Latest news with #Lebanese-Australian
Daily Telegraph
24-04-2025
- Daily Telegraph
Lawyer's link to famous Lebanese kid-snatch
Don't miss out on the headlines from Lifestyle. Followed categories will be added to My News. EXCLUSIVE As a divorce lawyer Pierre Hawach, estranged husband of Sally Singleton-Hawach, knows well the workings of the court system. It was his appearance as a witness in the NSW Supreme Court in 2006 however that stands today as perhaps his most famous court appearance. Hawach is the brother of Joseph Hawach who, in July 2006, during a custody visit with his two young children, fled to Lebanon taking the children without their mother Melissa's permission. The story of Canadian-born mother Melissa Hawach's battle to recover her two daughters made headlines around the world inspiring first a website, and later a book, Flight of the Dragonfly, after the courageous mother executed a daring operation to recover her daughters from Lebanon. Sally Singleton-Hawach to her wedding to Pierre Hawach in Rome. Instagram. Melissa Hawach outside Supreme Court in Sydney with parents Jim and Judy Engdahl 30 Nov 2006. The girls, Hannah and Cedar, who have dual Canadian-Australian citizenship, lived in Calgary, Canada, with their parents from 2003. When Joseph and Melissa's six-year marriage failed in 2005, Joseph moved home to Australia but Melissa remained in Canada with her daughters, of whom she retained sole custody. The girls were aged just five and three when their mother agreed they could spend three weeks in Australia with their father in July 2006 on a custody visit. The Hawach family is a Lebanese-Australian family from Sydney's Rose Hill. It was then that father Joseph disappeared with the girls and cut off communication with his ex-wife. Joseph Hawach, Lebanese-Australian who abducted his two daughters Hannah and Cedar from estranged Canadian wife Melissa. Melissa Hawach leaves the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney. It would take the determined mother seven months to recover her children in an operation involving four former members of elite Australian and New Zealand special forces who ran an undercover surveillance exercise established outside Beirut where the girls' father had them secreted at a resort. Two of the operatives would be jailed for obstructing justice for their part in the operation while another two ex-soldiers would escape. They were released from jail in 2007. Melissa Hawach's story, and the terrifying seven-week recovery mission, took mother and daughters through a series of safe houses in Lebanon before the trio fled home to Canada via Syria and Jordan. Once home, they went into hiding. Prior to the successful retrieval operation, Melissa Hawach launched legal action in the NSW Supreme Court seeking information from her ex-husband's family about her daughter's whereabouts. In December 2006, Pierre Hawach told the Supreme Court he did not know where his brother and the children were located in Lebanon. He revealed he had spoken to Joseph on the phone and his brother had told him he was not planning to return from Lebanon. Mr Hawach's father Elias Hawach, speaking through an Arabic interpreter, informed the court his wife Gladys had been visiting family in the Lebanese village Harf-Miziara for a three-month period. Sally Singleton-Hawach pictured right with father John Singleton Pierre Hawach and Sally Singleton at the Magic Millions Joseph Hawach was later charged with two counts of child abduction by the Lebanese court and international warrants issued for his arrest. No adverse findings were made by the Supreme Court against Pierre and Elias Hawach. Joseph Hawach's relatives got on with their lives. His brother, Pierre, married singer Sally Singleton-Hawach in a lavish ceremony in Rome in 2015. Among wedding guests were her high profile parents, multi-millionaire retired ad boss John Singleton and his ex wife, 1972 Miss World Belinda Green. The couple are parents to three young children - Lewis, seven, Mirabel, six and four-year-old Johnny, named after his grandfather. On March 25 Parramatta court issued an interim domestic apprehended violence order preventing Pierre Hawach from approaching Sally. The DVO matter returns to court on Tuesday. No charges have been laid. Mr Hawach is not accused of any wrongdoing. He has been approached for comment. Originally published as Top lawyer is linked to infamous Lebanese child-snatching case
Khaleej Times
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Radio, reality, and a snack empire: Kris Fade's Dubai story
From washing cars and making coffees, Australian DJ and reality TV star Kris Fade has risen to stardom since launching Virgin Radio Dxb in 2007. Now, he is a successful entrepreneur with his international brand Fade Fit, and a reality star from his role in the hit TV show Dubai Bling on Netflix. In a chat, he tells City Times about his path to stardom and what keeps him in Dubai. The Lebanese-Australian came to Dubai when the city was all but unheard of on the world stage, and has seen the emirate move from strength to strength. A father-of-three, he has dedicated his life to waking up the nation, his 6-10am drive time show becoming the most listened to radio slot in the country, his boundless energy with the team, he says, has become like family, brightening up traffic jams around the emirates. He sees it as a kind of national service to a city which is constantly plagued by traffic problems. 'That's why radio is so important because it becomes a companion,' he said. Up at 4am daily, he admits it takes its toll, but the feedback from his fans makes the early mornings worthwhile. 'Don't get me wrong, there will be some mornings when I walk in and I'll be like, I'm tired today, but as soon as it goes six o'clock, I feel like I have a duty to the country as well, to wake them up.' He says the dynamics of the team are what has kept the show continuously breaking records. 'If I was doing it with the wrong people, I don't think I could be 14 years doing it with the same people,' he said, several of his fans telling him it feels like listening to a radio version of the hit US TV series, Friends. Dubai has come a long way since a wide-eyed Kris came to the city, his friends and family in Australia somewhat baffled by the move. 'I remember looking on Wikipedia and on Google when I was moving to Dubai, because I wanted to know more about it and I remember Wikipedia in 2007 had half a page on Dubai. That was it. There were about five photos and half a page of writing, and I remember the photo that kept coming up was the Burj Al Arab. Obviously, that was the big hotel,' he says. 'It was definitely a risk to move to a foreign city, a foreign country, and give it a go. But I remember telling mom and dad that I'll be back in a couple of years, to give me two years, let me go do this radio thing in Dubai, and I will take it from there,' but today, he says Dubai will always be home. 'I don't see myself spending anything less than six months in Dubai,' he said, always longing to come back during trips home to Australia. It was a different Dubai when he moved to the emirate, which has grown exponentially since, with landmarks which have put the city on the world map such as Burj Khalifa, not even complete. 'There weren't as many people, obviously. I remember driving up the main road of Sheikh Zayed Road and, you know, there were no Salik toll gates. There was, I think, one speed camera in place. You could go to the mall and park wherever you wanted. 'It wasn't legal, but people would just park on the footpaths of the mall. JBR was a car park and just sand and a beach. There was no JBR, which was remarkable. I don't think people outside the UAE understand exactly what the city and the country has achieved.' Watch the video interview by scanning the QR code below: The young man of 2007 has now bloomed into an international businessman, inspired by his own children. The face of Fade Fit, the brand aims to keep kids off screens with healthy snacks, outdoor play gear, toys and a tennis academy. 'I've got two daughters and a young son, but my two daughters, like myself, are on our screens all the time, and it's, it's not good for us,' he said. But setting up a business has been a challenge which helped him take his career to new heights, Fad Fit now a multimillion dollar business after he first put Dh30,000 into the company in 2019, which has now expanded to Bahrain, Saudi, Jordan, Kuwait, and Oman. 'It's not as easy as people think it could be to launch a business here,' he says with the humility which has made him a much-loved household name. 'And and I say that because people think you can come to Dubai, start a business, become a multi millionaire, retire and get a yacht and get a private jet.' While he admits he could retire if he chose to now, he prefers to keep working, putting his efforts into projects which give him a sense of purpose. But after everything he has achieved, and the worldwide fame Dubai Bling has given him, his number one priority remains his family. 'It's the essence of just being able to relax, you know, amongst the chaos that we have, the chaos of doing radio and events and running a business and trying to remain healthy and doing everything else and just being a good dad and being at home with the kids and spending time with family, I think it is so important,' he concluded.
News.com.au
24-04-2025
- News.com.au
Top lawyer is linked to infamous Lebanese child-snatching case
EXCLUSIVE As a divorce lawyer Pierre Hawach, estranged husband of Sally Singleton-Hawach, knows well the workings of the court system. It was his appearance as a witness in the NSW Supreme Court in 2006 however that stands today as perhaps his most famous court appearance. Hawach is the brother of Joseph Hawach who, in July 2006, during a custody visit with his two young children, fled to Lebanon taking the children without their mother Melissa's permission. The story of Canadian-born mother Melissa Hawach's battle to recover her two daughters made headlines around the world inspiring first a website, and later a book, Flight of the Dragonfly, after the courageous mother executed a daring operation to recover her daughters from Lebanon. The girls, Hannah and Cedar, who have dual Canadian-Australian citizenship, lived in Calgary, Canada, with their parents from 2003. When Joseph and Melissa's six-year marriage failed in 2005, Joseph moved home to Australia but Melissa remained in Canada with her daughters, of whom she retained sole custody. The girls were aged just five and three when their mother agreed they could spend three weeks in Australia with their father in July 2006 on a custody visit. The Hawach family is a Lebanese-Australian family from Sydney's Rose Hill. It was then that father Joseph disappeared with the girls and cut off communication with his ex-wife. It would take the determined mother seven months to recover her children in an operation involving four former members of elite Australian and New Zealand special forces who ran an undercover surveillance exercise established outside Beirut where the girls' father had them secreted at a resort. Two of the operatives would be jailed for obstructing justice for their part in the operation while another two ex-soldiers would escape. They were released from jail in 2007. Melissa Hawach's story, and the terrifying seven-week recovery mission, took mother and daughters through a series of safe houses in Lebanon before the trio fled home to Canada via Syria and Jordan. Once home, they went into hiding. Prior to the successful retrieval operation, Melissa Hawach launched legal action in the NSW Supreme Court seeking information from her ex-husband's family about her daughter's whereabouts. In December 2006, Pierre Hawach told the Supreme Court he did not know where his brother and the children were located in Lebanon. He revealed he had spoken to Joseph on the phone and his brother had told him he was not planning to return from Lebanon. Mr Hawach's father Elias Hawach, speaking through an Arabic interpreter, informed the court his wife Gladys had been visiting family in the Lebanese village Harf-Miziara for a three-month period. Joseph Hawach was later charged with two counts of child abduction by the Lebanese court and international warrants issued for his arrest. No adverse findings were made by the Supreme Court against Pierre and Elias Hawach. Joseph Hawach's relatives got on with their lives. His brother, Pierre, married singer Sally Singleton-Hawach in a lavish ceremony in Rome in 2015. Among wedding guests were her high profile parents, multi-millionaire retired ad boss John Singleton and his ex wife, 1972 Miss World Belinda Green. The couple are parents to three young children - Lewis, seven, Mirabel, six and four-year-old Johnny, named after his grandfather. On March 25 Parramatta court issued an interim domestic apprehended violence order preventing Pierre Hawach from approaching Sally. The DVO matter returns to court on Tuesday. No charges have been laid. Mr Hawach is not accused of any wrongdoing.
The Guardian
17-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
More backlash over Biennale artist axing; NZ tourism campaign ridiculed; and what it's like living with OCD
An independent panel who advised Creative Australia on the selection of Khaled Sabsabi for the 61st Venice Biennale say they are 'deeply concerned' by the abrupt decision to rescind his appointment. The artist Lindy Lee quit the board after what she called a 'fraught and heartbreaking' meeting to make the decision. Creative Australia has announced it will commission an 'immediate independent external' review into the 'artistic selection process'. A petition with almost 3,000 signatories has called for the reinstatement of the Lebanese-Australian artist and his artistic partner, the curator Michael Dagostino. New Zealand's 'Everyone must go!' tourism campaign ridiculed as emigration hits record high Macarthur FC captain Valere Germain quits A-League over 'poor refereeing standards' Cook Islands PM defends signing of wide-ranging deal with China What will the withdrawal of USAid mean for the Pacific? Starmer ready to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine if peace deal reached Trump cuts reach FDA workers focused on food safety and medical devices From the red carpet, to the after-party, catch all the highlights from 2025's Bafta ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall on London's Southbank, where the big winners included Adrien Brody for The Brutalist and Mikey Madison for Anora. 'Mr President, we want to introduce you to the toughest game on earth, rugby league.' NRL supremo Peter V'landys used an appearance on Fox News to invite Donald Trump to the season-opener in Las Vegas. V'landys revealed his plans to pursue Trump in an interview with Channel Seven two weeks ago, when he labelled him 'a walking billboard'. A 12-year-old boy was bitten on the back by a tagged dingo at Kingfisher Bay on Sunday. The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service is investigating the incident. Sign up to Afternoon Update Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion In this candid extract from her new memoir, actor Tuppence Middleton describes her lifelong struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder – and asks for those with the condition to be treated with more sympathy. Today's starter word is: SANT. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply. Enjoying the Afternoon Update? Then you'll love our Morning Mail newsletter. Sign up here to start the day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know, and complete your daily news roundup. And follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland. If you have a story tip or technical issue viewing this newsletter, please reply to this email. If you are a Guardian supporter and need assistance with regards to contributions and/or digital subscriptions, please email
The Guardian
17-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Panel who recommended Sabsabi for Venice Biennale ‘deeply concerned' by Creative Australia pulling artist
An independent panel who advised Creative Australia on the selection of Khaled Sabsabi for the 61st Venice Biennale say they are 'deeply concerned' by the abrupt decision to rescind his appointment. The panel has broken their silence amid mounting calls for an inquiry into the board's decision to drop the Lebanese-Australian artist and curator Michael Dagostino from the 2026 event following media and political criticism of two of Sabsabi's historical artworks. It follows Creative Australia's announcement earlier today that it will commission an 'immediate independent external' review into the 'artistic selection process' that led to the artistic team being chosen to represent Australia. In a letter written to Creative Australia's chair Robert Morgan, the board and it's CEO, Adrian Collette, the five-member panel expressed support for the dumped artistic team, and called on the board to explain why it ditched the duo. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'The Panel is deeply concerned by the decision to rescind the appointment, as well as the impact that is having on the Artistic Team, and the people otherwise connected with the selection process,' the group said. 'We urge Creative Australia and the Australia Council Board (together with the wider Australian and international artistic communities) to provide support to and stand with Khaled Sabsabi and Michael Dagostino at this difficult time. 'Any failure to do so would not reflect the expectation of integrity which is at the core of thriving artistic and democratic communities or demonstrate care for the people they engage. All five panel members called for transparency from the board 'on the process and reasoning for its decision to rescind the selection' which they said 'will go some way to mitigate the confusion, disappointment, and hurt' that is being felt by the artistic team and the broader arts community. The panel members were: Anthony Gardner, Prof of Contemporary Art History at the University of Oxford, Dunja Rmandić, the director of the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Dr Mariko Smith, the First Nations curator at the Australian Museum, Wassan Al-Khudhairi, a curator of contemporary art from the Arab world and Elaine Chia, the executive director of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation. The panel's letter also sheds some light on the selection process, which involved panellists providing individual advice on the six shortlisted teams to the Creative Australia CEO in one-on-one meetings. 'Our task as an independent, peer review Panel was to advise Creative Australia and the Board in their selection of the Artistic Team. This role was a privilege and an honour,' the group said. While the panel provided advice, Guardian Australia understands the final decision was made by the CEO of Creative Australia and the Head of Visual Arts based on the panel's expert advice. Mikala Tai, who has led Creative Australia's visual arts department for more than four years tendered her resignation on Friday after the board revoked the appointment. The panel said they were informed of the final selection of the artistic team on the same date as the media, and they only became aware of the decision to rescind that appointment when the news broke. 'While the Panel has sought clarification from Creative Australia following its decision to rescind the original appointment, no explanation beyond its public statements has been received at the time of issuing this statement,' the panel said. 'The Panel was not consulted or communicated with in respect to the decision to rescind the appointment, and is not involved in any process following that decision.' It comes as almost 3,000 artists, curators, writers and academics signed a petition calling on Creative Australia to reinstate Sabsabi and Dagostino. The petition, organised by weekly Melbourne-based art criticism journal Memo, said it would be an essential step in upholding the integrity of Creative Australia's statutory functions and its commitment to artistic independence. Some of Australia's most highly awarded artists have signed, including Tony Albert, Hoda Afshar, Bronwyn Bancroft, brothers Abdul-Rahman Abdullah and Abdul Abdullah, and a number of artists who have represented Australia in Venice in past biennales, including Judy Watson, Fiona Hall, Susan Norrie and Callum Morton. The petition said Creative Australia's decision set a concerning precedent for artistic freedom and sectoral independence. 'If public pressure and political sensitivities of the day can determine — apparently within a matter of hours — Creative Australia's support for artists after selection, what does this mean for future appointments, funding decisions, and the autonomy and credibility of Australian artists on the world stage?' the petition statement said. It spelled out that, under the Creative Australia Act 2023, the Australian Government's principal arts investment and advisory body was required to support artistic excellence, uphold freedom of expression, and foster diversity in Australian arts practice. 'We do not see how Creative Australia's justification for withdrawing Australia's representation — concerns over 'prolonged and divisive debate' — fulfils its statutory functions under the Act,' the statement said. Guardian Australia understands that the same selection process was used in 2022 for the previous biennale in which First Nations artist Archie Moore was picked to represent Australia. Moore went on to win the Golden Lion at the event - becoming the first ever Australian to win the prestigious award. Sabsabi has previously won numerous accolades for his work, and has exhibited dozens of major works at events in Australia and abroad. Creative Australia declined to comment.
