Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Houses reduced to rubble, a child desperately screaming for his mother and people frantically looking for loved ones: these images, widely shared on social media last week, might have easily been mistaken for scenes from Gaza. But they came from south Lebanon, in the border town of Aytaroun.
Lebanon's southern border has become a battleground between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Hezbollah's stated objective is to divert Israel from its invasion of the Gaza Strip following Hamas’s unprecedented attack on October 7.
The border conflict, which has killed more than 120 people, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also 17 civilians, has so far been limited to border communities.
Israel said six of its soldiers and four civilians have been killed in the area.
But the violence has recently escalated, with Israel intensifying its attacks. Air strikes on border villages are displacing more and more people, while locals say Israel's use of white phosphorus has devastated farmland.
The conflict has come as Lebanon experiences one of the worst economic crises in modern history. South Lebanon, which has long suffered from a lack of investment, is under further strain.
The initial challenge is to assess the extent of the damage amid the fighting.
“We don't know the extent of destruction because it can drastically increase from one day to another,” Hector Hajjar, Lebanon's caretaker Minister of Social Affairs, told The National.
The government's current focus is to provide immediate humanitarian aid to the region, including food, hygiene and basic needs, he said.
The cash-strapped government also aims to provide financial relief to the UN's estimated 50,000 people who have been displaced from the south, but will need to rely on donations from the UN and the EU.
“We don't have a specific budget for the crisis,” Mr Hajjar added.
Layers of losses
But for southern residents, whose lives are on hold since the fighting began, immediate aid is not nearly enough.
“Life's more than just eating and drinking; it's about planning a future,” said Oday Abousari, 29, from Dhayra, 100 metres from the border.
The war has damaged and destroyed property in the villages of southern Lebanon, which will require significant investment to rebuild.
In Dhayra, a village with 2,000 inhabitants, Mayor Abdallah Gharib told The National that Israeli shelling has destroyed 50 houses, including his own.
The damage is also economic.
Joseph Salameh, a local official in Qlayaa, told The National that farmers – the backbone of the region's economy – have suffered the most through being unable to access their land.
“There is no prospect for the future; the village has been emptied, lacking all essential elements for life and no one is taking responsibility for these issues,” he said.
The environment is another victim of the war. The Washington Post revealed that Israel used US-supplied white phosphorus munitions, prohibited near civilian areas under international law, in an October attack in southern Lebanon's Dhayra.
Farmers in the village told The National they have discarded their crops as a precaution. But research on the long-term impact of white phosphorus, a toxic chemical that can remain indefinitely in saturated soil, is scarce.
In Lebanon, polluted soils risk becoming an uncounted casualty of the war.
Rami Zurayk, a professor at the faculty of agricultural and food sciences at the American University of Beirut, is the only researcher conducting tests on soil samples from affected villages in Lebanon to determine potential contamination.
“The US army has a protocol to test for white phosphorus, which I am trying to reproduce in my lab,” he said.”
“But it should be done at a much bigger scale.”
Hezbollah's compensation promises
Hezbollah and its reconstruction arm, Jihad Al Bina, have promised to compensate locals.
“All villages affected by the aggression, with fully or partially damaged houses, farms and cars, will be compensated,” a Hezbollah representative told The National, stressing that there will be no distinction between Sunni, Christian and Shia villages.
During the week-long truce late last month, residents from border villages confirmed that Hezbollah began assessing the damages, but had not yet offered compensation.
The assessment primarily focused on house destruction, with less consideration for losses related to land and crop destruction, residents said.
Most welcomed the move. “If not Hezbollah, who will pay? The Lebanese government?” said a resident from Alma Chaab, a Christian border town.
Some have been more cautious. A resident from Dhayra, a Sunni village whose inhabitants are not considered supporters of Hezbollah, told The National that he would not accept any money from the group. His losses are mainly related to crops and he said he did not expect to be offered adequate compensation.
For Nicholas Blanford, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Centre, Jihad Al Bina may be able to cover the damages as long as they are limited to border communities.
“But if the conflict were to escalate into a full-scale war, I really don't see who would bail out,” he said.
This time, unlike in 2006 when Hezbollah and Israel engaged in a month-long war, Jihad Al Bina might end up solely bearing the costs of reconstruction.
Decades of neglect
Faced with uncertainty, southern border residents feel neglected by public authorities – a sentiment echoed in the slogan “south Lebanon is Lebanon”, voiced by many.
“As the state of Lebanon was established and borders drawn, south Lebanon became isolated from its vital network, stretching from the coast in Palestine to the interior in Damascus, and became impoverished and neglected by the central state in Beirut,” said Munira Khayyat, an anthropologist professor at NYU Abu Dhabi.
“The situation is further exacerbated by the persistent state of war.
“Israel has spent years attacking the network of life and the landscape in south Lebanon.” It was a strategy “to dominate and control”, and “ensure that life does not return to this area”, she said.
“But the people who live under the annihilating destruction of war have found ways to optimise the possibility of surviving,” she added. She pointed to the example of farmers opting for low-investment and more resistant crops.
But for now, as the fighting rages on, border towns stand abandoned and residents await resolution in a conflict with no end in sight.
Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
Size: 40 employees
Investment: $2 million
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs: 2018 Renault Megane
Price, base / as tested Dh52,900 / Dh59,200
Engine 1.6L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission Continuously variable transmission
Power 115hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 156Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
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
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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.”
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
More on animal trafficking
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
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.
Jurassic%20Park
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESteven%20Spielberg%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sam%20Neill%2C%20Jeff%20Goldblum%20and%20Richard%20Attenborough%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Wydad 2 Urawa 3
Wydad Nahiri 21’, Hajhouj 90'
Urawa Antonio 18’, 60’, Kashiwagi 26’
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
DUBAI CARNIVAL RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner Dubai Future, Harry Bentley (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm UAE 1000 Guineas Listed $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner Dubai Love, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
7.40pm Dubai Dash Listed $175,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner: Equilateral, James Doyle, Charles Hills.
8.15pm Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions $100,000 (D) 1.900m
Winner Laser Show, Kevin Stott, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Al Fahidi Fort Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Glorious Journey, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
The biog
Name: Sari Al Zubaidi
Occupation: co-founder of Cafe di Rosati
Age: 42
Marital status: single
Favourite drink: drip coffee V60
Favourite destination: Bali, Indonesia
Favourite book: 100 Years of Solitude
The past winners
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2010 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2011 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2012 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2013 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2015 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2017 - Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
