Archive for February 8th, 2014
A Teacher, a wife, a mother: Beaten to death in broad daylight in a crowded place…
Posted on: February 8, 2014
A Teacher, a wife, a mother: Beaten to death in broad daylight in a crowded place…
Family Violence is reaching the media, after centuries of being buried under carpets. These kinds of violence are not exclusive to under-developed societies, but are even more common in countries where opportunities to experience and witness violence are widespread.
Family violence is basically a community responsibility to monitor, re0educate, control, and expose.
BEIRUT: A woman died in a Beirut hospital early Wednesday due to injuries she suffered when her husband allegedly beat her repeatedly with a pressure cooker, a security source told The Daily Star.
Dahlia Nehme published in The Daily Star this Feb. 6, 2014
The husband, Mohammad al-Nhaily reportedly used the kitchen appliance to strike Manal al-Assi, his second wife, a mother of two, and a teacher, after a quarrel turned violent.
The incident took place in front of their two daughters, Tala and Sara, in their home in the Beirut neighborhood of Tariq al-Jadideh, the source said.
According to Assi’s brother, the neighbors heard the couple’s screams and called the local police station, only to be told by security personnel there that they couldn’t interfere in a family matter.
After beating Assi, Nhaily wrapped her in a carpet and tried to hide his crime, the brother told The Daily Star.
But neighbors and members of Assi’s family who live nearby broke into the house and rushed her to nearby Makassed Hospital.
Nhaily, a carpenter, managed to flee while the neighbors and family members were preoccupied with Assi, the brother said.
However, attempts to save Assi’s life failed, and she died 12 hours after being admitted to the hospital as a result of a deadly hemorrhage, the security source said.
Assi’s family held a funeral in Ali ben Abi Taleb mosque Wednesday and laid her to rest in Martyrs Cemetery, with shots fired into the air in tribute.
Assi and Nhaily’s daughters are staying at their grandparents’ house for the time being.
Assi’s family has filed a complaint against their son-in-law based on the medical report and the coroner’s examination of her body.
Neighbors told The Daily Star that the couple usually led a quiet life, with such violent quarrels rare. They said things had changed lately after Nhaily took a second wife.
This latest fatality related to domestic violence comes as the family of another victim, Roula Yaacoub, continues to demand justice for their daughter, who they say was also beaten to death by her husband.
Yaacoub was found comatose at her home in Halba, Akkar, last July, and died upon arrival at the hospital.
Yaacoub’s relatives and neighbors maintain that her husband beat her and their 5 daughters regularly.
However, the judiciary released a 13-page report last month that cleared Yaacoub’s husband, Karam al-Bazzi, of any role in her death.
| A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on February 06, 2014, on page 4. |
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2014/Feb-06/246514-teacher-beaten-to-death-by-her-husband.ashx#ixzz2sd5EGb3Q
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
A political transition Economy? Only in Egypt?
Despite billions of dollars from Gulf countries, a new minimum wage and efforts by the country’s central bank, Egypt still faces big economic challenges.
Protests and clashes since 2011 have scared off investors and tourists to Egypt.
Tourism was an important source of foreign currency for the country and income for many Egyptians working in the sector. Egypt’s tourism revenue fell by 41% to $5.9 billion in 2013 from $10 billion in 2012. Egypt’s tourism hit hard from unrest
WORLD – FEBRUARY 4, 2014
Egypt’s economy stumbling amid political transition
COPYRIGHT 2014 REUTERS
SOURCE: UPLOAD.WIKIMEDIA.ORG
SOURCE: UPLOAD.WIKIMEDIA.ORGSince the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak, Egypt has spent about half its foreign reserves, which fell to $17 billion in the end of 2013 from $36 billion in 2010.
Egypt has used billions of loans from Gulf countries on stimulus packages, but analysts warn debts will hinder the economy in the long term
In January the government increased the minimum wage for public sector employees to 1,200 Egyptian pounds per month ($172.41). Many Egyptians say the minimum is not enough, even with additional support from subsidies on essential goods. Strikes by government doctors occurred despite the rise.
“The minimum salary should be 3,000 pounds. If it doesn’t get resolved, we will all take to the streets. If this continues I will suffocate.” SAYED HUSSEIN, PHYSICS TEACHER AND FOOD SELLER
Many people in Egypt supplement their day jobs to make ends meet. A popular refrain during the 2011 uprising was “Bread, freedom and social justice,” and price increases to bread have caused riots in the past.
SOURCE: UPLOAD.WIKIMEDIA.ORGAbout one in four Egyptians, or about 20 million people, live on less than $1.65 per day, according to government statistics.
About 30% of children under 5 years old suffered from malnutrition in 2013.
In rural areas the poverty rate reaches as high as 60%.
Censure: “Will pass, will not pass” (Bto2ta3 Aw Ma Bto2ta3)
Lucien Bourjeily, a writer and theater director, had his theater piece « Bto2ta3 Aw Ma Bto2ta3 » censured last September for critiquing Lebanon censorship of the General Security service.
This piece describe the phases that a production has to go through before passing censorship. The answer of the censorship service was 45 days late after the submission of the manuscript.
« Bto2ta3 Aw Ma Bto2ta3 », une pièce qui n’a pas fini d’embarrasser la SG
At the conference held in the hotel Le Gabriel this Nov. 10, 2013. Diana Assaf (lawyer of the NGO March), Lucien Bourjeily , and Léa Baroudi (general coordinator of the association.
The president of the press bureau in the General Security, General Mounir Akiki, denounced on the channel New TV the piece of theater for constantly mocking this public security institution.
Gen. Akiki claimed to have consulted 4 anonymous art experts in drama theater who corroborated that the piece is “a defaming hallucination, a parody of non existent realities that do not conform with the image of the Security. This is artistically a bad piece of theater that does not reflect reality…”
The NGO March held a conference to respond to the accusation of “Will pass, will not pass”
Léa Baroudi had this to say: “Since when a piece of theater is to be banned for a bad quality and not enjoying the artistic flavor of Gen. Akiki, and since when the author has to stick to reality?”
Lucien Bourjeily said: “Fear of being censored is a menace to creative work of art that pressure the author to self-censorship…” He announced that a second version will be submitted describing how the first version was handled by the censors.
“We will follow the liar to his door” added Lucien.
The NGO March had not receive so far any official document banning the work.
David Cecil, Lucien Bourjeily, Mayam Mahmoud, and Meltem Arikan
The organization « Index on Censorship » nominated Lucien Bourjeily for its annual award of freedom of expression this March in London.
There several other nominee:
David Cecil for being arrested while producing a theater piece on homosexuality in Uganda
Mayam Mahmoud, an Egyptian rap singer who denounced sexual harassment
Meltem Arikan, a Turkish feminist
Adonis Diaries 