BEIRUT // Mourners in Lebanon’s capital on Sunday buried Mohammad Chatah, a prominent critic of the Syrian regime who was killed last week in a car bombing.
Angry citizens chanted against the powerful Lebanese Shiite Hizbollah movement, an ally of the Syrian regime, which has been accused of killing Chatah and other critics in recent years.
Chatah, 62, a Sunni Muslim former finance minister and close aide to former prime minister Saad Hariri, was killed on Friday along with six other people in a blast in the heart of Beirut.
The bombing raised fears about the fragile situation in Lebanon, which has seen the war in neighbouring Syria regularly spill over.
Heavy security was in place as the bodies of Chatah and his bodyguard Tarek Badr were transported from western Beirut to a mosque downtown for prayers and burial.
Chatah was buried at the mausoleum of Hariri’s father Rafiq, who was also killed in a huge suicide bombing on the Beirut seafront on February 14, 2005, that supporters blame on Syria and Hizbollah.
Chatah was seen as an influential figure in the March 14 coalition, which is opposed to the Syrian regime and Hizbollah, and many of its supporters said there was no doubt who had killed him.
“Syria and its allies in Lebanon, particularly Hizbollah, are the ones who assassinated Chatah, they don’t want this country to be peaceful,” said Youssef Sati, 40-year-old teacher.
Former prime minister Fuad Siniora, addressing mourners at the funeral, also criticised Hizbollah indirectly over the issue of its large arsenal, which remains beyond the control of the state.
“We have decided to liberate the country of the occupation of illegitimate weapons to preserve its independence, its sovereignty and its civil peace,” said Mr Siniora, a March 14 member.
“We call for liberty and justice, we will not surrender, we will not back down, we will not be afraid,” he said, as mourners chanted “Hizbollah is the enemy of God”.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack that killed Chatah, though March 14 has implied Damascus and Hizbollah were behind it without naming them.
Chatah’s death comes as the war in Syria exacerbates tensions in ever-fragile Lebanon.
Hizbollah has dispatched fighters to help the Syrian regime battle opposition forces, while many Lebanese Sunnis support the Sunni-dominated Syrian uprising.
In recent months, bomb attacks have targeted Hizbollah’s stronghold in southern Beirut, as well as the Sunni town of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, killing dozens of people.
* Agence France-Presse
Stage 2 results
1 Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal 04:18:18
2 Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:00:02
3 Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 00:00:04
4 Diego Ulissi (ITA) UAE Team Emirates
5 Rick Zabel (GER) Israel Start-Up Nation
General Classification
1 Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal 07:47:19
2 Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:00:12
3 Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 00:00:16
4 Nikolai Cherkasov (RUS) Gazprom-Rusvelo 00:00:17
5 Alexey Lutsensko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team 00:00:19
How it works
1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground
2) Instead of water draining straight through the sand, it apparently helps the soil retain water
3) One application is said to last five years
4) The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $7,000 to $10,000 per hectare
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Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) bt Xavier Alaoui (MAR)
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Catchweight 68kg:
Sean Soriano (USA) bt Noad Lahat (ISR)
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Middleweight:
Denis Tiuliulin (RUS) bt Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
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Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) bt Joachim Tollefsen (DEN)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 68kg:
Austin Arnett (USA) bt Daniel Vega (MEX)
(TKO round 3)
Lightweight:
Carrington Banks (USA) bt Marcio Andrade (BRA)
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Catchweight 58kg:
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) bt Malin Hermansson (SWE)
(Submission round 2)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (CAN) bt Juares Dea (CMR)
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Middleweight:
Mohamad Osseili (LEB) bt Ivan Slynko (UKR)
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Featherweight:
Tarun Grigoryan (ARM) bt Islam Makhamadjanov (UZB)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 54kg:
Mariagiovanna Vai (ITA) bt Daniella Shutov (ISR)
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Middleweight:
Joan Arastey (ESP) bt Omran Chaaban (LEB)
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Welterweight:
Bruno Carvalho (POR) bt Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
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Men
1 Marius Kipserem (KEN) 2:04:04
2 Abraham Kiptum (KEN) 2:04:16
3 Dejene Debela Gonfra (ETH) 2:07:06
4 Thomas Rono (KEN) 2:07:12
5 Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:09:18
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2 Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:20:54
3 Gelete Burka (ETH) 2:24:07
4 Chaltu Tafa (ETH) 2:25:09
5 Caroline Kilel (KEN) 2:29:14
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Friday
Inter Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Saturday
Atalanta v Verona (6pm)
Udinese v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Juventus (11.45pm)
Sunday
Lecce v Genoa (3.30pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (6pm)
SPAL v Brescia (6pm)
Torino v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sampdoria v Parma (9pm)
Bologna v AC Milan (11.45pm)
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It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
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Monday Spezia v Sampdoria (11.45pm)
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Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
Key facilities
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A thousand grains of Sand whirl in the sky
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Shall such grains sing before they start to fly?
What man of Honour, and to Honour bred
Will fear to go wherever Truth has led?
For though a Thousand urge him to retreat
He'll laugh, until such counsellors have fled.
Stands always One, defiant and alone
Against the Many, when all Hope has flown.
Then comes the Test; and only then the time
Of reckoning what each can call his own.
History will not forget: that one small Seed
Sufficed to tip the Scales in time of need.
More than a debt, the Emirates owe to Zayed
Their very Souls, from outside influence freed.
No praise from Roderic can increase his Fame.
Steadfastness was the Essence of his name.
The changing years grow Gardens in the Sand
And build new Roads to Sand which stays the same.
But Hearts are not rebuilt, nor Seed resown.
What was, remains, essentially Alone.
Until the Golden Messenger, all-wise,
Calls out: "Come now, my Friend!" - and All is known
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