Welcome to The National's weekly newsletter Beshara, where we share the most positive stories of the week.
Snow in Central Park in Manhattan, New York City. AFP
As we fast approach the end of the year, many of us across the newsroom are looking back on the defining moments of 2025 and also ahead for what to expect in 2026. We at The National enjoy working as your eyes and ears on the world. Journalists are also your memory – your chroniclers of history as it happens, and your analysts, studying signals from the past and the present to anticipate what could come next.
Throughout these last weeks, before we ring in the New Year, you will see and hear from many of our dedicated reporters and editors sharing stories and insights on the past 12 months – both good and bad – but all with lessons we can learn.
This week’s Beshara looks back on the brightest moments, and I’ll see you next week for the excitement ahead.
Syrians celebrate the US announcing it will lift sanctions on the country in May. Anadolu
But first, to the regional shifts in the right direction. This past week, some positive developments reminded us of the progress we’ve seen across Syria, Lebanon and Gaza this past year. While tentative and fragile, key turning points have renewed hope for their populations, millions of people who for so long have borne the brunt of conflict or corruption.
While the situation is still so far from the real, tangible resolution the world awaits and hunger levels remain critical, famine has been reversed in Gaza.
The permanent lifting by the US of its so-called Caesar sanctions on Syria will pave the way for the return of investment in the country.
Lebanon’s announcement that it is close to disarming Hezbollah indicates a chance for the country to strengthen its governance.
As Paul Salem asks in his op-ed: after the changes over the past year, might the Levant – in particular Syria and Lebanon – be on course to re-establishing sovereignty, functioning statehood and economic revival?
Quoted
'Will Syria’s leaders be able to restore Aleppo to what it once was? Can they help rebuild the shattered lives of the countless many? I hope so. Aleppo isn’t just a Syrian treasure; it is a world treasure'
One of the best photos taken by our staff photographers in the UAE this year, at the Dubai Airshow. Chris Whiteoak / The National
From the picture desk to our feature writers, we have a raft of round-ups to remind you of the highlights of 2025.
These incredible images from The National’s photographers are unsurpassed in their summing up of the diversity and joy of life in the UAE this past year.
And if you were lucky enough, though none as lucky as Saeed Saeed, you may have been at one of these top 20 live shows that graced the Emirates this year.
But if you’re reading from afar, or just prefer a show from your sofa, this collaborative effort is a reminder of the best of the small screen, and William Mullally, our resident award-winning film critic, shares his list of the best Arab films that hit the big screen.
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'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
