Beirut in darkness during a power cut. Photo: AFP
Beirut in darkness during a power cut. Photo: AFP
Beirut in darkness during a power cut. Photo: AFP
Beirut in darkness during a power cut. Photo: AFP

Lebanon power company says protesters behind national blackout


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Lebanon's state electricity company said on Saturday that its power plants had stopped working after protesters stormed a key substation and tampered with electrical equipment.

The nation is already grappling with power cuts that last at least 20 hours a day, owing largely to a financial crisis that has hampered key imports, including fuel for power stations.

Demonstrators angered by the power shortages stormed an Electricite du Liban substation in the Aramoun region north of Beirut on Saturday, the utility said.

“Protesters disconnected a 150-220 kilovolt power transformer and opened circuit breakers connecting the Zahrani power plant to the Aramoun station,” it said.

“This caused disturbances on the electrical grid, which led to a total blackout across Lebanese territory as of 17:27 (1527 GMT)".

The disruption will pile more pressure on operators of private generators, which are already struggling to keep up with the near-total absence of state-produced power.

Private generator owners have increased prices and rationed supply in recent months, with costs surging after the government gradually lifted fuel subsidies.

The average generator bill for a Lebanese family usually adds up to more than the monthly minimum wage of 675,000 Lebanese pounds — now worth just $22 as the local currency hits record lows against the dollar on the black market.

The international community has long demanded a complete overhaul of Lebanon's electricity sector, which has cost the government more than $40 billion since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.

Lebanon has reached an agreement on bringing Jordanian electricity and Egyptian gas into the country via war-torn Syria, while Shiite movement Hezbollah has separately been sourcing oil deliveries from Iran.

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Day 1 at Mount Maunganui

England 241-4

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New Zealand 

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It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.

It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.

Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.

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  3. Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
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Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

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The biog

Name: Abeer Al Bah

Born: 1972

Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992

Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old

Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school

 

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Brief scoreline:

Manchester United 2

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AndhaDhun

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

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1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
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Company name: Dharma

Date started: 2018

Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: TravelTech

Funding stage: Pre-series A 

Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs

 

 

Six tips to secure your smart home

Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.

Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.

Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.

Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.

Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.

Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.

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Updated: January 09, 2022, 9:57 AM