Examiner Staff

LebaneseExaminer.com is your leading source for 24-hour news and community coverage.

Top Egypt censor quits after Wehbe film pulled

CAIRO: The head of Egypt’s censorship board has resigned in protest at a decision to pull Lebanese star Haifa Wehbe’s latest movie, which has been criticised for scenes deemed sexually provocative.

On Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab ordered “Halawet Rooh” (Beauty of the Soul) not to be screened until the censorship board reviews it again.

Revealing clothes worn by the pop and film star in the movie, sexually explicit movements and scenes featuring a young boy fascinated by her have stirred harsh criticism.

The censorship board head, film-maker Ahmed Awad, announced his resignation late Friday on the privately owned television channel CBC Two, saying he stood by his decision to allow the film to be shown.

The Egyptian-made movie, said to have been inspired by Monica Bellucci’s 2000 hit “Malena”, was released nationwide on April 3 for adults only audiences.

“I took the decision to allow the movie: I stand by it and I bear complete responsibility,” Awad said.

“The state has another opinion – they canceled our decision and withdrew the production”, he added, saying he was not consulted.

“Like any other self-respecting official, I presented my resignation.”

The plot revolves around Rooh, played by Wehbe, who ignites passions among men in her neighbourhood when her husband is away.

Independent newspaper Al-Masry al-Youm lashed out at the movie in a review headlined: “Halawet Rooh: how to produce an Egyptian porn movie.”

And Egypt’s National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, a government body, said the film posed “a moral danger” which could impact “public morals negatively”.

It praised Mahlab’s order as “responsible and wise”.

One media commentator saw possible sinister connotations in the ban.

“The one who bans a movie because he thinks it breaks morals will ban a movie” tomorrow for political reasons, television host Ibrahim Eissa said.

Source: AFP

PHOTOS: Lebanese-Americans observe Good Friday

The Lebanese-American community observed Good Friday, which marks the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, with prayers and a Lenten dinner on March 18.

Worshippers gathered at churches around the country to commemorate the death of Jesus on the cross. In Michigan, hundreds of Lebanese-Americans packed local churches for a traditional evening liturgy and dinner.

Close to 200 parishioners attended Our Lady of Redemption Melkite Catholic Church in Warren led by Rev. Michel Cheble.

At St. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church in Warren, close to 1,000 people packed all corners of the church. An overflow room with a projector and screen was set up to accommodate for the large crowds.

“The church was packed with people from all over the state. This is a perfect lead-in to Easter Sunday and it signifies just how much this community continues to grow,” Maurice Farah, secretary of the Lebanese-American Club of Michigan said.

Farah is also a leader of the St. Laba Hasroun Society, which sponsored the Lenten dinner, which was catered by Ike’s Restaurant in Sterling Heights.

Bishop Robert Joseph Shaheen and Chorbishop Alfred Badawi led the Good Friday liturgy. Bishop Shaheen is visiting Michigan for a special Holy Week outreach trip.

Check out the gallery of photos from our Facebook page below.

S&P raises outlook of Lebanese banks

BEIRUT: International rating agency Standard & Poor’s has raised its outlook for Lebanon-based Bank Audi, BankMed and BLOM Bank to stable from negative, just a week after upgrading the outlook of Lebanon from negative to stable.

“At the same time, we affirmed our ‘B-’ long-term counterparty credit ratings on all three banks. We also affirmed our short-term counterparty credit ratings on Bank Audi and BankMed at ‘C,’” S&P said.

S&P attributed this revision to the ability of Lebanese banks to finance the public debt thanks to the steady flow of deposits the lenders receive each year.

“The outlook revision on the sovereign reflects our view that the government’s debt-service capacity is materially determined by the strength of deposit flows to the financial system. In our view, this funding source has helped stabilize the government’s financing needs during increasingly challenging times for the internal and external political environments,” it said.

Lebanese banks hold the bulk of the treasury bills and Eurobonds, increasing the risk of exposure to default. Lebanese lenders intend to roll over around $1.6 billion in Eurobonds that mature in April and May of this year.

The move comes as lawmakers consider raising the tax on interest on customer deposits from 5 to 7 percent and applying similar taxes on the banks’ investments in Lebanese securities.

This proposal prompted banks to threaten to raise interest rates on personal and housing loans if these taxes were applied.

S&P said Audi, BLOM and BankMed were still highly exposed to the high public debt risks.

“Despite the three banks’ sound geographic diversification by regional standards, and risk-control strategies since the Syrian outbreak, we believe that they are highly exposed to their domestic operating environment. This includes primarily their very large exposure to the sovereign. Consequently, our ratings on these banks do not exceed those on the sovereign,” it said.

It added that the stable outlooks on Bank Audi, BLOM Bank, and BankMed mirror S&P’s stable outlook on Lebanon.

“The stable outlook on the sovereign reflects our view that deposit inflows to the financial system will enable the government to meet its financing needs over the coming year despite the difficult internal and external political environment. Owing to the close links between Lebanese banks’ creditworthiness and that of the sovereign, specific factors relating to each of the three banks that would prompt a change in the respective ratings appear limited at this stage,” S&P said.

Last week, Audi, BLOM and Byblos distributed the dividends to the shareholders during general assembly meetings.

Bank Audi’s board of directors proposed a $0.40 for 2013 flat from last year, BLOM Bank $0.50 for 2013, up from $0.45 in 2012, and Byblos Bank’s BOD offered a $0.133 for 2013 up from $0.126 last year.

According to FFA Private Bank, at today’s listed share prices, dividend yields remain attractive at 6.5 percent, 5.5 percent and 8.0 percent for Bank Audi, BLOM Bank and Byblos Bank respectively.

Source: The Daily Star

Hezbollah raps Geagea candidacy, calls for compromise

BEIRUT: Hezbollah Friday implicitly rejected Samir Geagea’s candidacy for the presidency, saying the Lebanese Forces leader’s move could delay holding the presidential election on time and cause trouble in the politically divided country.

MP Mohammad Raad, head of Hezbollah’s bloc in Parliament, also said his party would only support a presidential candidate who defended the resistance, a long-running divisive issue among the Lebanese.

“Some candidacies that are not qualified [for the presidency] might obstruct holding the election. The country cannot endure a problem and a clash between two national options,” Raad told a rally in south Lebanon, in a clear reference to Geagea’s bid for president.

“There is no time for [forging] a major political compromise over these two options because an agreement on a president cannot be reached unless there is a consensus over a compromise,” he said.

Raad was apparently referring to the two conflicting options over Hezbollah’s arsenal. While the March 14 coalition wants Hezbollah to disarm and surrender its missiles to the Lebanese Army, the March 8 alliance insists that the party keep its weapons to defend Lebanon against a possible Israeli attack.

Geagea, an outspoken critic of Hezbollah, has repeatedly called on the party to hand over its arsenal to the Army, saying a powerful state cannot be built while illegitimate arms remain in the hands of any party. Geagea and his March 14 allies have also slammed Hezbollah’s military intervention in Syria to support President Bashar Assad’s forces.

Days after announcing he would run for president, Geagea unveiled Wednesday a broad political platform stressing the state’s monopoly over the use of arms, a move intended to deprive Hezbollah of its arsenal.

In an apparent response to Geagea’s platform, Raad said Hezbollah would only support a candidate who defended the resistance.

“We want a candidate who will safeguard and defend the resistance option and is keen on the unity of the Lebanese,” Raad said. “With regard to major national issues, abandoning the resistance option in favor of another option will threaten national sovereignty and put the country on the brink of a new abyss.”

“Therefore, we advise those concerned [with the presidential election] to be wise and refrain from embarking on miscalculated adventures,” he said.

The presidential race has moved into high gear after Speaker Nabih Berri Wednesday called on Parliament to convene on April 23 to elect a new president.

The parliamentary session will likely fail to elect a president as no candidate appears ready to secure two-thirds of the MPs’ votes, and the session may not achieve quorum.

In addition to Geagea, Western Bekaa MP Robert Ghanem from the March 14 coalition has also announced his candidacy.

Kataeb Party leader Amine Gemayel is also expected to announce his candidacy for the presidency in the new few days.

As news of Gemayel’s nomination spread, LF and Kataeb officials were in contact in an attempt to reach consensus over a single March 14 candidate.

Geagea’s wife, MP Strida Geagea, telephoned Gemayel asking to meet at the latter’s residence in Bikfaya.

“The LF and the Kataeb Party are very close to an agreement on approaching the presidential election in such a way to ensure March 14 unity in order to wage the presidential battle under the best conditions,” an LF source said.

An LF delegation will soon visit Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun in Rabieh, north of Beirut, to give him a copy of Geagea’s political platform. LF delegations will also visit March 8 and March 14 leaders for the same purpose.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai spoke by telephone with Geagea to congratulate him on his nomination for president and the declaration of his political platform, a statement from the LF chief’s office said.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt said he was still undecided on which candidate to support for the presidency.

“I will choose [a candidate] at the last minute after consulting my conscience and my partners,” he told Al-Ousbou Al-Arabi magazine. “I will consult Speaker Nabih Berri first, the Future Movement and other sides.”

Jumblatt, head of a seven-member parliamentary bloc, is seen as the kingmaker in the presidential election as his support for one of the two rival factions can tip the balance in its favor.

Separately, a Future Movement source denied Friday that former Prime Minister Saad Hariri would return to Lebanon to attend next week’s parliamentary session to elect a new president.

“Such allegations are not true,” the source told The Daily Star. “Hariri has no intention of coming back to Lebanon at the moment.”

Earlier Friday, Future MP Samir Jisr told the Voice of Lebanon radio station that Hariri might come to Beirut next week to attend the parliamentary session to elect a president.

Source: The Daily Star

Berri: Conditions not ripe to hold elections on Wednesday; hopes Hariri will attend

Speaker Nabih Berri voiced his skepticism that the parliamentary session to elect a president will be held, saying that the conditions to ensure its success are “not ripe yet,” reported As Safir newspaper on Friday.

He remarked: “The conditions may not be ripe at the moment, but that does not mean that they will not be available before next Wednesday.”

The speaker had called parliament to convene on April 23 to elect a president.

Asked if head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri will attend the session, Berri replied: “I hope so and that he would remain in Lebanon permanently.”

Media reports had linked a recent visit by Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi to Saudi Arabia to Hariri’s return to Lebanon to attend the presidential elections session.

Commenting on the session, Berri said that he will kick it off once the quorum of two-thirds of lawmakers is met and then the election process could get underway.

“If a president is elected during this first round, then the elections would be complete, otherwise a second or third round may be held,” he explained.

In addition, he revealed that he will chair a meeting for his Development and Liberation bloc on Tuesday in order to discuss the presidential elections and agree on a candidate, said al-Joumhouria newspaper.

“The March 8 camp only has one candidate and that is Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun. The March 14 alliance on the other hand has several candidates,” he remarked.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea of the March 14 alliance is so far the only official to submit his candidacy.

He presented his presidential program on Wednesday.

Media reports had said on Thursday that Kataeb Party chief Amin Gemayel, also of the March 14 camp, will announce his nomination before the end of the week.

The March 8 camp has not yet announced its candidate, but Aoun has reportedly informed his ally Hizbullah that he is prepared to take the post if there was consensus on him.

Aoun has allegedly sent similar messages to Hariri, who leads the March 14 camp.

Berri has said that any candidate must secure two-thirds of votes to win in the first round of elections and half-plus-one or 65 votes of the 128-member parliament to win in the second round.

Source: Naharnet

Jumblatt undecided on presidential candidate

BEIRUT: Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt said in comments published Friday that he is still undecided on which candidate he will endorse for the presidency as Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad indirectly warned against controversial candidates.

“I will choose [a candidate] at the last minute after consulting my conscience and my partners,” he told Al-Ousbou Al-Arabi magazine.

“I will consult Speaker Nabih Berri first, the Future Movement and other sides,” Jumblatt said.

“I will not declare anything about the subject and I prefer we have [announced] candidates with clear economic and social platforms.”

Jumblatt also denied media reports that he would not vote for Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea or Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.

“I never said that,” he said.

Jumblatt, head of the National Struggle Front bloc, is seen as the kingmaker in the nation’s political landscape as his support for one of the major coalitions can tip the balance in its favor.

The two-month constitutional deadline for electing a new president started on March 25 and Parliament is set to meet next Wednesday to elect a new president.

Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea, a March 14 coalition leader, has announced his candidacy, saying his platform would focus on strengthening the state and combating the proliferation of arms in the country.

Another March 14 leader, Kataeb head Amine Gemayel, is also expected to announce his candidacy while MP Michel Aoun, Hezbollah’s main Christian ally, has yet to join the race.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Raad, head of the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc, said his party would support a presidential candidate who defends the resistance.

“We want a candidate who will support and protect the resistance strategy and who is keen on the unity of the Lebanese people,” Raad said during a memorial service in south Lebanon.

“We advice politicians to be wise and refrain from embarking on miscalculated adventures,” he said, apparently referring to problematic nominees. “What is needed is to help the country pass through this phase as we preserve its sovereignty.”

 

Source: The Daily Star

Ongoing contacts between Lebanese Forces, Kataeb to name single March 14 candidate

Contacts are underway between the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb party in an attempt to reach consensus over a single March 14 presidential candidate, after several party officials close to Amin Gemayel hinted that the former president might soon announce running for office.

LBCI television reported on Friday that the ongoing contacts between Bikfayya and Maarab are close to reaching consensus over the presidential elections, in an attempt to preserve the March 14 coalition’s unity.

LBCI first said that LF MP Sethrida Geagea was tasked with contacting the Kataeb party.

But later, it noted that the party’s chief, Samir Geagea and not MP Sethrida Geagea, was the person in contact with Kataeb officials.

Al-Mustaqbal MP Fatfat told al-Arabiya on Friday afternoon that Geagea has introduced “a new approach of political work in Lebanon and a new aspect of democracy by announcing his candidacy.”

“This is because the tradition before was having under-the-table negotiations,” he commented.

He also remarked that March 14 will reveal its candidate for presidency after Gemayel takes a final decision on his nomination.

“But reports said contacts are underway between LF and Kataeb over this matter and we think that this is a positive sign,” the al-Mustaqbal lawmaker expressed.

In a related matter, MTV said that a LF delegation will visit Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun in the coming hours to hand him over Geagea’s presidential program, and to discuss the upcoming elections with him.

Kataeb MP Elie Marouni assured on Thursday that Gemayel is a “natural candidate in the presidential race, because the party sees in him a strong and popular president.”

Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi, who’s Gemayel’s adviser, announced as well that the Kataeb leader is preparing to declare his candidacy.

On Wednesday, Geagea announced a presidential program that focused on “restoring the authority of the state against the proliferation of weapons during a time of regional unrest.”

The LF chief also called for a state monopoly on the use of force, including confronting Israel.

He is the sole politician to have officially announced his candidacy for the polls, which are first scheduled to be held on April 23.

Speaker Nabih Berri called on MPs to meet next Wednesday, although the election is not expected to be an easy process amid a lack of agreement on a consensual candidate.

President Michel Suleiman’s six-year tenure ends on May 25.

Source: Naharnet

Syrian state TV: 14 killed in car bombing in Homs

BEIRUT: A powerful car bomb exploded Friday outside a mosque in a pro-government district of central Syria, killing 14 people in the latest violence to hit the war-shattered city, state-run Syrian television reported.

The bombing occurred as worshippers left the Bilal al-Habshi mosque on the edge of Akrama after attending Friday prayers, the report said, and also wounded at least 50 people.

The area, populated mainly by Alawites, members of President Bashar Assad’s minority sect, repeatedly has been targeted by car bombs in recent months.

Opposition activists also reported the blast. The Syrian Observatory for Human rights said the explosion killed at least nine people, adding that the number likely would rise because many of the wounded were in critical condition.

The attack coincides with a crushing offensive by government forces aimed at retaking the last rebel bastions in the historic quarters of the old city of Homs. The last few days has seen some of the fiercest fighting there in months, and the government claimed more progress on Friday.

A military official quoted by the state-run news agency said troops seized several buildings in the Wadi al-Sayeh area, including the landmark St. George church.

The old neighborhoods of Homs, a city often referred to as the capital of the revolution, is the last major stronghold for rebels in central Syria, and the fight to take it underscores how emboldened Syrian forces have become in opposition-held areas, bolstered by fighters from the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

Activists say more than 150,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict since it began in March 2011 with largely peaceful protests calling for Assad’s ouster. The larger fight to topple Assad has been undermined by fierce rebel infighting, particularly since the beginning of the year.

In an audio message posted on militant websites late Thursday, the spokesman of a powerful al-Qaida breakaway group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, slammed the terror network’s chief, blaming him for the widening rift between rival Islamic rebels.

Abu Mohammed al-Adnani accused al-Qaida’s top leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, of “deviating from the right approach” and betraying the cause of jihad, or holy war.

Since January, the Islamic State has been engaged in fierce fighting against an al-Qaida affiliate called the Nusra Front. Thousands of fighters have been killed.

The fighting intensified after al-Zawahri stepped into the rivalry. The Islamic State rejected his orders that the Nusra Front take the lead among Islamic fighters in Syria.

“The al-Qaida of today is no longer the al-Qaida of jihad, but its command has become a pickaxe to demolish the Islamic State,” al-Adnani said.

He said that al-Qaida’s leadership has been calling ISIL followers renegades without a proof, inciting other Muslims to kill their fighters.

The shadowy al-Adnani is one of the world’s most feared terrorists, infamous for his relentless bombing campaigns against Iraqi civilians, audacious jailbreaks of fellow militants and for expanding the organization into Syria.

His audio message suggested that rebels in Syria will remain locked in the infighting that has eroded their ranks and cost them territory to government forces supporting Assad.

Al-Golani, the Nusra Front leader, called on the Islamic State in February for arbitration by Islamic clerics, but the group did not respond to the initiative.

The infighting escalated few days later after the killing of Abu Khaled al-Suri, who had acted as al-Zawahri’s representative in Syria.

Rebels and activists believe he was assassinated by two suicide attackers from the Islamic State.

Source: Associated Press

Algeria’s Bouteflika wins election: official results

ALGIERS: Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the aging independence veteran who has been in power for 15 years, has won re-election with 81.53 percent of the vote, according to official preliminary election results issued on Friday.

Bouteflika, 77, had been widely expected to win a fourth term, even though he appeared only rarely since a stroke last year. Opposition parties boycotted the vote or denounced Thursday’s election as a fraud.

Source: Reuters

PHOTOS: Washing of the feet at St. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church in Warren

St. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church in Warren, MI welcomed Bishop Robert Joseph Shaheen on Thursday, to help perform the traditional washing of the feet ritual. The washing of the feet during Holy Thursday services in Christian churches is a call for all to be of service to others, religious leaders say.

Holy Thursday kicks off the Easter Tridiuum, the holiest time on the Christian calendar, which includes Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil.

Bishop Shaheen is visiting St. Sharbel for the Holy Week. He is expected to participate in both the Good Friday and Easter liturgies.

Check out the gallery of photographs below. Photos courtesy of Mr. John Feghali.

Send this to friend