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Al Quds medal to Nadia Lotfi

11-1-2019

During a visit to her at the Maadi Military Hospital in Cairo, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas bestowed the Al Quds medal to Egyptian actress Nadia Lotfi in recognition of her illustrious career in service of the Arab drama and cinema industry. Abbas congratulated Lotfi on her birthday which she celebrated few days ago, voicing his deep appreciation for her artistic contribution to the Arab world. In turn, Lotfi welcomed the medal stating that it is the sweetest gift she has received on this special day, in addition to the honoring by the Egyptian ministry of culture. (Al Diyar, January 8, 2019)

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Doctor sexually harasses his patient while in hospital

10-1-2019

In the latest incidents of violence against women, a female patient sued the anesthetist after being discharged from the hospital for sexually harassing her. She said that she woke up from anesthesia after the surgery to find the anesthesia physician harassing her believing she was still sedated. The doctor during investigation denied the plaintiff’s claim, pointing out that he was threatened by the patient to harm his reputation. Hence, and to avoid slander, he agreed to pay her USD 5,000 for a felony he claimed he didn’t commit. On the subject, Al Mustaqbal newspaper reported that the indictment requesting referral of the defendant to the Criminal Court for trial, possibly assumes that the physician has committed the act of harassment. The indictment, to recall, was based on a statement by the claimant during a conversation with her attorney when she mentioned that the anesthetist agreed to pay the sum to settle the case outside the court and on the attitude of the nurse who did not confirm that the defendant did not visit the patient’s room while she was not there. (Al Mustaqbal, January 4, 2019)

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Joanna Dabbas’s delights & hospitality in Sursock

10-1-2019

In its edition of today, L’Orient Le Jour spotlighted the career path of Joanna Dabbas, who started the Sursock Museum Resto back in 2015 and will soon launch her own catering service, ‘The New Kitchen by Joanna’. The Sursock Resto offers a diverse range of Lebanese dishes renovated by Dabbas herself, in addition to live oriental music played by a band in addition to activities for children. Dabbas told L’Orient Le Jour reporter that she wanted to keep the level and improve constantly, pointing out that the opening of the restaurant was a very risky adventure in the beginning, but that she persevered and was determined to carry on. Dabbas said it is important to be able to accept feedback and complaints from customers to enhance services. Opening her own eatery was a childhood fascination, she said, noting that she ventured into the industry belated. Dabbas recalled that she started cooking from home and later in 2012 joined the Kitsch concept kitchen in Gemmayze but wanted to be on her own, so she started the Sursock Museum Resto. Besides daily management chores, Dabbas has a passion for agriculture, and in fact she runs the land owned by her father, where she plants, picks and sells organic products to Souk el Tayyeb and some restaurants under the label Joanna’s Fresh Greens. (L’Orient Le Jour, January 10, 2019)

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Approval of compulsory continuous education for nurses

9-1-2019

The Parliamentary Education Committee chaired by MP Bahia Hariri ratified yesterday the amendment of the proposed law mandating compulsory continuous education for nurses. The session was attended by education minister, Marwan Hamadeh, the president of the Order of Nurses, Mirna Doumit, and the president of the Syndicate of Hospitals in Lebanon, Sleiman Haroun. To note, the amended draft bill on the practice of nursing has been buried in the drawers of the Parliament since 2005, as well as, the decree that regulates the standards and scope of practice and competency of registered nurses. (Al Mustaqbal, January 9, 2019)

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Saudi teen renounces her religion, flees to Thailand

9-1-2019

Al Diyar highlighted today the plight of Saudi teen (18 years), Rahaf Mohamad Kanoun, who fled last Sunday her abusive family which resides in Kuwait seeking asylum in Thailand. Rahaf has earlier renounced Islam asking the UN to protect her from her family whom she said will kill her following her renunciation of her religion, hoping to reach Australia that would offer her asylum. After her brief stay at Bangkok Airport, Rahaf was granted temporary residence by the Thai authorities, until the UN could find a country that will allow her entry within five days. The Australia Director at Human Rights Watch, Elaine Pearson, said that as Australia has earlier voiced concern over the rights of women in Saudi Arabia, the government has to prove this now and protect the Saudi girl. Similarly, Saudi female activists started a broadcast on social media campaigning for the annulment of the male guardianship system in the Kingdom, which many view as oppressive especially in light of the wave of openness and reforms. (Al Diyar, January 9, 2019)

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New book for oriental sweets

9-1-2019

L’Orient Le Jour spotlighted a recently published book for sweets by Lara Ariss, ‘Sweet Levantine’ which celebrates oriental confectionary recipes. These include gum Arabica, rose water, salted caramel, chocolate and halva, chocolate cookies with sesame oil, dates and cardamom, orange and wild thyme or zaatar and pomegranate pudding. Speaking to L’Orient Le Jour, Ariss said since her childhood she had a passion and fascination for making original desserts. She studied advertising and marketing at LAU and worked two years in this sector before she decided to enroll in the London-based Le Cordon Bleu institute where she specialized in baking and pastry. When she returned from the UK seven years ago, culinary art or specialty was not a popular occupation like now, she said, so she had to explain to people that cooking is a profession like any other. Later on, Ariss travelled to the US to attend book writing workshops and returned to Lebanon to publish her first book on traditional Lebanese cuisine ‘Levantine Harvest’ and open her kitchen in the Beirut neighborhood of Tallet el Khayat after catering from home for some time. “All the recipes I created myself,” she boasted. On her new book, Ariss said it took her one year to invent and try novel sweets recipes and another year to publish it. She also had to focus on the layout and design of her book in terms of images and colors, with the help of Joelle Kanaan, an expert in food photography. (L’Orient Le Jour, January 9, 2019)

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Global woman trafficking remains unpunished

8-1-2019

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) revealed in a report published yesterday that trafficking in persons is the third largest crime industry in the world right behind drugs and arms trafficking. The crime which involves men, women and children remains largely unpunished, the report said. It showed that despite the growing number of prosecuting cases of human trafficking in Africa and the Middle East, like sexual exploitation and organ removal, yet the number of convictions in these areas remains relatively low. The traffickers, the report explained, do not actually face the possibility of bringing them to justice, and hence called for strengthening international collaboration to prosecute human trafficking networks and gangs. The UNODC report maintained, that in countries which are conflict hot spots, crimes related to trafficking in persons has reached an unprecedented number since 30 years, noting that sexual exploitation tops the list, and includes nearly 59% of human trafficking victims recorded in 2016. The report warned that organ trade thrives in refugee camps and dealers largely prey on refugees luring them and promising them money or relocation to a safer place. In conclusion, the report indicated that 70% of victims were women, and 23% of the total number of victims were minors. For the full report, visit the link below: : https://goo.gl/tjFYNH. (Al Akhbar, January 7, 2019)

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Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar sworn into US congress

8-1-2019

Michigan Democrat congresswoman, Rashida Tlaib, was sworn into office last week wearing the traditional Palestinian dress as she had promised earlier. Tlaib, who is considered the first ever Palestinian Muslim member of US Congress, took her oath on a 1734 edition of the Koran owned by Thomas Jefferson, according to The Hill website. She graduated from Detroit schools to join Wayne State University and received her degree in law from Western Michigan University. Likewise, the first veiled member of Congress, of Somali origin, Ilhan Omar, was sworn into office on the Koran. Omar succeeded in lifting the ban on wearing a religious gear for the first time in years in the history of the US House of Representatives. (Al Diyar, January 5, 2019)

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Private initiative to prevent food wastage

8-1-2019

In its edition of today, L’Orient Le Jour spotlighted an initiative launched by Diana Fayyad, ‘Eat, Save, Love’ for upcycling leftover food. The first dinner event was held on January 3 at one of Beirut’s restaurants and included gourmet dishes made from surplus products that hypermarkets seek to dispose of, particularly veggies that are still good enough for consumption. On the occasion, Fayyad pointed out that her undertaking aims to change food norms in the country, by targeting mainly well-to-do and affluent people who tend to throw their food leftover through educating them on reducing food waste by putting the leftovers to good use. To recall, Fayyad held two events in Vienna last year based on the same concept. She served Lebanese meals in partnership with Eat a Plate company which manufactures cutlery and ACT (Active Advocacy of Communities for Tomorrow) NGO which helps to develop the capacities of youth and women. Fayyad, to note, plans to organize a similar dinner in France soon and another one in Beirut during Easter. (L’Orient Le Jour, January 5, 2019)

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British probe into torture of Saudi women right activists

4-1-2019

British lawmakers filed on January a request to the Saudi Ambassador to London, Prince Mohamad Bin Nawaf Bin Abdul Aziz, asking to meet Saudi women activists detained in the Kingdom following human rights organizations reports of abuse and torture inside the prison. Conservative MP Crispin Blunt voiced his fears over the suspicious circumstances surrounding the detention of the Saudi women activists that are quite below the Saudi and international standards, “hence our request,” Blunt said. UK members of Parliament formed a probe committee in November to investigate Human Rights Watch allegations stating that the Saudi authorities have tortured the female prisoners using electric shocks. Activists were campaigning for women’s right to drive and related freedoms (c.f: https://goo.gl/zWudYY). Recalling, that the Saudi government, in an earlier statement to CNN, has refuted the allegations contained in the HRW report, and has categorically and strongly denied them according to the Saudi official news agency. Such claims, it maintained, which are quoted from anonymous or uninformed sources, are simply fabricated and totally untrue. (Al Diyar, January 4, 2019)

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