A days-long strike by employees of Lebanon's state-owned internet provider that has led to service failures throughout the country is expected to continue.
"We agreed that it's going to take a little bit of time to get things sorted out, meaning probably not before middle of next week," caretaker Telecommunications Minister Johnny Corm told The National, after a three-and-a-half-hour meeting with the syndicate representing Ogero's employees.
The employees, who walked off their jobs on Tuesday, are demanding higher salaries amid an economic meltdown that has led the dollar value of wages to collapse.
"I don't think the internet will go out completely, Mr Corm said in a phone interview. "But there will be no contact with customers."
There are reports that the mobile phone networks operated by providers Alfa and MTC Touch have been affected.
"I think that we're safe in a sense that we're not going to be disconnected from the rest of the world," Mr Corm said. "And hopefully businesses will not suffer as a consequence during this negotiation period. But I'm very hopeful that it should all be settled."
Internet outages are expected to affect more parts of the country as Ogero's private electricity generators run out of fuel.
Ogero Chairman Imad Kreidieh told The National this week that the internet blackouts would not have been as widespread if there had been more state electricity on the grid.
State utility Electicite Du Liban provides only a couple of hours of power a day, if that.
Ogero in recent years has faced problems maintaining its infrastructure and being able to afford fuel for its generators.
Lebanon is in the middle of an economic collapse, which first became apparent in 2019, that has been described by the World Bank as one of the worst in modern history. Much of the population has been plunged into poverty, the local currency has lost more than 90 per cent of its value and there are widespread shortages of basic essentials.
Inflation is rampant and public sector employees — such as those at Ogero — have not had their salaries adjusted to reflect the new reality.
Many public sector workers have been on strike for nearly two months as they seek better employment conditions.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Top tips to avoid cyber fraud
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.
3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.
5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
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If you go
The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.
The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).
When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.
