Latest news with #LebaneseAmerican
L'Orient-Le Jour
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Designer Reem Acra wins $38.7M judgment in 9-year-old studio fire case
Lebanese American fashion designer Reem Acra, known for bridal couture and a favorite of global celebrities, has won a major legal battle: A Manhattan court has ordered real estate group Chetrit to pay her $38.7 million in ruling concludes a nine-year legal fight stemming from a March 2014 fire in a building adjacent to Acra's New York studio, which destroyed over 2,000 high-end gowns and a priceless archive of as a signatureBorn in Beirut, Acra studied at the American University of Beirut, the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and in Paris before launching her career in the 1990s. She quickly rose to prominence with her signature blend of sheer fabrics, intricate embroidery and sculptural cuts. Other Lebanese voices in fashion Jad Rahmeh, the director who surprised Gucci with his Sporting images ...
Ya Libnan
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Ya Libnan
Geagea stressed to US envoy that all illegal arms in Lebanon should be handed over to the army
Lebanese Forces Party leader Samir Geagea received on Monday US Presidential Envoy Tom Barrack, accompanied by US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson. During the meeting, they discussed the ideas contained in the working paper Barrack presented to Lebanese officials. Geagea emphasized that 'the demand to collect all illegal weapons, whether Palestinian or Lebanese, from the Lebanese state is fundamentally a Lebanese demand and paves the way for the establishment of a real state in Lebanon.' He emphasized that 'without dissolving all illegal and unlawful military and security organizations, a real state cannot be achieved in Lebanon.' After a round of discussions on this topic and various other topics in Lebanon and the Middle East, Barrack and the accompanying delegation had dinner that was hosted by Geagea and his wife, where they continued their discussions on the topics raised. Barrack, a Lebanese American billionaire is a close friend of President Trump . He currently serves as the US ambassador to Turkey and Trump's Special Envoy for Syria Barrack said on Monday he was 'unbelievably satisfied' with Lebanon's reply to a U.S. proposal on disarming Hezbollah, following meetings in Beirut held hours after Israel launched new air strikes and a cross-border incursion. Barrack' s proposal, delivered to Lebanese officials during his last visit on June 19 , would see Hezbollah fully disarmed within four months in exchange for Israel halting air strikes and withdrawing troops from posts in south Lebanon they still occupy following a war last year. Hezbollah, a proxy of Iran was severely weakened after its war with Israel that started on October 8, 2023 and ended last November . Iran created Hezbollah in 1982 as a branch of al Al Quds force the foreign arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guard ( IRGC). Hezbollah's former leader Hassan Nasrallah w, who was assassinated by Israel last September pledged allegiance to Iran and its Supreme leader
Ya Libnan
28-06-2025
- Business
- Ya Libnan
Trump says US is with Lebanon all the way, praises the Lebanese people
During a recent press conference, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed renewed support for Lebanon, highlighting the country's resilience and potential. Responding to a question from a Lebanese journalist, the president emphasized the administration's intention to assist Lebanon during a period of economic and political strain. Trump described Lebanon as a nation with considerable potential, noting the intelligence and capacity of its people. He stated that his administration remains committed to aiding the country and will seek ways to contribute to its recovery. The president's remarks come amid growing international concerns over Lebanon's ongoing financial crisis, political instability, and strained infrastructure systems. Lebanon has faced mounting economic and political pressures in recent years, including a severe currency devaluation, collapse of the Lebanese banking system, default on its sovereign debt , widespread public dissatisfaction with the government, and lingering consequences of the Beirut port explosion. In a show of support for Lebanon, Trump appointed Tom Barrak as the US ambassador to Turkey , who is also the special envoy for Syria . He also appointed Michel Issa as U.S. ambassador to Lebanon.. Both Barrack and Issa are prominent Lebanese American and are close friends of Trump. Trump also has a relative in Lebanon . His son-in-law Michel Boulos , who is married to his daughter Tiffany is also Lebanese American . Michel's father Mossad Boulos is a senior advisor to President Trump News Agencies
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration: Shaheen's husband got preferential treatment
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says Sen. Jeanne Shaheen interceded to keep her husband, Bill, from being put on a terrorist watch list because he had taken three flights with an unnamed suspected terrorist. In an unusual statement released to the press, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said this was only one of many examples of politicization of the Transportation Safety Administration's Silent Partners Quiet Skies program that monitors air travel. Homeland Security (DHS) accused the New Hampshire Democrat of directly lobbying former TSA Administrator David Pekoske to exclude her husband from the list; Bill Shaheen was given a blanket exemption for 18 months. Meanwhile, Noem charged that TSA, at the Biden administration's urging, had added Tulsi Gabbard, a political opponent and now President Donald Trump's director of national intelligence, to the same list. 'It is clear that this program was used as a political rolodex of the Biden Administration —weaponized against its political foes and to benefit their well-heeled friends,' Noem said in the statement. 'This program should have been about the equal application of security, instead it was corrupted to be about political targeting. The Trump Administration will restore the integrity, privacy, and equal application of the law for all Americans, including aviation screening." According to a timeline provided by Homeland Security, Bill Shaheen was randomly selected for surveillance for two flights in July 2023 from Boston to Washington and then back again. DHS officials claim Sen. Shaheen's office made an inquiry to the TSA about her husband being subjected to enhanced screening. Then Bill Shaheen was flagged a second time as a traveler with this suspected terrorist in October 2023. After Shaheen's office made a second inquiry, DHS said, the TSA put her husband on the exclusion list. Shaheen's office has issued a statement denying the senator played any role but said her office did inquire with the TSA after her husband was subjected to inquiries the office called 'extensive, invasive and degrading.' Sen. Shaheen had been unaware her husband was put on any list or that his name was later exempt from that inquiry, a spokesperson said. Bill Shaheen told WMUR Wednesday that it was his complaints about these incidents that prompted his removal from the list, not anything his wife did. 'I didn't ask my wife to put me on the (exemption) list. Who put me on the list (to be watched)? I wanted to know that. When I started pushing on that they took me off the list,' Bill Shaheen said. Bill Shaheen is a Lebanese American who has been politically active in that community. Shaheen's office had told CBS News that the person Bill Shaheen had been flying with was an attorney associate who was also an Arab American. klandrigan@
Ya Libnan
25-05-2025
- Business
- Ya Libnan
US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack will also serve as special envoy to Syria
Thomas Barrack: 'I am proud to serve as the U.S. Special Envoy for Syria and to support the implementation of President Trump's vision for stable Syria'. Barrack is a Lebanese American whose grandparents immigrated to the US in 1900 from Zahle Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, said on Friday he has assumed the role of special envoy to Syria, as the Trump administration moves to lift sanctions on the country. Barrack said in a post on X that he would support U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in removing U.S. sanctions on Syria after President Donald Trump made a landmark announcement earlier this month that Washington would unwind the measures. 'As President Trump's representative in Türkiye, I am proud to assume the role of the U.S. Special Envoy for Syria and support Secretary Rubio in the realization of the President's vision,' Barrack said. Barrack is a private equity executive who has long advised Trump and chaired his inaugural presidential committee in 2016. The move suggests U.S. acknowledgement that Turkey has emerged with key regional influence on Damascus since rebels ousted Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad in December, ending 14 years of civil war. Trump met with Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on May 14 and urged him to normalise ties with longtime foe Israel. Barrack attended a U.S.-Turkish meeting focused on Syria that was held in Washington on Tuesday, where sanctions relief and efforts to counter terrorism were discussed. Removing U.S. sanctions would clear the way for greater engagement by humanitarian organisations working in Syria, and ease foreign investment and trade as the country tries to rebuild. 'The cessation of sanctions against Syria will preserve the integrity of our primary objective – the enduring defeat of ISIS – and will give the people of Syria a chance for a better future,' Barrack said in the post on X. ISIS refers to the Islamic State militant organization. What we know about Tom Barack Thomas Joseph Barrack Jr. (78) Is the founder and executive chairman of Colony Capital , a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT). Barrack has for decades been a close friend of and fundraiser for U.S. President Donald Trump , representing him in television news appearances. He was senior advisor to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and served as the chairman of his Inaugural Committee. In December 2024, Barrack was nominated by then President-elect Donald Trump to serve as the United States ambassador to Turkey . Lebanese American Barrack's grandparents were Lebanese who immigrated in 1900 to the United States from the city of Zahlé in the Beqaa region of Lebanon Barrack was raised in Culver City, California . In 1969, Barrack earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern California (USC), where he participated on their varsity rugby team. He then attended the USC Gould School of Law , where he was an editor of the Southern California Law Review , before receiving a Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1972 His first job was at the law firm of Herbert W. Kalmbach , President Richard Nixon 's personal lawyer. In 1972, the firm sent him to Saudi Arabia , where he soon became the squash partner of a Saudi prince. He then worked in the kingdom for the Fluor Corporation , and worked for Saudi princes. Shortly after, he helped open diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Haiti , then ruled by Jean-Claude Duvalier , at the request of investor Lonnie Dunn . In 1982, he served as deputy undersecretary of the United States Department of the Interior under James G. Watt in the Reagan administration . As of September 2011, Barrack was the 833rd richest person in the world , and the 375th richest in the United States , with an estimated wealth of US$1.1 billion. His company, Colony NorthStar, has reportedly raised billions in investments, with a substantial portion coming from the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia Barrack has six children and his family lives in California
