The Vatican Information Service (VIS) has published today the itinerary of Pope Benedict XVI's forthcoming apostolic trip to Sydney, which include his attendance at the World Youth Day.

There are 41 parishioners from Zgharta Ehden who will be also attending the event, which has been organised by the Parish.

The VIS announcement appears on the Full Story page.


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Sleiman Frangieh, Minister of the Interior and Member of Parliament for Zgharta, is in the Lebanese news today concerning proposed amendments to the electoral law of Lebanon. He was reported saying that the new electoral law would satisfy the Christian community. He is undertaking consultations with all political parties with a view of drafting the new law expected in January 2005.

Mrs Nayla Mouawad, Member of Parliament for Zgharta, is in Sweden attending a two day international conference to combat so called “honour killings” organised by the Swedish Government. The conference is being held on 7th & 8th December and some 200 delegates are attending. Many women through out the world are killed by relatives each year for choosing a partner who are perceived to dishonour the family.

As reported earlier [7th December] Kaissar Mouawad, Member of Parliament for Zgharta is in France with a Lebanese Parliamentary delegation visiting the French Senate, General Assembly and the Cabinet.

The Lebanese media is reporting that on Thursday the Lebanese Cabinet will be discussing amending the law concerning military conscription. It appears that it will be proposed that the present one-year term of service be reduced to six months and that the maximum age be increased from 30 to 33. It is unclear what will be the position of those Lebanese males who live overseas.

Many people blame the compulsory conscription for the apparent shortage of young graduates working in Lebanon. Equally others maintain that military service enhances the sense of Lebanese nationhood in its young.

The photo is of the emblem of the Lebanese Ground Forces North Regional Command.

Member of Parliament for Zgharta, Kaissar Mouawad was part of the Lebanese parliamentary delegation to France which left Lebanon last Sunday. The delegation is part of an ongoing consisting co-operation programme with the French Senate. They will be meeting the President of the French Senate and will visit the French General Assembly, the French Cabinet and the City of Lyons.

The René Mouawad Foundation held a workshop called “Political Participation -How to make a Difference” on 27th and 28th November at the Byblos Sur Mer Hotel.

Dr Stefan Melnik, senior trainer on political participation, of the Friederich Naumann Foundation, led the workshop. Participants consisted of university students from all over Lebanon. Dr. Steffan Melnik discussed with the participants the different levels of participation and its constraints in the Lebanese context, by stressing the way of having useful participation as well as influence in the electoral system to transmit the mission of change.

The workshop was held in collaboration with the Friederich Naumann Foundation, Germany. Theodor Heuss, the first president of the Federal Republic of Germany, established the Foundation in 1958 and it promotes individual freedom and liberalism.

Working with the participants were Ms Damia Henri Mouawad, Mr Christopher Politis and Mrs Rania Abou Nader Zakhia of the René Mouawad Foundation.

The photo shows some of the participants during the workshop. There are more photos of the workshop in the Galleria- Cultural & Civic Events.

Today sees the end of the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress held in Bangkok, Thailand. The Congress took place between 17th and 25th November, which is held every 3-4 years when it debates how best to conserve nature. The initials IUCN stand for International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Friends of Horsh Ehden [FOHE] are members of the ICUN and sent representatives to the Congress. Pierre Ishac Mouawad of FOHE reports that during the Congress FOHE raised their concern about the threats facing the mountain ecosystem in Lebanon. At the behest of FOHE the Congress passed a resolution concerning the “threat of winter Olympic Games and projects on biodiversity”. Lebanon will host in 2009 the 7th Winter Asian Games.

One of the aims of the Congress is to provide unique networking opportunities for governments, organizations and individuals. In this regard FOHE made contact with various foreign NGO’s in particular with an Italian national park with a view of future mutual co-operation concerning Horsh Ehden and the park.

Lebanon’s Independence Day was formally celebrated in Beirut this morning by the traditional military parade of the Lebanese Armed Forces.

On the reviewing stand stood Mrs Nayla Mouawad, between President Lahoud and Speaker Berri. Dressed in black, her presence was a poignant reminder of the death of her husband, President René Mouawad, on the same day fifteen years ago.

Celebratory gunshots were heard in Zgharta today following the official announcement that Suleiman Frangieh had been appointed Minister of the Interior & Municipalities in Lebanon’s new Government.

The Ministry’s responsibilities include the conduct of Municipal and Parliamentary General Elections. New electoral laws will be one of the major items in the new Government’s programme. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for May 2005.

The new Minister’s grandfather, President Sleiman Frangieh (1910-1992) held the same position in 1968.

Following the appointment of Omar Karami, as Lebanon’s new Prime Minister, it is reported that Suleiman Frangieh, the outgoing Minister of Health, and Member of Parliament for Zgharta, has set out his position in respect of a new government.

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The question of who will be in the anticipated new Lebanese Government following the extension of President Lhoud term of office is taking centre stage in the Lebanese media.

Today the headlines report that Public Health Minister and Member of Parliament for Zgharta, Suleiman Tony Frangieh, is saying that unless he is appointed the new Minister of the Interior he will not be a member of the new Government.

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The photo is that of the Minister speaking at the Ehdeniyat 2004.
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On Monday the Beirut offices of the Economic & Social Council were the venue of a meeting of Lebanon’s three major development organisations to discuss the World Bank funded project “Children & Youth Development and Mobilization of Opportunities (CUDMOS).

The organisations attending were the René Mouawad Foundation, Aide au Development Rural and Arc en Ciel.

Nayla Mouawad, President of the René Mouawad Foundation and Member of Parliament for Zgharta was reported saying that the Lebanese youth faced "Unemployment, a lack of experience, and a lack of adequate youth-related legislation".

The aim of CUDMOS is to increase children’s literacy rates, improve health issues for working children and encourage them to participate in civic and political matters at both national and local levels.

Zgharta.com by choice does not enter into the political arena or support any particular person, family, party or group.

It is a territory that zgharta.com avoids as it recognises that the Zgharta Zawie community consists of individuals who hold different and for some strongly held opinions and beliefs.

Zgharta.com believe that it serves the community better by maintaining its neutrality and thereby its independence.

This is not to say it is oblivious to events such as the amendment to the Lebanese Constitution tonight.

We ask those who visit our site to respect each others opinions and remember that we are all Lebanese notwithstanding our differences.

The Washington Post of 4th August reported that Zgharta Member of Parliament, Nayla Mouawad attended the Democratic National Convention, 26 – 29 July , in Boston. At the Convention she joined a large a number of ambassadors and other foreign diplomats and politicians.

The newspaper said that
“Among the nearly 700 political figures from around the world and diplomats from more than 100 countries at the convention were a lone Arab female presidential candidate, Nayla Mouawad, of Lebanon…………”

Media reports say that previous indications that Suleiman Frangieh, Minister of Health and Member of Parliament for Zgharta, will stand as a candidate for President of Lebanon are gathering momentum.

As part of a campaign for lower mobile charges fifteen associations and lobbying groups have asked Lebanese mobile users not to use their mobiles from midnight Wednesday to midnight Thursday.

Three of Lebanon's universities - the Lebanese American University, Saint Joseph University and Notre-Dame University – held their graduation ceremony’s last weekend.

The Australian Embassy has moved its location as from 15 June.
The new address is
Embassy Complex
Serial Hill
Centre Ville
Beirut

The contact details for the Immigration & Visa section are:
Tel: 01 97 39 70
Fax: 01 97 39 71
E-mail: dima-beirut@dfet.gov.au
Web site: www.lebanon.embassy.gov.au

On Sunday a mass was held in Zgharta on the 26th anniversary of the death of Tony Sleiman Frangieh.

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On Saturday Suleiman Tony Frangieh (Minister of Public Health and Member of Parliament of Zgharta) and his wife Rima were guests at a charity gala.

The gala dinner was held to celebrate the 10th university of the Lebanese charity , The Chronic Care Centre, which took place at the Royal Pavilion of the Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure Centre.

The Charity was founded in response to the need to provide care, education and integration of children in society who suffered from the medical conditions-thalassemia and diabetes.Thalassemia, similar to diabetes, is a genetic blood disorder which makes people with the condition unable to make enough haemoglobin, causing severe anaemia.

Mr and Mrs Frangieh are pictured together at the gala.

The Greek Embassy in Lebanon organised a reception celebrating Greek food and music on Monday. The event was held in the Mosaic Restaurant of the Phoenicia Inter-Continental Hotel, Beirut.

The British Embassy’s Trade and Investment Attaché , Mr Paul Khawaja and his wife Monique, both of Zgharta, attended the reception.

Mr and Mrs Khawaja appear in the photograph opposite.

The Inter – Parliamentary Union’s 110th Assembly is being held in Mexico City from 15th to 23rd April. The Lebanese parliamentary delegation consists of Deputy Speaker Elie Ferzli and Nayla Mouawad, Member of Parliament for Zgharta.

It is reported that Tanios Khoury, President of the Higher Judicial Council of Lebanon and Adnan Addoum, State Prosecutor, on Wednesday, confirmed at a press conference at the Palace of Justice in Beirut, that legal procedures with regard to crimes against politicians during the civil war but not covered by the general amnesty law would be followed “up to the end”.
The State Prosecutor said that in regard to the assassination of the late President René Mouawad a judicial investigator had questioned witnesses and a technical report had been drawn up as to the kind of explosives used to blow up the President’s motorcade, and their source. He said that a report had been given to the President’s widow, Nayla Mouawad, Member of Parliament for Zgharta.

Deputy Prime Minister Issam Fares said on Friday to reporters that speaking as a Member of Parliament he would support a constitutional amendment regarding the presidential elections, but that he would "elect any candidate from the North" if such an amendment was not proposed.

After a meeting with Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, at Bkirki, Nayla Mouawad, Member of Parliament for Zgharta and declared Presidential candidate, reiterated again that the Presidential election due later this year should take place on time.

The British Lebanese Association held a charity gala on Wednesday at London’s Park Lane Hotel to celebrate an exhibition of post-1975 Lebanese art work, titled “Lebanon: The Artist’s View II,” currently on show at London’s Cork Street Gallery. Guests paid $150 with all proceeds going to the Association’s Scholarship Fund and the Lebanese Association of SOS Villages, which supports orphans.