A truck pours earth into the Mediterranean sea to extend the closed Bourj Hammoud land fill on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital Beirut. The Bourj Hammoud solid waste dump occupies a surface area of 16.3 hectares and rises to about 55 m above sea level. Patrick Baz / AFP
A truck pours earth into the Mediterranean sea to extend the closed Bourj Hammoud land fill on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital Beirut. The Bourj Hammoud solid waste dump occupies a surface area of 16.3 hectares and rises to about 55 m above sea level. Patrick Baz / AFP
A truck pours earth into the Mediterranean sea to extend the closed Bourj Hammoud land fill on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital Beirut. The Bourj Hammoud solid waste dump occupies a surface area of 16.3 hectares and rises to about 55 m above sea level. Patrick Baz / AFP
A truck pours earth into the Mediterranean sea to extend the closed Bourj Hammoud land fill on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital Beirut. The Bourj Hammoud solid waste dump occupies a surface area

Beirut's beaches blighted by the rubbish crisis


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  • Arabic

There is no better way to beat Beirut's stifling summer heat than a relaxing swim in the Mediterranean.
The topic of which is the best beach and how early one should go – important  in a city that likes to party until dawn – provokes lively debate.
But since the revelations about rubbish being dumped in the sea because of the capital's waste-management crisis, there are more important questions – Is it clean? Is it safe?
When Lebanon shut its largest rubbish dump in 2015, piles of refuse flooded the streets and public anger soon turned into mass protests against the government. The eventual solution, introduced last year, was to open two seaside dumps on the edge of Beirut.
Activists and waste management experts railed against the plan, warning that refuse and toxic materials could find their way into the sea and pose a significant health threat to people and marine life.
Those fears, although still relevant, were overshadowed by videos on social media showing lorries dumping waste from a decades-old landfill into the sea last month, and the admission by the environment minister that this was happening.

A dead fish floats in opaque, sheeny water at the Bourj Hammoud fishing port, just outside Beirut. Located next to a disused, decades-old garbage dump and now a new landfill, fishermen are complaining that pollution caused by waste is killing off fish and impacting their profits. Josh Wood for The National
A dead fish floats in opaque, sheeny water at the Bourj Hammoud fishing port, just outside Beirut. Located next to a disused, decades-old garbage dump and now a new landfill, fishermen are complaining that pollution caused by waste is killing off fish and impacting their profits. Josh Wood for The National

Dr Najat Saliba, a chemistry professor at the American University of Beirut who studies pollution, is taking no chances. She no longer eats fish caught off the coast and refuses to swim at beaches.

While the environmental damage of the seaside dumps is still being assessed, Dr Saliba suspects toxic materials including carcinogens are finding their way into the sea, and into the fish that end up on dinner tables.

“I don’t think people are aware of the severity of the problem, and I think it is the role of the government to make sure people know the dangers of just going to the beach and swimming in the sea,” she said.

The beaches remain packed this summer and one of Lebanon’s most upmarket resorts is advertising that the water off its beach has been tested and declared safe.

The Lebanon Transparency Association has spent recent months exposing what is going on at the rubbish dumps, filming seaside landfills with drones to show water discolouration offshore. The group also shot the footage of lorries dumping waste into the sea.

Filming underwater off the Costa Brava dump next to Lebanon’s only airport, the activists found poor water visibility, which they say is caused by the landfill.

The diver employed by the group vomited five times when he surfaced because of the smell, said Ayman Dandash, the activists’ manager. Filming off the Bourj Hammoud landfill next to the port was considered to be too dangerous.

Mr Dandash said the government hoped to hide the waste problem by putting the dumps in out-of-the-way places.

Construction vehicles dismantle a decades-old mountain of garbage next to the Bourj Hammoud fishing port. Activists and the Lebanon's environment minister have said that the waste is being dumped in the water for land reclamation. Josh Wood for The National
Construction vehicles dismantle a decades-old mountain of garbage next to the Bourj Hammoud fishing port. Activists and the Lebanon's environment minister have said that the waste is being dumped in the water for land reclamation. Josh Wood for The National

“The Lebanese people do not want to see garbage so any solution – just so that they don’t see garbage in the street – they will agree to,” he said.

In 2015, downtown Beirut was crippled by protests against the waste crisis. The demonstrations, initially against the build-up of rubbish, swiftly evolved into protest against the Lebanese government, corruption and parliamentarians who have cancelled elections.

Now, keeping refuse off the streets is important to the government.

“Until now we didn’t have any long-term plan and there are no promises about the environment in Lebanon,” said Mr Dandash. “What’s happening until now is just a small solution to calm down people on the street.”

He and his group are convinced that Lebanon’s rich and powerful will use the landfill sites for future reclamation projects at the expense of the environment.

Their concern is justified. As services broke down during Lebanon’s 1975 to 1990 civil war, Beirut residents threw everything from household rubbish to war debris into a makeshift landfill site on the Mediterranean on the edge of downtown Beirut.

After the war, the partly submerged dump was used to reclaim land and is today the site of upscale developments.

The fear now is that the Bourj Hammoud garbage mountain, another civil war-era dump next to the new Bourj Hammoud landfill, will be used in the same way.

Coastal pollution is already affecting those whose livelihoods depend on the sea.

The Bourj Hammoud garbage mountain looms over a small fishing port outside Beirut’s city limits.

The stench is unmissable, but the dump is being torn apart by diggers and a stream of lorries carrying away decades of waste, which activists say is being dumped in the sea.

“When there is so much garbage and pollution in the water, the fish run away,” said Kamil, 52, as the crew of his skiff unloaded a modest catch. “The fish are like us. They smell something bad, they move away.”

Abdul Rahman, 32, has been a fisherman since childhood. Life has always been tough, with meagre wages for long nights at sea. But since the seaside dumps opened, things are even tougher.

He used to land between 70 and 100 kilograms of fish a night. These days it is often as little as 20kg, even though he goes further out to sea and uses twice as many nets.

“The garbage affects the sea a lot. It kills the small fish,” he said. “Nobody cares about the fishermen.”

Dead fish floated by on the oily water as he spoke.

The landfills were meant to be an emergency solution to roads blocked by rubbish heaps and the nightly fires at dumps that left Beirut blanketed in a smelly haze. But they are likely to reach capacity within two years.

“Time is passing, there is no clear strategy. It needs a political decision and agreement among all parties,” said Marwan Rizkallah, an expert on waste management with the Lebanon Environmental Pollution Abatement Project.

“I think this is serious and waste will pile in the streets if nothing is done shortly.”

Lebanon’s largest dump, in Naameh, south of Beirut, was opened in 1998. It was meant to operate for only a few years. It was closed after 17 years and then only because activists and residents blocked access to it.

After the Naameh experience, municipalities across the country are reluctant to create new landfills.

Mr Rizkallah is not optimistic. Waste-to-energy plants could clear up the rubbish and help the chronically overloaded electricity grid but they would take years to build. Bringing in measures to minimise waste would also take time.

“This is a process that takes a lot of time and we still haven’t started it yet,” he said. “And we needed to start yesterday.”

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

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%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

Crops that could be introduced to the UAE

1: Quinoa 

2. Bathua 

3. Amaranth 

4. Pearl and finger millet 

5. Sorghum

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid

When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

Full Party in the Park line-up

2pm – Andreah

3pm – Supernovas

4.30pm – The Boxtones

5.30pm – Lighthouse Family

7pm – Step On DJs

8pm – Richard Ashcroft

9.30pm – Chris Wright

10pm – Fatboy Slim

11pm – Hollaphonic

 

'Munich: The Edge of War'

Director: Christian Schwochow

Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons

Rating: 3/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Which products are to be taxed?

To be taxed:

Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category

Not taxed

Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.

Products excluded from the ‘sweetened drink’ category would contain at least 75 per cent milk in a ready-to-drink form or as a milk substitute, baby formula, follow-up formula or baby food, beverages consumed for medicinal use and special dietary needs determined as per GCC Standardisation Organisation rules

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
%3Cp%3EBy%202030%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi%20aims%20to%20achieve%3A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%2039.3%20million%20visitors%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20nearly%2064%25%20up%20from%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%20Dh90%20billion%20contribution%20to%20GDP%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20about%2084%25%20more%20than%20Dh49%20billion%20in%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%20178%2C000%20new%20jobs%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20bringing%20the%20total%20to%20about%20366%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%2052%2C000%20hotel%20rooms%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20up%2053%25%20from%2034%2C000%20in%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%207.2%20million%20international%20visitors%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20almost%2090%25%20higher%20compared%20to%202023's%203.8%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%203.9%20international%20overnight%20hotel%20stays%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2022%25%20more%20from%203.2%20nights%20in%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Things Heard & Seen

Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton

2/5

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Tips%20for%20holiday%20homeowners
%3Cp%3EThere%20are%20several%20factors%20for%20landlords%20to%20consider%20when%20preparing%20to%20establish%20a%20holiday%20home%3A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3E%3Cstrong%3ERevenue%20potential%20of%20the%20unit%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20location%2C%20view%20and%20size%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3E%3Cstrong%3EDesign%3A%20furnished%20or%20unfurnished.%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Is%20the%20design%20up%20to%20standard%2C%20while%20being%20catchy%20at%20the%20same%20time%3F%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3E%3Cstrong%3EBusiness%20model%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20will%20it%20be%20managed%20by%20a%20professional%20operator%20or%20directly%20by%20the%20owner%2C%20how%20often%20does%20the%20owner%20wants%20to%20use%20it%20for%20personal%20reasons%3F%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3E%3Cstrong%3EQuality%20of%20the%20operator%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20guest%20reviews%2C%20customer%20experience%20management%2C%20application%20of%20technology%2C%20average%20utilisation%2C%20scope%20of%20services%20rendered%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3ESource%3A%20Adam%20Nowak%2C%20managing%20director%20of%20Ultimate%20Stay%20Vacation%20Homes%20Rental%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The 12 breakaway clubs

England

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur

Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus

Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

UAE%20Warriors%2045%20Results
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%0DMain%20Event%0D%3A%20Lightweight%20Title%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EAmru%20Magomedov%20def%20Jakhongir%20Jumaev%20-%20Round%201%20(submission)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-Main%20Event%0D%3A%20Bantamweight%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ERany%20Saadeh%20def%20Genil%20Franciso%20-%20Round%202%20(submission)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECatchweight%20150%20lbs%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EWalter%20Cogliandro%20def%20Ali%20Al%20Qaisi%20-%20Round%201%20(TKO)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBantamweight%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ERenat%20Khavalov%20def%20Hikaru%20Yoshino%20-%20Round%202%20(TKO)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFlyweight%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EVictor%20Nunes%20def%20Nawras%20Abzakh%20-%20Round%201%20(TKO)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFlyweight%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EYamato%20Fujita%20def%20Sanzhar%20Adilov%20-%20Round%201%20(submission)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELightweight%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EAbdullo%20Khodzhaev%20def%20Petru%20Buzdugen%20-%20Round%201%20(TKO)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECatchweight%20139%20lbs%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ERazhabali%20Shaydullaev%20def%20Magomed%20Al-Abdullah%20-%20Round%202%20(submission)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFlyweight%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ECong%20Wang%20def%20Amena%20Hadaya%20-%20Points%20(unanimous%20decision)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMiddleweight%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EKhabib%20Nabiev%20def%20Adis%20Taalaybek%20Uulu%20-%20Round%202%20(submission)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELight%20Heavyweight%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EBartosz%20Szewczyk%20def%20Artem%20Zemlyakov%20-%20Round%202%20(TKO)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
While you're here