While John Legend and Chrissy Teigen chose Egypt as a summer holiday destination this year, Lindsay Lohan has headed to Lebanon.
The newly married actress posted an Instagram Reel featuring highlights from her trip. The short clip reels through pictures of the city skyline from the perspective of a plane; the sun setting as Lohan speeds down a highway from the back seat of a car; another dreamy sunset from an infinity pool; the Our Lady of Lebanon statue at a Harissa church; and the Saint Charbel statue in Hammana.
She simply captioned the video "Lebanon" with a heart and Lebanese flag emojis, posting it to her 11 million followers on Friday.
The post has been liked more than 45,000 times and Dubai radio presenter Kris Fade commented, saying: "Love love. Thanks for showing my beautiful country."
Lohan, who married Arab financier Bader Shammas earlier this month, seemingly travelled on to New York City, as she and Shammas were spotted at JFK airport this weekend, too.
She is no stranger to Lebanon, having caused a social media stir with a holiday to the country last year.
The Mean Girls star turned heads and took Twitter by storm after she was seen dining out at a pizzeria in the Levant nation last summer.
She posed for photos in the town of Hammana, after eating in Piazza1140, with then-boyfriend Shammas and friends. The former child star posed for photos with fans, prompting a social media whirlwind as other Lebanese fans tried to track her down for a picture.
The frenzy began after a video of Lohan at the restaurant in Hammana, posted to TikTok, went viral.
The news prompted a number of jokes over the timing of her trip to Lebanon, only days after the resignation of prime minister-designate Saad Hariri, some were asking jokingly if she might be the next candidate.
She also posed for a photo with Georges Chahine, the former president of Hammana Municipality.
Another post on Instagram showed her posing with several Lebanese artisans and included the caption @beirutbloomers describing the dream of uplifting Lebanese artisans "during these hard times”.
The actress, who lives in Dubai, started a podcast called The Lohdown with Lindsay Lohan earlier this year. In the first episode, during which she interviewed Bobby Berk, star of Netflix’s Queer Eye, Lohan talked about her love of Middle Eastern food. In particular, dishes cooked for her by her fiance’s family, which she said are her “happy place foods”.
“I feel like my fiance, his family’s food, when his mother makes certain foods, those are my happy place foods,” she said. “They are just so authentic and comforting and exciting.”
Lohan and Shammas live in Dubai, where the Hollywood actress has resided for the past few years. "I really found that I had a private life, and I could just take time for myself," Lohan told Vogue of her decision to move to the emirate. "I decided to stay there because I really learned to appreciate what it is to go, do my work, and then leave and live a normal life."
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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