Lebanon, which plunged into another state blackout a week and a half ago, may not immediately be able to use a desperately needed fuel shipment from Algeria despite government fanfare over the delivery, sources told The National on Thursday.
The country is battling a severe economic crisis and struggling to pay for its fuel delivery, making state electricity available only for a few hours daily. The donation from Algeria, around 30,000 metric tonnes of fuel oil that could provide 250 megawatts of electricity for around 20 days, came after the only remaining operating power plant, Zahrani, ran out of gas oil ten days ago.
The fuel specification must be tested to ensure it is compliant with Lebanon's power plants. But even if it meets the specifications, Lebanon may not be able to use it immediately because the power plants that use this fuel type are too old or no longer in operation.
The new fuel oil power plants in the northern Zouk region and southern Jiyeh have been shut down since February 2022 due to fuel shortages and a dispute between the contractor and the state. Since then, MEP, the private operator, has only maintained the plants under a conservation contract to prevent them from disrepair.
A new operation and maintenance contract, which is being prepared and has yet to be signed, would allow the power plants to restart in November. This means that Algerian fuel can only be used after at least two months if it meets the specifications and the contract is signed.
Lebanon Energy Minister Walid Fayad told The National that he expects the fuel to be compliant with Lebanon's power plants. He said his confidence came from the fact the fuel is produced in Algerian refineries and is a "well-known" product.
Earlier this week, he stressed during a visit to oil facilities that the fuel "has one of the best qualities in the market in terms of the amount of sulphur in it," and that it will be "supplied" to be used soon.
However, sources in the sector and energy experts suggest that the reality is far more complicated because most of the power plants are inoperative. Experts also warn against short-term fixes to keep a crumbling sector afloat, as fuel deliveries from Iraq and Egypt are also expected to boost production temporarily.
Lebanon's electricity sector has been crumbling for almost thirty years amid a lack of investment and rampant corruption, failing to provide round-the-clock electricity. The latest economic crisis only intensified the power crisis, with many Lebanese relying on expensive and polluting private generators.
The "failure to acknowledge these root causes and pursue expensive short-term plaster solutions instead would be troubling,” Mike Azar, a senior energy finance professional, told The National.
Dilapidated power plants
Besides the two power plants operated by MEP, which are not operative, the other plants that could run on fuel oil are old, inefficient, and environmentally damaging. The main ones are the old Zouk and Jiyeh plants, built in the 1970s and 80s, which have been completely shut down for years amid Lebanon's economic crisis.
If the fuel does not meet the specifications, it could be swapped for gas oil to run in other power plants, Deir Ammar and Zahrani – a mechanism Lebanon has relied on since 2021 as part of a contract with Iraq.
The Lebanese Ministry of Energy launched a tender to find an intermediary in charge of the swap on Monday. If Lebanon's public procurement laws are followed to the letter, it could take up to a month to reap the benefits of the delivery.
This is not the first time Lebanon has dealt with Algeria’s Sonatrach for fuel delivery. At the end of 2020, Sonatrach ended its contract with Lebanon after a fuel scandal, which exposed a vast network of corruption involving the Ministry of Energy and laboratories, resulting in Lebanon paying a steep price for poor-quality fuel.
The deal, whose terms were kept secret for 15 years, was initially thought to be a state-to-state agreement. However, a Lebanese judicial investigation revealed that Sonatrach's subsidiary actually subcontracted the delivery to private companies, which were accused of falsifying laboratory results and bribery.
Temporary measures
In the meantime, a series of temporary measures have been introduced to keep Lebanon’s lights on.
Earlier this week, around 30,000 tonnes of gas oil arrived from Egypt. It was procured by state provider Electricite du Liban (EDL) and can be used in the Zahrani power plant, increasing the electricity supply by four to six hours a day. A well-informed source said that it could produce 400 megawatts of electricity for 15 days. The delivery has yet to be unloaded, but once this is done, it can theoretically be used almost immediately.
Separately, some 60,000 tonnes of gas oil will arrive in Lebanon next month under the terms of a complicated swap deal with Iraq. Half will arrive on September 9, the other half on September 15, Mr Fayad said.
The government’s continued wilful mismanagement has plunged the country into complete darkness as residents are left to pay the price
Ramzi Kaiss,
HRW
The initial blackout earlier this month was blamed on a delay in fuel shipments from Iraq, under the deal that supplies Lebanon's power plants. A senior Iraqi government official said last week that the delay was because Lebanon had not paid for the fuel provided under a previous contract. According to Iraqi sources, Lebanon has accumulated around $700-900 million in unpaid bills.
Deliveries from Iraq are now also being resumed under a temporary resolution. It remains unclear how the cash-strapped country will pay the rest of the debt –$1.4 billion is due by November – and will find new sources of fuel in the long term without reforms.
Mr Fayad blames the current blackout on an international blockade on investments.
“This step contributes somewhat to breaking the international blockade on investments in Lebanon, and we want this initiative to continue and to have a prospect for investments in the energy sector in Lebanon, whether in fuel, gas or infrastructure,” the minister explained.
But Mr Azar stressed that “hasn’t been serious investment in Lebanon’s power sector for decades" due to "poor governance of the sector, an over-indebted and bankrupt public treasury, and an insolvent financial system, all of which deter investors from making large, long-term investments".
In a report released on Thursday by Human Rights Watch, it said the state's “continued mismanagement of the electricity sector and its failure to carry out key reforms is diminishing the public’s already-limited access to electricity”.
“The government’s continued wilful mismanagement has plunged the country into complete darkness as residents are left to pay the price,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at HRW.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Attacks on Egypt’s long rooted Copts
Egypt’s Copts belong to one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, with Mark the Evangelist credited with founding their church around 300 AD. Orthodox Christians account for the overwhelming majority of Christians in Egypt, with the rest mainly made up of Greek Orthodox, Catholics and Anglicans.
The community accounts for some 10 per cent of Egypt’s 100 million people, with the largest concentrations of Christians found in Cairo, Alexandria and the provinces of Minya and Assiut south of Cairo.
Egypt’s Christians have had a somewhat turbulent history in the Muslim majority Arab nation, with the community occasionally suffering outright persecution but generally living in peace with their Muslim compatriots. But radical Muslims who have first emerged in the 1970s have whipped up anti-Christian sentiments, something that has, in turn, led to an upsurge in attacks against their places of worship, church-linked facilities as well as their businesses and homes.
More recently, ISIS has vowed to go after the Christians, claiming responsibility for a series of attacks against churches packed with worshippers starting December 2016.
The discrimination many Christians complain about and the shift towards religious conservatism by many Egyptian Muslims over the last 50 years have forced hundreds of thousands of Christians to migrate, starting new lives in growing communities in places as far afield as Australia, Canada and the United States.
Here is a look at major attacks against Egypt's Coptic Christians in recent years:
November 2: Masked gunmen riding pickup trucks opened fire on three buses carrying pilgrims to the remote desert monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor south of Cairo, killing 7 and wounding about 20. IS claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 26, 2017: Masked militants riding in three all-terrain cars open fire on a bus carrying pilgrims on their way to the Monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor, killing 29 and wounding 22. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
April 2017: Twin attacks by suicide bombers hit churches in the coastal city of Alexandria and the Nile Delta city of Tanta. At least 43 people are killed and scores of worshippers injured in the Palm Sunday attack, which narrowly missed a ceremony presided over by Pope Tawadros II, spiritual leader of Egypt Orthodox Copts, in Alexandria's St. Mark's Cathedral. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks.
February 2017: Hundreds of Egyptian Christians flee their homes in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, fearing attacks by ISIS. The group's North Sinai affiliate had killed at least seven Coptic Christians in the restive peninsula in less than a month.
December 2016: A bombing at a chapel adjacent to Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral in Cairo kills 30 people and wounds dozens during Sunday Mass in one of the deadliest attacks carried out against the religious minority in recent memory. ISIS claimed responsibility.
July 2016: Pope Tawadros II says that since 2013 there were 37 sectarian attacks on Christians in Egypt, nearly one incident a month. A Muslim mob stabs to death a 27-year-old Coptic Christian man, Fam Khalaf, in the central city of Minya over a personal feud.
May 2016: A Muslim mob ransacks and torches seven Christian homes in Minya after rumours spread that a Christian man had an affair with a Muslim woman. The elderly mother of the Christian man was stripped naked and dragged through a street by the mob.
New Year's Eve 2011: A bomb explodes in a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria as worshippers leave after a midnight mass, killing more than 20 people.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Andor
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Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
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European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
NBA Finals results
Game 1: Warriors 124, Cavaliers 114
Game 2: Warriors 122, Cavaliers 103
Game 3: Cavaliers 102, Warriors 110
Game 4: In Cleveland, Sunday (Monday morning UAE)
Wonka
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