The taps in Marwan Kassar's flat in Beirut run dry, sometimes for as long as a day at a time.
Basic state services such as water and electricity have long been lacking in Lebanon, but the Kassar family home in a leafy neighbourhood of the capital used to be relatively well supplied until a few months ago.
“You can’t wash the vegetables, you can’t flush the toilet, you can’t shower, you can’t wash your hands,” Mr Kassar, 23, told The National.
“It’s a very big inconvenience. It’s probably never been this bad in terms of overall living conditions.”
The water problem is the latest manifestation of Lebanon's two-year old economic crisis and is linked to the crippling fuel shortages created by a lack of foreign currency to pay for imports.
Lebanese are hopeful that the announcement of a new Cabinet on Friday – ending 13 months of a caretaker government and impasse – may improve conditions.
But in the meantime, without fuel oil for power plants or diesel for private generators, there is no electricity to pump water or run treatment plants.
The water supply in the densely populated Beirut and Mount Lebanon areas has dropped by about 40 per cent, said Jean Gebran, head of the local state-run water authority.
Some towns in the mountains north of Beirut receive only a few hours of water every two days.
Challenges are adding up. It will be disastrous if the crisis continues
Wassim Daher,
South Lebanon Water Establishment
“We have been severely rationing water for the past two to three weeks,” Mr Gebran told The National.
For many people, the solution is to buy water from private suppliers, but prices are soaring and are often unaffordable for impoverished locals.
UN children's agency Unicef estimates that 2.4 million people – a little under half the population – are experiencing water shortages.
Unicef supports Lebanon’s four water production plants by repairing boreholes, replacing and repairing pumps and procuring fuel and chlorine.
Buying maintenance items often requires payment in cash dollars that public institutions cannot access due to the economic crisis.
Funding for an EU-backed project to support water production plants ran out last June, but Unicef requested an emergency loan of $1 million until further funds are received.
“We’re only buying time for decision makers to find a long-term solution,” said Unicef deputy head for Lebanon Ettie Higgins.
The key issue is to restore the supply of electricity to run the water system.
“The issue of water and energy are highly interlinked. We need to solve the energy problem to not suffer from further water problems,” said Nadim Farajalla, director of the climate change and environment programme at the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut.
Although widely used, electricity from private generators is much less cost-efficient than using state electricity, said Wassim Daher, head of water utility company the South Lebanon Water Establishment.
“We can pump up to 450 metres deep with government electricity – after that we start losing money,” he told The National.
“But if we are working on generators, that happens when we exceed 100 metres.”
Currently, the state provides the region’s pumping stations with only five or six hours of electricity a day, said Mr Daher.
Sometimes, there are 24-hour blackouts.
Most locals are prepared and have tanks on their roofs that store enough water for several days, but Mr Daher worries about how people will cope if water shortages persist.
“Challenges are adding up. It will be disastrous if the crisis continues,” he said.
“Our concern is that we reach a place where there will be an impact on the health of the population.”
No institution is immune from water cuts, and that includes hospitals, prisons, orphanages and schools, Mr Daher said.
“It’s not like electricity where you can just add a [power] line. We cannot send part of a water pipe to a hospital.”
Unicef echoed his concerns. “The cost of inaction will also impact hospitals, schools, and public healthcare centres. If they don’t have running water, disease outbreaks will increase in healthcare facilities,” it said in a July report on Lebanon’s water supply system.
Lack of access to safe water heightens the risk of outbreaks of waterborne disease, including acute watery diarrhoea and diseases long eradicated in Lebanon, such as cholera.
Diarrhoeal disease, often caused by bacteria ingested through contaminated food or water, is the second leading cause of death in children under 5, said the World Health Organisation.
Tap water is not commonly used for drinking in Lebanon because it is deemed unsafe, but if contaminated it might also affect health when used for cooking or bathing and may additionally contaminate reservoirs.
Local authorities have no control on the quality of water sold by private companies.
“Its quality is questionable,” said Mr Farajalla. “It may not be well treated and contain faecal coliform [bacteria] or pathogens that could affect people’s health.”
But quality is rarely the priority when water becomes scarce.
“I should be concerned about the source of the water because it’s probably not the cleanest,” Mr Kassar said, as he paid a private company to fill up his building’s tank.
“But at the end of the day, if you’ve got no solution, all you want is a temporary fix.”
GAC GS8 Specs
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
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Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
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Price: On request
Zayed Sustainability Prize
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The years Ramadan fell in May
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Read more about the coronavirus
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
The five pillars of Islam
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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
Specs
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Power: 905hp
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More on animal trafficking
More coverage from the Future Forum
The years Ramadan fell in May
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
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Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
Profile
Company: Libra Project
Based: Masdar City, ADGM, London and Delaware
Launch year: 2017
Size: A team of 12 with six employed full-time
Sector: Renewable energy
Funding: $500,000 in Series A funding from family and friends in 2018. A Series B round looking to raise $1.5m is now live.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
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Transmission: 10-speed auto
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SupplyVan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2029%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20MRO%20and%20e-commerce%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
'Brazen'
Director: Monika Mitchell
Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler
Rating: 3/5
RACECARD
6pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 1 (PA) $50,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
6.35pm: Festival City Stakes – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,200m
7.10pm: Dubai Racing Club Classic – Listed (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 2,410m
7.45pm: Jumeirah Classic Trial – Conditions (TB) $150,000 (T) 1,400m
8.20pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 – Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (D) 1,600m
8.55pm: Cape Verdi – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,600m
9.30pm: Dubai Dash – Listed (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,000m
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
