Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Lebanon's Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut was put on a state of alert on Thursday night over suspicion that an aircraft carrying a delegation from Iran might contain funds intended for the Tehran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, local media reported.
Members of the delegation aboard the Iranian Air Mahan flight attempted to bar Lebanese security officials from searching the plane, according to the Lebanese daily An-Nahar.
"The Iranian delegation tried to prevent the plane from being searched because it was a diplomatic delegation," the newspaper reported, citing sources.
The situation became tense and more security personnel were called in before the plane and the delegation were searched. They did not find anything on the plane, it said.
Lebanon’s Interior Minister Bassem Mawlawi confirmed the incident in statements to MTV channel, saying “the Iranian Mahan Air plane was being searched bag by bag at Beirut airport”.
Later on Thursday, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it had allowed two Iranian diplomatic bags into the country after receiving clarification from the Iranian embassy on their contents.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates received a written explanatory note from the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Lebanon regarding the contents of two small diplomatic bags carried by an Iranian diplomat on board a Mahan Air flight on January 2, 2025," the ministry said.
The ministry added that the bags contained documents, papers and banknotes to cover the operational expenses of the embassy only.
"Accordingly, the two bags were allowed to enter in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1967," it said.
Hezbollah, a Shiite movement that holds considerable sway in Lebanon's confessional political system, is a key part of Tehran's "Axis of Resistance" to Israeli and US influence in the Middle East, along with the Iran-backed militant group Hamas in Gaza and the Houthi rebel group in Yemen. However, Israeli attacks on Gaza, Lebanon, Iran and Yemen have considerably weakened the axis over the past year.
Israel's continuing war on Hamas, which led a deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, has killed the group's leadership while laying waste to Gaza. Hezbollah, which began cross-border fire into northern Israel in support of Hamas a day after the attack, has lost its top leaders as well weapons stores in Israeli retaliatory strikes and a two-month campaign involving heavy bombing and a limited ground incursion into south Lebanon. The fighting ended in late November under a US-mediated ceasefire.
The overthrow last month of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad, who was propped up with military support from Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary Guard after civil war broke out in 2011, has also exposed Tehran's dwindling strategic leverage in the region. Iran's clerical rulers spent billions of dollars to support Mr Assad while using Syria as a crucial transit route to supply arms and funds to Hezbollah.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Key 2013/14 UAE Motorsport dates
October 4: Round One of Rotax Max Challenge, Al Ain (karting)
October 1: 1 Round One of the inaugural UAE Desert Championship (rally)
November 1-3: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Formula One)
November 28-30: Dubai International Rally
January 9-11: 24Hrs of Dubai (Touring Cars / Endurance)
March 21: Round 11 of Rotax Max Challenge, Muscat, Oman (karting)
April 4-10: Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (Endurance)
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs
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TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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
Fourth-round clashes for British players
- Andy Murray (1) v Benoit Paire, Centre Court (not before 4pm)
- Johanna Konta (6) v Caroline Garcia (21), Court 1 (4pm)
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
