Smoke rises in a Beirut street during clashes between Palestinians and members of Christian militia the Lebanese Forces, backed by Lebanon's Christian Kataeb Phalangist party, on April 15, 1975. AFP
Smoke rises in a Beirut street during clashes between Palestinians and members of Christian militia the Lebanese Forces, backed by Lebanon's Christian Kataeb Phalangist party, on April 15, 1975. AFP
Guerrilla fighters on a tank in a street in Beirut during Lebanon's civil war, in December 1975. Getty Images
Guerrilla fighters on a tank in a street in Beirut during Lebanon's civil war, in December 1975. Getty Images
A Katyusha rocket is fired from the back of an army lorry into an apartment complex during the first year of the Lebanese civil war, in 1975. Getty Images
A Katyusha rocket is fired from the back of an army lorry into an apartment complex during the first year of the Lebanese civil war, in 1975. Getty Images
A mass of burnt vehicles in the harbour area of Beirut after the outbreak of civil war in 1975. Getty Images
A mass of burnt vehicles in the harbour area of Beirut after the outbreak of civil war in 1975. Getty Images
A Red Cross nurse from Sweden takes care of a boy shot in the heel by a sniper, on September 9, 1976, at a hospital in the Coral Beach Hotel, on the road between Beirut and Saida. AFP
A Red Cross nurse from Sweden takes care of a boy shot in the heel by a sniper, on September 9, 1976, at a hospital in the Coral Beach Hotel, on the road between Beirut and Saida. AFP
Israeli shelling on west Beirut on August 2, 1982. AFP
Israeli shelling on west Beirut on August 2, 1982. AFP
A man sits on rubble in a desolated area of west Beirut on August 20, 1982. AFP
A man sits on rubble in a desolated area of west Beirut on August 20, 1982. AFP
The US embassy in Beirut on April 18, 1983, after a bomb destroyed part of the building. AFP
The US embassy in Beirut on April 18, 1983, after a bomb destroyed part of the building. AFP
French soldiers watch the skyline in Beirut on September 26, 1983. The troops were part of the Beirut security multinational force sent to keep security after the Israeli invasion of 1982. AFP
French soldiers watch the skyline in Beirut on September 26, 1983. The troops were part of the Beirut security multinational force sent to keep security after the Israeli invasion of 1982. AFP
General Francois Cann, commander of the French troops of the multinational forces, on October 23, 1983, as rescuers search for survivors in Beirut through the rubble of a building that was destroyed by a suicide lorry bomber overnight. Fifty-eight French soldiers and five Lebanese were killed in the attack. AFP
General Francois Cann, commander of the French troops of the multinational forces, on October 23, 1983, as rescuers search for survivors in Beirut through the rubble of a building that was destroyed by a suicide lorry bomber overnight. Fifty-eight French soldiers and five Lebanese were killed in the attack. AFP
Rescuers continue to search on October 31, 1983, for corpses and identify the victims of the attack on October 23 on the headquarters of US troops from the multinational force in Beirut. AFP
Rescuers continue to search on October 31, 1983, for corpses and identify the victims of the attack on October 23 on the headquarters of US troops from the multinational force in Beirut. AFP
Rescuers search for victims on March 8, 1985, 15 minutes after a car, packed with an estimated 250kg of TNT, exploded in a crowded street of the southern Bir Al Aabed district in mainly Shiite southern suburb of Beirut. At least 75 people were killed and 256 injured in the explosion. AFP
Rescuers search for victims on March 8, 1985, 15 minutes after a car, packed with an estimated 250kg of TNT, exploded in a crowded street of the southern Bir Al Aabed district in mainly Shiite southern suburb of Beirut. At least 75 people were killed and 256 injured in the explosion. AFP
Israeli Defence Force soldiers on March 19, 1985, confront a civilian at Kasmyah bridge after troops the month before evacuated about 500 sq km around Saida. AFP
Israeli Defence Force soldiers on March 19, 1985, confront a civilian at Kasmyah bridge after troops the month before evacuated about 500 sq km around Saida. AFP
Tripoli, in northern Lebanon, on October 4, 1985, after a ceasefire between pro-Palestine and pro-Syrian militias was agreed to in Damascus. AFP
Tripoli, in northern Lebanon, on October 4, 1985, after a ceasefire between pro-Palestine and pro-Syrian militias was agreed to in Damascus. AFP
A woman cries in shock, minutes after a car bomb exploded in a crowded neighbourhood of mainly-Muslim west Beirut on August 8, 1986, killing 13 people, including three children, and wounding at least 92. AFP
A woman cries in shock, minutes after a car bomb exploded in a crowded neighbourhood of mainly-Muslim west Beirut on August 8, 1986, killing 13 people, including three children, and wounding at least 92. AFP
A nun inspects a damaged room in the Hotel Dieu Hospital in east Beirut on February 25, 1990, after a break in the battle between rival Christian factions. AFP
A nun inspects a damaged room in the Hotel Dieu Hospital in east Beirut on February 25, 1990, after a break in the battle between rival Christian factions. AFP

MENA

Lebanon

Lebanon: MPs step up calls for clarity over fate of Lebanese missing in Syrian jails

Hundreds of Lebanese are thought to have been forcibly disappeared in Syria many years ago

Jamie Prentis
Jamie Prentis

August 28, 2023

  • English
  • Arabic

MPs in Lebanon have called for Lebanese missing in Syrian jails to be included in the remit of a UN-created body that seeks to establish the fate of the tens of thousands of people who have been forcibly disappeared in the brutal civil war in Syria.

The UN General Assembly this year approved the creation of The Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic (IIMP), which seeks to establish the situation of about 130,000 who have gone missing since the civil war broke out in 2011.

Human rights groups and MPs say hundreds of Lebanese were disappeared in Syria, largely stemming from the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war and the Syrian occupation of Lebanon, which ended in 2005.

Family members, rights groups and 46 MPs from Lebanon's 128-seat parliament have launched a petition calling for the case of missing Lebanese – believed to be more than 600 – to be included in the IIMP's agenda.

“It's very important to note that it's not a political statement, it's a purely humanitarian right for the people and for the families to know the whereabouts and fate of their missing [relatives]," Nadim Gemayel, MP for East Beirut and a signatory of the petition, told The National.

When a vote was held this year on a UN resolution to establish the independent institution, Lebanon abstained – a move condemned by many in the country.

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry said it did not want to politicise the issue.

The 46 MPs who signed the petition, which was addressed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, can largely be characterised as being against the current Syrian government and from factions that had opposed Syria's previous occupation of Lebanon.

Syria does have political allies in Lebanon, including the Shiite duo of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, both of which have numerous MPs in parliament and cabinet ministers from their respective parties. Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese armed group, has sent fighters to support the government led by President Bashar Al Assad during the civil war in neighbouring Syria.

“We have specific cases, all documented, about 600. Until now, the Syrian regime refused to make clear the facts of this situation,” George Okais, MP for Zahle, told The National.

Asked if the Lebanese government had done enough on the issue of the missing Lebanese, he responded: “Not at all. They are either afraid of the Syrian regime or they are in the same coalition with them.”

Mr Gemayel said “as the representatives of the people of Lebanon, as a member of parliament, since the government is not ready to support this request, we will support it directly. And we are going directly to the United Nations to ask for the inclusion of the Lebanese missing persons into this new institution that has been formed.

“I think it's taken a very long time [to resolve the file of those missing] because the Syrian influence in Lebanon is still remaining. We know that through the presence of Hezbollah, we know it because the allies of Syria are still in the government. Today, since we have a new window that is open through the creation of this independent institution, I think we have a bright window.”

Mr Okais said those who had disappeared were from “different geographical regions, different communities and religions, from different parties. So we are all affected by the Syrian occupation at that time.”

The petition says some previously detained Lebanese “have confirmed upon their return to Lebanon the presence of other Lebanese citizens still remaining in custody inside Syrian jails”.

Syria's presence in Lebanon ended in 2005 after the Cedar Revolution, in which vast rallies were held in protest against the thousands of Syrian soldiers in the country and Damascus's influence on Lebanese affairs. The revolution came after the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Syria's departure in 2005 led to the return of exiled former army chief Michel Aoun, who had fought and lost against Syria during the Lebanese Civil War. He would eventually be elected president in 2016.

It also led to the release of imprisoned Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. The former militia has now evolved into Lebanon's largest party in parliament and its MPs signed the petition sent to the UN.

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While you're here
Sheikh Zayed's poem

When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.

Your love is ruling over my heart

Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it

Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home

You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness

Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins

You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge

You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm

Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you

You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it

Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by. 

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Sector: Sustainability
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The specs

Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six

Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm

Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto

Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km

Price: From Dh796,600

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FIXTURES

Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)

Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)

Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)

School uniforms report
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5pm: UAE Martyrs Cup (TB) Conditions Dh90,000 2,200m

Winner: Mudaarab, Jim Crowley (jockey), Erwan Charpy (trainer).

5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh70,000 1,400m

Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Hassan Al Hammadi.

6pm: UAE Matyrs Trophy (PA) Maiden Dh80,000 1,600m

Winner: Salima Al Reef, Jesus Rosales, Abdallah Al Hammadi.

6.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Apprentice Championship (PA) Prestige Dh100,000 1,600m

Winner: Bainoona, Ricardo Iacopini, Eric Lemartinel.

7pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak (IFAHR) Ladies World Championship (PA) Prestige Dh125,000 1,600m

Winner: Assyad, Victoria Larsen, Eric Lemartinel.

8pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (PA) Group 1 Dh5,000,000 1,600m

Winner: Mashhur Al Khalediah, Jean-Bernard Eyquem, Phillip Collington.

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Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions

There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.

1 Going Dark

A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.

2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers

A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.

3. Fake Destinations

Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.

4. Rebranded Barrels

Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.

* Bloomberg

Key recommendations
  • Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
  • Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
  • Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
  • More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
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.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

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Mohamed bin Zayed Majlis
Groom and Two Brides

Director: Elie Semaan

Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla

Rating: 3/5

The specs

Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder

Transmission: 7-speed auto

0-100kmh 2.3 seconds

0-200kmh 5.5 seconds

0-300kmh 11.6 seconds

Power: 1500hp

Torque: 1600Nm

Price: Dh13,400,000

On sale: now

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COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Xpanceo

Started: 2018

Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov

Based: Dubai, UAE

Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality

Funding: $40 million

Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)

Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
  • Flexible work arrangements
  • Pension support
  • Mental well-being assistance
  • Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
  • Financial well-being incentives 
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015

- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France

While you're here
Expo details

Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia

The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.

It is expected to attract 25 million visits

Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.

More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020

The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area

It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South

White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogenChromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxideUltramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica contentOphiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on landOlivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour

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Updated: August 28, 2023, 2:52 PM
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