children. (Al Mustaqbal, August 19, 2016)