Beirut traffic is the worst I have seen it in 20 years. During the rush hour downtown on Tuesday, it took me 45 minutes to go 250 metres.
Tourism, normally a big earner for the economy, has suffered a shock this year - a dip of 40 per cent across the board by most accounts - but there is clearly a late rush to put a bit of shine on the year's woeful figures, with Beirut hotels - and presumably car rental people - reporting excellent business.
But all in all, it was not a great year. I would struggle to think of a standout moment for Lebanese business or the economy in general, but if pressed, I would have to cite the arrival of faster internet, which arguably meant more to fans of YouTube and other online video streaming services than to anyone else.
As recently as September, internet users had to wait for videos to "buffer" before they would play. Now most clips can be watched in real time except during rare periods of high activity, when the old gremlins reappear.
I say "faster" because we have not yet matched the rest of the world, but something had to be done. In February, it was discovered that Lebanon had the world's slowest uploads (0.10 megabits per second) and the second slowest downloads (0.47mb/sec) of the 185 countries listed by Speedtest.net.
Yes, that's about it really.
But Najib Mikati, the prime minister, should not be too worried by my admittedly subjective assessment of his 1-year-old government, which came to power in a bloodless coup. The simple truth is that I cannot think of a single Lebanese government, with the exception of those headed by Rafik Hariri in the 1990s, that actually did anything useful in the 20 years since the end of the civil war. And to be fair, considering that back then Beirut looked like Dresden in 1945, it was hard for Hariri not to do anything.
Still, in the past five years annual GDP growth has averaged about 3.5 per cent, fuelled by tourism, construction and that pillar of the Lebanese economy the remittance transfer. The Beirut skyline changes by the month as a property boom - or is it a bubble? - throws up new luxury apartments that are apparently all sold off-plan.
But much of the important stuff has not been touched. Most Lebanese still do not have 24-hour electricity. There is no state education to speak of and the nation's health service hangs by a thread. Yet private education and health care are considered the best in the region. It is a case of entrepreneurial energy let down, not only by public-sector incompetence, but also by political agendas that will destroy or compromise any business initiative in the name of naked power.
No wonder that in Mercerhuman resource consulting's end-of-year annual survey on the quality of living in cities around the world, Beirut was ranked 170th out of 221 cities for overall global living standards (it ranked 16th of 25 in the Middle East and North Africa).
So what do we expect next year? Apart from biting the bullet and embarking on a huge privatisation plan, we could also follow Dubai's lead and, instead of censoring films with what is clearly a medieval vigour, try to sell Beirut to the world's film-makers as a place actually to make movies. The potential benefits of such an initiative are obvious as long as the subject matter does not tap into the darker side of Beirut's reputation.
Tom Cruise went to Dubai for the world premiere of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, much of which was shot in the emirate. This is what he told the world: "Many people have asked us about travelling here and what it was like. People are very interested to come here and shoot." Pure guff, but at the same time pure gold dust.
The Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons visited the southern Lebanese city of Sidon this year to do research for an environmental documentary charting the world's biggest garbage dumps, one of which sits on the city's outskirts. I guess that's about all we deserve for now.
Happy New Year to you all.
Michael Karam is a freelance writer and communication consultant based in Beirut
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Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Cologne v Union Berlin (5.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Hertha Berlin v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Freiburg (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Borussia Monchengladbach (8.30pm)
Sunday
Mainz v Augsburg (5.30pm)
Schalke v Bayer Leverkusen (8pm)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
FA Cup quarter-final draw
The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Newcastle v Manchester City
Norwich v Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City v Chelsea
Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)
Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)
Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)
COPA DEL REY
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')
Second leg, February 27
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
The Energy Research Centre
Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
Although they still do, they discovered in 1955 that the Netherlands had a lot of natural gas. “We still had the idea that, by 2000, it would all be nuclear,” said Harm Jeeninga, director of business and programme development at the centre.
"In the 1990s, we found out about global warming so we focused on energy savings and tackling the greenhouse gas effect.”
The energy centre’s research focuses on biomass, energy efficiency, the environment, wind and solar, as well as energy engineering and socio-economic research.
From Conquest to Deportation
Jeronim Perovic, Hurst
Ireland v Denmark: The last two years
Denmark 1-1 Ireland
7/06/19, Euro 2020 qualifier
Denmark 0-0 Ireland
19/11/2018, Nations League
Ireland 0-0 Denmark
13/10/2018, Nations League
Ireland 1 Denmark 5
14/11/2017, World Cup qualifier
Denmark 0-0 Ireland
11/11/2017, World Cup qualifier
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
MATCH INFO
England 2
Cahill (3'), Kane (39')
Nigeria 1
Iwobi (47')
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Opening Rugby Championship fixtures:Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m; Winner: Gurm, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Al Nafece, Al Muatasm Al Balushi, Mohammed Ramadan
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Ashton Tourettes, Adrie de Vries, Ibrahim Aseel
6.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Ottoman, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Liwa Oasis – Group 2 (PA) 300,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Hakeemat Muscat, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Ganbaru, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
More from UAE Human Development Report:
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
What is Genes in Space?
Genes in Space is an annual competition first launched by the UAE Space Agency, The National and Boeing in 2015.
It challenges school pupils to design experiments to be conducted in space and it aims to encourage future talent for the UAE’s fledgling space industry. It is the first of its kind in the UAE and, as well as encouraging talent, it also aims to raise interest and awareness among the general population about space exploration.
GROUPS
Group Gustavo Kuerten
Novak Djokovic (x1)
Alexander Zverev (x3)
Marin Cilic (x5)
John Isner (x8)
Group Lleyton Hewitt
Roger Federer (x2)
Kevin Anderson (x4)
Dominic Thiem (x6)
Kei Nishikori (x7)