Anti-government demonstrators with a metal sculpture in Beirut spelling out the word "revolution" during a protest as Lebanese mark the anniversary of nationwide protests against deteriorating economy and corruption. Reuters
Anti-government demonstrators with a metal sculpture in Beirut spelling out the word "revolution" during a protest as Lebanese mark the anniversary of nationwide protests against deteriorating economy and corruption. Reuters
Anti-government demonstrators with a metal sculpture in Beirut spelling out the word "revolution" during a protest as Lebanese mark the anniversary of nationwide protests against deteriorating economy
Lebanon has sometimes been described as a "volcano of instability". Given the impossibility of forecasting its future, which is for the most part shaped by foreign actors as much as local ones, it is perhaps a fitting label.
Despite being just 10,452 square kilometres in size with a population of under seven million people, this tiny Arab country is an important neighbour for both Syria and Israel. For, it serves as some sort of an unofficial military base for the Iranian regime and its proxies. Major powers, therefore, are forced to take it seriously from a strategic standpoint – despite repeatedly clashing with its intransigent, self-preservative and deeply sectarian political class.
US President-elect Joe Biden is all set to enter the White House on January 20. Expecting a shift in policy vis-a-vis the Middle East, particularly regarding America’s adversarial relationship with Iran, leaders of key countries are focused on improving their own fortunes in the region.
The most notable example is Russia.
Moscow, which views Syria as its gateway to the Middle East, is attempting to close the book on the nine-year-old civil war in the country. Over the past decade, it has offered military support to the Assad regime in Damascus against rebel forces backed by Turkey and other countries. But to bring lasting peace to Syria, Moscow believes it must help bring stability and security in its neighbourhood – which includes Lebanon.
Indeed, establishing political stability in an otherwise politically unstable country is in Moscow’s interest. The reason for this is simple: so long as Lebanon’s political class is weak and divided, the country remains an arena for foreign meddling, which undermines its stability and, in turn, that of the countries around it.
For genuine change, however, Lebanon’s institutions need to be free of the influence of one such foreign meddler: Iran.
There is an understanding in Moscow that Tehran wants Lebanon to remain a wild card in its regional game, and therefore would be uninterested in encouraging an enactment of reforms in that country. Moscow is also all too aware of the influence France, once Lebanon's colonial master, wields there. For months, Paris has been attempting to resolve the political impasse in Lebanon and, in the process, bring it closer to the West. But this has proved an arduous task.
Like France, Russia also seeks to help Lebanon find its feet and become a genuine sovereign player.
A Lebanese youth hugs French President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to the Gemmayzeh neighbourhood, which has suffered extensive damage due to a massive explosion in the Lebanese capital. AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron (C) visiting the devastated site of the explosion at the port of Beirut, Lebanon. Macron arrived to Lebanon to show support after a massive explosion on 04 August
French President Emmanuel Macron listens to a resident as he visits a devastated street of Beirut. AP Photo
French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he visits the devastated site of the explosion at the port of Beirut. EPA
French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he visits a devastated street of Beirut. AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron surrounded by Lebanese servicemen, visits the devastated site of the explosion at the port of Beirut. AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaks with a woman as he visits the Gemayzeh neighborhood, which suffered extensive damage from an explosion on Tuesday. AP Photo
French President Emmanuel Macron visits the Gemayzeh neighborhood, which suffered extensive damage from an explosion on Tuesday that hit the seaport of Beirut. AP Photo
French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he arrives at the devastated site of the explosion at the port of Beirut. REUTERS
French President Emmanuel Macron visits the devastated site of the explosion at the port of Beirut. REUTERS
French President Emmanuel Macron greets people during a visit to the Gemmayzeh neighbourhood, which has suffered extensive damage due to a massive explosion in the Lebanese capital. AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron wears a protective face mask as he meets Lebanon's President Michel Aoun following Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area, at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon. Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron greets people during a visit to the Gemmayzeh neighbourhood, which has suffered extensive damage due to a massive explosion in the Lebanese capital, on August 6, 2020. French President Emmanuel Macron visited shell-shocked Beirut, pledging support and urging change after a massive explosion devastated the Lebanese capital in a disaster that has sparked grief and fury. / AFP / ANWAR AMRO
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to the crowd during a visit to the Gemmayzeh neighbourhood, which has suffered extensive damage due to a massive explosion in the Lebanese capital, on August 6, 2020. French President Emmanuel Macron visited shell-shocked Beirut, pledging support and urging change after a massive explosion devastated the Lebanese capital in a disaster that has sparked grief and fury. / AFP / ANWAR AMRO
French President Emmanuel Macron, center, gestures as he visits the Gemayzeh neighborhood, which suffered extensive damage from an explosion on Tuesday that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he visits a devastated street of Beirut, Lebanon, on August 6, 2020 a day after a massive explosion devastated the Lebanese capital in a disaster that has sparked grief and fury. French President Emmanuel Macron visited shell-shocked Beirut Thursday, pledging support and urging change after a massive explosion devastated the Lebanese capital in a disaster that has sparked grief and fury. / AFP / POOL / Thibault Camus
A video grab shows French President Emmmanuel Macron, left, speaking with a member of a French rescue team which arrived overnight to support relief efforts at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut. AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron visits the site of Tuesday's blast in Beirut. Tele Liban / Reuters
Lebanon's President Michel Aoun meets French President Emmanuel Macron on his arrival at the airport in Beirut. Dalati Nohra/Reuters
Lebanon's President Michel Aoun welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron on his arrival at the airport in Beirut. Dalati Nohra/Reuters
"Lebanon is not alone," Mr Macron tweeted shortly after landing. Dalati Nohra/Reuters
The French president is the first foreign leader to visit the Lebanese capital since an explosion on Tuesday killed at least 137 people. Dalati Nohra / Reuters
Mr Macron said Lebanon was facing a political and economic crisis, and that it would continue to suffer unless it enacted reforms. Reuters
A report prepared by a task force in Moscow has proposed a number of solutions, which include imposing boundaries on Hezbollah to cease direct intervention and influence; preventing any threat from originating in Lebanon to other countries; securing collective economic aid to rebuild the country; including Lebanon in various regional, political and diplomatic processes; concluding domestic political agreements that strengthen stability – even if those agreements are secret in nature; and pushing leaders to assume personal responsibility for national development.
All this requires removing the causes of instability in Lebanon, according to the report, which stressed the need to transform Lebanon “from an arena of conflict to a state with a future at any price”.
Russia is, meanwhile, working towards bringing Syria, Iran and Israel to the table – as I have previously written in these pages. The hope is that Syria and Israel will reach a deal regarding how much Iranian military presence should be allowed in that part of the region, which the Assad regime relies on for its security – and which Israel sees as a threat to its national security.
In the larger scheme of things, Russia sees Israel as a potential partner in its plan to bring about a radical change in the region – but it will not do so by abandoning Iran, which is its ally in Syria. To gain Israel’s support towards supporting its interests in the region, Moscow will need to find a way to convince Iran to draw down its military presence in Syria.
Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and Benny Gantz had fought each other in successive elections a year ago. Israel returns to the polls. Reuters
The upcoming elections in both Iran and Israel will make it harder for Moscow to bring both countries to the table. However, it is reportedly undeterred by this challenge. It is already engaging with Israel on this matter and intends to hold talks with Iran early next year.
Russia has leverage over Iran, given the business they do with one another. Moreover, both countries rely on one another in managing the Syrian conflict. Russia’s plan is to prevent total Iranian domination over the Syrian regime but at the same time ensure it has some influence in the country – and it intends to strike a bargain with the regime in Tehran in this regard.
It must do so in the context of Lebanon as well.
If Moscow has its way, one could expect serious reforms in the Middle East over the next few years. Russia sees itself, the US, France and Israel as the powers that will shape the region’s geopolitical future – without, of course, excluding other regional stakeholders such as Iran and key Arab countries.
The question is, who will bear responsibility for the process of achieving long-term stability in the Middle East? The political and economic costs will be high, and Russia can only bear limited responsibility in such a process.
It is also pertinent to ask whether Lebanon’s politicians, who seem largely unconcerned by their country’s lack of stability and sovereignty, can be convinced to act in the larger interests of their people.
Raghida Dergham is the founder and executive chairwoman of the Beirut Institute and a columnist for The National
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen
The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser
This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen
A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB
The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free
Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards
Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser
Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages
At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness
More than 90 per cent live in developing countries
The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device
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.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened. He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia. Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”. Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
Thursday, September 21
Al Dahfra v Sharjah (kick-off 5.35pm)
Al Wasl v Emirates (8.30pm)
Friday, September 22
Dibba v Al Jazira (5.25pm)
Al Nasr v Al Wahda (8.30pm)
Saturday, September 23
Hatta v Al Ain (5.25pm)
Ajman v Shabab Al Ahli (8.30pm)
HOW DO SIM CARD SCAMS WORK?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards, often by claiming their phone has been lost or stolen
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
RESULTS
Welterweight
Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) beat Mostafa Radi (PAL)
(Unanimous points decision)
Catchweight 75kg
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) beat Leandro Martins (BRA)
(Second round knockout)
Flyweight (female)
Manon Fiorot (FRA) beat Corinne Laframboise (CAN)
(RSC in third round)
Featherweight
Bogdan Kirilenko (UZB) beat Ahmed Al Darmaki
(Disqualification)
Lightweight
Izzedine Al Derabani (JOR) beat Rey Nacionales (PHI)
(Unanimous points)
Featherweight
Yousef Al Housani (UAE) beat Mohamed Fargan (IND)
(TKO first round)
Catchweight 69kg
Jung Han-gook (KOR) beat Max Lima (BRA)
(First round submission by foot-lock)
Catchweight 71kg
Usman Nurmogamedov (RUS) beat Jerry Kvarnstrom (FIN)
(TKO round 1).
Featherweight title (5 rounds)
Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) v Alexandru Chitoran (ROU)
(TKO round 1).
Lightweight title (5 rounds)
Bruno Machado (BRA) beat Mike Santiago (USA)
(RSC round 2).
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
Riders must be 14-years-old or over
Wear a protective helmet
Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
