Ethiopian Airlines says new planes are painted with the name of their first destination after joining its fleet. Reuters
Ethiopian Airlines says new planes are painted with the name of their first destination after joining its fleet. Reuters
Ethiopian Airlines says new planes are painted with the name of their first destination after joining its fleet. Reuters
Ethiopian Airlines says new planes are painted with the name of their first destination after joining its fleet. Reuters

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MENA

'Tel Aviv' written on Ethiopian plane causes upset in Lebanon

Incident at Beirut airport comes as Israel and Lebanon are technically in a state of war

Jamie Prentis
Jamie Prentis

April 25, 2024

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An Ethiopian Airlines flight landed in Beirut on Thursday with the name of the Israeli city of Tel Aviv emblazoned on its fuselage, prompting a rebuke from Lebanese authorities.

Lebanon is technically in a state of war with neighbouring Israel.

Lebanon's directorate for civil aviation said the words Tel Aviv were in small letters and that the airline explained its practice was to mark new planes with the name of their first destination after entering service.

The Civil Aviation Authority asked the airline to remove the city's name from its fuselage before departing Beirut.

"The company was also asked to take necessary measures to ensure that there is no logo related to the Israeli enemy entity on the company's aircraft before landing at Rafic Hariri International Airport," the authority added.

Lebanon has never had diplomatic relations with Israel and regards it as an enemy state. Lebanese citizens are forbidden from contact with Israelis.

The current situation is particularly tense, with Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah having been engaged in daily cross-border attacks in south Lebanon since October 8.

Hezbollah, also a political group, says it is carrying out the attacks in support of its embattled Palestinian ally Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Hezbollah said on Tuesday it had launched drone attacks on two Israeli military bases north of the city of Acre, its deepest attack into Israel since hostilities broke out.

In response Israel killed two civilians – a woman and her niece – and injured six others in a strike that destroyed a house in the southern Lebanese village of Hanine, Lebanon's state news agency said.

What is Folia?

Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.

Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."

Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.

In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love". 

There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.

While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
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Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
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MORE ON AFRICAN SECURITY
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?

If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.

Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.

Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.

Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).

Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal. 

Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.

By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.

As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.

Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.

He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.” 

This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”

Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.

City's slump

L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

Updated: April 25, 2024, 12:30 PM
LebanonHezbollahIsraelTel Aviv