Lebanese family accused of stealing $4.3M coin from German museum

A Lebanese family in Germany is accused of stealing a giant gold coin from a Berlin museum worth about $4.3 million, prosecutors said.

Authorities seized 77 properties owned by members of the unidentified Lebanese family suspected of “mafia-style” crimes. The properties included homes, apartment blocks and garden allotments.

Prosecutors said they recovered about $11.7 million worth of property, but were unable to locate the gold coin.

A Lebanese family is accused of stealing a gold coin valued at $4.3 million. (File photo)
A Lebanese family is accused of stealing a gold coin valued at $4.3 million. (File photo)

 

The coin, known as the Canadian “Big Maple Leaf,” belonged to Berlin’s Bode Museum. It was made of pure 24-carat gold, worth about $4.3 million, despite its lower face value.

Prosecutors believe the coin was stolen in March 2017.

RELATED: Duo accused of stealing from 10+ churches in Mount Lebanon

Authorities said they are now investigating 16 members of the Lebanese family involved in an organized crime ring. No one has been arrested or charged yet.

“The difficult thing with these family structures is that you need leads.” Berlin chief state prosecutor Jörg Raupach told DW. “There’s a crime, money is missing, where has it gone? Working out where that money went is a tough task, but sometimes, as in this case, it leads to a partial success.”

Some gold price experts fear the gold may have been melted down and sold.

 

 

Ancient relics of Saint Marina the Monk arrive in Lebanon

The ancient relics of Saint Marina the Monk have landed at the Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, the state-run Lebanese National News agency reported.

Saint Marina’s preserved body arrived in a glass box, and was transported to the Maronite Patriarchate in Dimane.

According to Christian teachings, Marina lived in Lebanon’s Kadisha Valley as a monk in the 5th century. She was disguised as a man under the name Marinos.

Marina renounced women’s clothing and said she wanted to live as a monk to dedicate her life to religion, Maronite accounts said.

Saint Marina the Monk arrives at the Beirut International Airport. (Lebanese National News Agency)
Saint Marina the Monk arrives at the Beirut International Airport. (Lebanese National News Agency)

Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil and Maronite religious representatives welcomed the relics of Saint Marina at the airport, and watched the transfer from Venice to Lebanon.

The relics were kept and venerated in Venice by the Catholic Church for nearly 200 years.

The relics will remain in Lebanon until July 23, NNA added.

Report: Pope approves Lebanon to list of ‘Christian pilgrimage’ sites

Pope Francis has reportedly approved Lebanon to the official list of Christian pilgrimage sites in 2019, according to the state-run Lebanese National News agency.

Lebanese Charge d’Affaires in Vatican City Khalil Karam told NNA the authorization will put Lebanon back on the list of official pilgrimage destinations for the first time in 12 years.

Lebanon was previously on the list in 2007.

Worshipers gather at the site of St. Sharbel in Annaya, Lebanon. (Lebanese Examiner)
Worshipers gather at the site of St. Sharbel in Annaya, Lebanon. (Lebanese Examiner)

Karam said President Michel Aoun discussed the potential move with senior Vatican officials during a visit in March 2017.

He said leaders from the Lebanese government have been holding meetings with Vatican officials about recommended pilgrimage sites, hotels and accommodations.

The announcement is expected to attract thousands of Christian pilgrims to Lebanon, and boost the tourism industry. Lebanon relies heavily on the tourism industry, accounting for about 18 percent of the country’s GDP.

Lebanon is one of the earliest regions to adopt Christianity, and was mentioned in the Old Testament. The country is also home to the Maronite Church and the birthplace to several Maronite saints.

Jbeil District to ban all use of plastic bags by the end of 2018

The municipality of Jbeil will ban all use of plastic bags by the start of 2019, officials confirmed.

In a memo issued by the municipality, the local government has urged all supermarkets and retail outlets to replace plastic bags with eco-friendly alternatives by the start of next year.

The municipality is attempting to cut down some of its waste, and is urging other cities and municipalities to follow suit.

In the published memo, Jbeil Mayor Wissam Zaarour is asking the owners of establishments to replace plastic bags with eco-friendly ones (Facebook/Municipality of Jbail-Byblos)
In the published memo, Jbeil Mayor Wissam Zaarour is asking the owners of establishments to replace plastic bags with eco-friendly ones (Facebook/Municipality of Jbail-Byblos)

Many Lebanese environmental groups praised the decision, including Greenpeace Mediterranean global campaign.

“The Jbeil municipality got it right,” Julien Jreissati, a Greenpeace campaigner, told The Daily Star. “Our path out of this garbage crisis starts by reducing the amount of waste we produce.”

RELATED: Wind Power industry in Lebanon industry attracts bids from 40+ companies

The memo’s release comes just two days after Starbucks announced it will stop using disposable plastic straws by 2020 in a effort to eliminate some of the 335 million tons of plastic waste produced globally every year.

Lebanese man accused of scamming World Cup fans out of $250k

A Lebanese man is accused of scamming World Cup fans from Saudi Arabia out of $250,000, the Russian news agency TASS reported.

The Lebanese citizen, who resided in Moscow, was charged with fraud in absentia for the alleged scam. The unidentified man is now on the run.

According to TASS, the Lebanese man told Saudi fans he would arrange a flight from Moscow to the southern city of Volgograd in return for 15.6 million rubles, or $252,000.

After he collected the money, the man vanished and could not be reached.

Saudia Arabia team at the World Cup. (File photo)
Saudia Arabia team at the World Cup. (File photo)

“The police have found out that a Lebanese native registered in Moscow was behind this crime,” a source told the TASS news agency. “He has been charged in absentia, measures are being taken to detain him.”

Russian news agency Interfax reported that a Saudi man gave the suspect about 220,000 euros on June 24. The suspect said he would arrange for flights from the man and his friends.

The fans were set to travel to Volgograd to watch Saudi Arabia play Egypt in their final World Cup group phase match.

Saudi Arabia won the match 2-1.

Fire extinguished at American University of Beirut Medical Center

A fire at the American University of Beirut Medical Center was extinguished Tuesday, and operations returned to normal, officials announced.

In a statement, AUBMC said the blaze started on the second floor of the building, and was quickly contained.

“The fire occurred in the fiber scrubber outside the walls of the building,” the statement said. “Smoke was discharged directly into the open air.”

A fire was extinguished Tuesday at the American University of Beirut Medical Center. (Lebanese National News Agency)
A fire was extinguished Tuesday at the American University of Beirut Medical Center. (Lebanese National News Agency)

Administration officials said the AUBMC Plant Eningeering Team and Emergency Response Team were “very responsive in taking the necessary action to extinguish the fire promptly and secure the location.”

Operations were not interrupted, and hospital staff returned to business as usual, AUBMC officials added.

AUBMC is a 420-bed hospital and academic center that provides comprehensive medical care for patients in Lebanon.

The medical center is located on Cairo Street in Beirut’s Hamra area.

The center expanded in 1970 with a state-of-the-art medical center in Beirut. The building has an elaborate outpatient facility, an emergency department, research laboratories, classrooms and offices for academic staff, according to its website.

Beirut’s airport to receive simulation technology from New Zealand

Air traffic control at the Beirut International Airport will receive advanced simulation technology from New Zealand to better train its employees on air traffic protocol and flight data.

The International Civil Aviation Organization announced an agreement made between Airways New Zealand and Lebanon’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

The agreement includes a Total Control LC tower simulator and two radar simulators, which will be used by instructors to oversee air traffic in training scenarios, Airways New Zealand said in a statement.

Beirut's airport will receive simulation technology from New Zealand. (Airways New Zealand)
Beirut’s airport will receive simulation technology from New Zealand. (Airways New Zealand)

“We are proud to partner with (Lebanon) as they work to enhance their ATC training using our highly advanced simulation technology,” said Sharon Cooke, CEO of Airways New Zealand. “We’re equally proud to have Airways technology and expertise being installed in a region where air traffic movements are growing rapidly yet there’s a critical gap for the training of air traffic controllers.”

The new technology will imitate full air traffic control using the latest flight data in the region. There are also 3D graphic displays which allow employees and trainees to simulate weather events.

The Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport is Lebanon’s only operational commercial airport.

Lebanon’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation is responsible for operating air traffic control and controlling Lebanese airspace.

Lebanese marijuana among ‘best in the world,’ minister says

A Lebanese minister hinted that marijuana could bring a major boost to Lebanon’s economy, and stand out as “among the best in the world,” Bloomberg News reported.

Minister of Economy and Trade Raed Khoury said marijuana, which is illegal in Lebanon, could diversify the economy and open new markets.

“The quality (of cannabis) we have is one of the best in the world,” Khoury told Bloomberg News, adding that marijuana could become a one-billion-dollar industry.

Lebanese Minister of Economy and Trade Raed Khoury. (Facebook/Raed Khoury)
Lebanese Minister of Economy and Trade Raed Khoury. (Facebook/Raed Khoury)

In a plan to help grow Lebanon’s economy, the New York-based consulting firm McKinsey & Company suggested “quick wins” to help the country in the short term.

The plan reportedly included investing in prefabricated housing for reconstruction in Iraq and Syria, investing in tourism and growing two crops — avocados and cannabis.

RELATED: Officials: 15 tons of marijuana seized at Beirut paint warehouse

RELATED: LAU to study ‘potential medical value’ of marijuana in Lebanon

Khoury said implementing the McKinsey & Company report would substantially help Lebanon’s economy, which is the third most-indebted nation in the world.

He believes Lebanon, which has marijuana farms in the Bekaa Valley, could legalize the growing and exporting of the drug for medical treatment.

Khoury is not the first minister to stand by the legalization of marijuana. In 2015, former minister Walid Jumblatt suggested the economic impact would be significant for the region.

RELATED: Jumblatt renews call for legalizing weed in Lebanon

“Never in my life have I smoked marijuana, but I support growing cannabis for medical use and to improve the living conditions of farmers in north Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley,” Jumblatt previously told Al-Jadeed television.

Lebanese tourist accused of ‘insulting Egypt’ sentenced to 8 years in jail

A Lebanese tourist accused of “insulting Egypt” on a viral video has been sentenced to 8 years in prison by a Cairo court, Al Jazeera reported.

Mona El-Mazboh, 24, was arrested last month after posting a Facebook video complaining of sexual harassment and poor conditions in Egypt.

Egyptian authorities deemed the comments illegal, and transferred the tourist to jail pending a criminal trial.

El-Mazboh was sentenced with 8 years in prison with hard labor, and ordered to pay a $600 fine, the Egyptian Independent reported.

The profanity-laced video, which has since been removed, included comments that Egypt was a “lowly, dirty country,” and “Egyptian men are pimps and women prostitutes,” Al Jazeera added.

She also called Egypt a “son of a b—- country,” and said she “hopes God sends (Egyptians) someone more oppressive than Sisi,” referring to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The court argued that El-Mazboh deliberately spread “false rumors” that would harm society, and attacked religion and the Egyptian government.

Mona El-Mazboh responds to controversy in a second video posted to her Facebook. (YouTube screenshot)
Mona El-Mazboh responds to controversy in a second video posted to her Facebook. (YouTube screenshot)

Her attorney argued that she suffered from neurological and psychological disorders, including depression, which impaired her ability to control anger.

El-Mazbouh’s attorney Emad Kamal said he would appeal the sentence.

“Of course, God willing, the verdict will change. With all due respect to the judiciary, this is a severe ruling,” Kamal told Al Jazeera. “It is in the context of the law, but the court was applying the maximum penalty.”

Shortly after the first video went viral, El-Mazboh posted a second video apologizing to “respectable Egyptians” for her comments.

Egyptian rights activists believe the arrest and sentence is an intense crackdown of Internet censorship.

Councilwoman apologizes after comparing violence in Nashville to Beirut

A politician in Tennessee issued an apology after she compared youth violence in Nashville to Beirut during a public city council meeting.

Nashville councilwoman Erica Gilmore said her comments were meant to address issues of youth violence in the Tennessee capital.

“My comment was not meant to disparage Lebanon or to imply any negativity regarding the wonderful people of Lebanon,” Gilmore said in a statement. “I have always held Lebanon and its citizens in high regard and even lived there during my study at the American University of Beirut.”

During a televised meeting, the councilwoman said youth poverty and violence has become a crisis, and the issues compare to the challenges facing an underdeveloped nation.

Gilmore apologized after comparing violence in Nashville to Beirut. (EricaGilmore.com)
Gilmore apologized after comparing violence in Nashville to Beirut. (EricaGilmore.com)

“People do not recognize there are kids out there that are in such poverty that we are like a third world country,” she said during the meeting. “I feel like I was in Beirut.”

RELATED: Tennessee politician compares violence in Nashville to Beirut

Gilmore responded to Lebanese Examiner’s story three days later with a statement posted to Facebook.

“I hope this situation can be turned into a positive for both cities of Nashville and Beirut. Both cities are beautiful and have great people that live there.” Gilmore added. “However, we can always do more to improve the lives and safety of our great cities.”

According to her online biography, Gilmore completed a study-abroad program at the American University of Beirut while studying at Howard University in Washington, D.C.\

READ FULL STATEMENT HERE:

Recently, I made a comment comparing the prevalence of violent crime in my hometown of Nashville to similar situations in Beirut Lebanon. My comments were based on U.S. State Department travel advisories to Lebanon and news reports regarding increasing violent crime rates in Beirut. My intention was only to create attention regarding issues of violence to my hometown so that we could begin to more proactively address this serious matter. My comment was not meant to disparage Lebanon or to imply any negativity regarding the wonderful people of Lebanon. I am sorry that some have mistakenly believed that my comment was intended to disparage Lebanon. I have always held Lebanon and its citizens in high regard and even lived there during my study at the American University of Beirut. I had a wonderful experience and was treated with kindness and respect by the Lebanese people. I will forever cherish my time in Beirut and the people that were so generous to me.

I hope that this situation can be turned into a positive for both cities of Nashville and Beirut. Both cities are beautiful and have great people that live there. However, we can always do more to improve the lives and safety of our great cities. I wish the people of Beirut all the best in their efforts to elevate the lives of its fine citizens, and I will continue every day trying to elevate the lives of Nashvillians the best that I can. May God bless our two great cities and our people.

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