Thousands gathered in the centre of Beirut on Friday to mark the 20-year anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri.
His killing sparked a wave of demonstrations across Lebanon and the withdrawal of occupying Syrian forces in 2005.
The country is once again facing a critical moment, as Lebanese hope for a better future under a new President and government. Hezbollah is also diminished after its war with Israel and the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.
The Iran-backed group and the Assad regime were both suspected of involvement in the assassination of Mr Hariri, along with other Lebanese figures in the following years.
Neither new President Joseph Aoun or Prime Minister Nawaf Salam were the favoured candidates of Hezbollah.
The commemoration of Mr Hariri's death has also been marked by the return to Lebanon of his son, former prime minister Saad Hariri. He withdrew from front-line politics in 2022.
Supporters of the Future Movement, the Sunni-led political party founded by Rafic Hariri, travelled from across the country to see Saad.
The commemoration event took place amid intense security, with commando units surrounding Mr Hariri's burial site. Figures from across Lebanon's political class attended to pay their respects.
“I think the Lebanese will always remember Rafic Hariri, who worked hard and sacrificed his life for the independence and sovereignty of Lebanon,” Fouad Siniora, a former prime minister who succeeded Rafic Hariri as leader of the Future Movement, told The National.
He added that “everything we are seeing now ... is proving that what he did was on the right track".
Saad Hariri resigned as prime minister after nationwide protests in 2019 demanding the overhaul of Lebanon's political class. In 2022, he announced he had suspended his political activities and those of his party, blaming "Iranian influence" among other reasons.
On Friday, his supporters in central Beirut shouted his name and waved the flags of Lebanon and the Future Movement.
"After 20 years of sectarian rule, arrest and brutality, the heroic Syrian people expelled the [Assad regime] from Syria," Mr Hariri told the crowd.
He added that solving Lebanon's economic crisis, one of the worst in modern history, was the responsibility of all. "Today there is a golden opportunity ... we have a president of the republic and a new government," he said.
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
The%20specs
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About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
