The deadly 1983 Beirut barracks bombings came in the middle of the 15-year civil war in Lebanon and targeted American and French military personnel who were in the country as part of a four-nation peacekeeping force.
Two suicide bombers struck positions where the respective missions were housed on Sunday morning, October 23.
The first lorry bomb hit the US Marine Corps barracks, killing 241 service members ― the deadliest incident for the US military since the Vietnam War.
Moments later the second attacker struck a base containing French paratroopers, killing 58 personnel. Six civilians were also killed in the attacks.
The bombings came months after the April 18 suicide bombing on the US embassy in Beirut that killed 63 and marked a surge in attacks on American interests.
A federal judge in New York ordered Iran's central bank and a European intermediary on Wednesday to pay out $1.68 billion to family members of troops killed in the bombing.
US District Judge Loretta Preska said a 2019 federal law stripped Bank Markazi, the Iranian central bank, of sovereign immunity from the lawsuit, which sought to enforce a judgment against Iran for providing material support to the attackers.
Why have Iran and Hezbollah been implicated?
The attack was claimed by a previously unknown a Shiite militia group called Islamic Jihad. This is a different organisation to the Palestinian militant group of the same name.
Iran-backed Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group and political party that remains a powerful force in Lebanon to this day, did not officially exist at the time. Islamic Jihad was established to counter the western and Israeli presence in Lebanon during the multi-faceted war. The group was long suspected of being simply a front for or a precursor to Hezbollah.
Indeed, senior Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh was among those suspected of orchestrating the attacks and may have been the leader of Islamic Jihad. One of the world's most wanted men who for years was able to evade capture, the veteran operative was assassinated in Syria in 2008.
What was the US response to the Beirut barracks bombing?
Ronald Reagan, who was US president at the time, described the attacks as despicable. France and the US carried out a number of limited attacks on pro-Iranian and Syrian targets.
By the middle of 1984, the Multinational Force in Lebanon ― comprised of American, French, Italian and British soldiers ― had withdrawn from Lebanon.
The Lebanese Civil War would continue to rumble on until 1990, leaving about 120,000 people dead and causing about a million to flee the country.
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Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
Ukraine
Capital: Kiev
Population: 44.13 million
Armed conflict in Donbass
Russia-backed fighters control territory
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
