Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Hundreds of students in numerous Lebanese universities rallied in support of Gaza on Tuesday, joining a global movement that is pushing for academic institutions to divest from companies that provide support to Israel.
Co-ordinated protests were held throughout the country, including at the American University of Beirut, Lebanese American University, the Lebanese International University's Beirut and Bekaa branches, the University Saint Joseph in Beirut and the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik in Jounieh.
At some establishments, such as the American University of Beirut, students were demanding the school administration end all economic ties “with companies and institutions complicit in the Israeli occupation of Palestinians”, a statement from the protest organisers at AUB said.
“One of our main demands is transparency about AUB’s financial investments because we don’t know where our tuition money is going,” a third-year psychology student told The National. She declined to give her name out of fear of repercussions from the university.
Lebanon imposed a total boycott of all Israeli companies and products in 1955 but this does not encompass foreign companies that may provide military services to Israel or that operate in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
“All we can do now is boycott certain brands,” the student said. “But if we have financial transparency from the university, then we can know where we should demand divestment from.”
Students at AUB were demanding a boycott and divestment from Hewlett Packard, which provides services and technology to the Israeli army, “because the university relies on HP laptops and computers and we don’t want to use technology that funds a genocide”, the student said.
Campus encampments and solidarity rallies in the US and other western countries have been met with harsh repression, as the student movement proliferates, with hundreds worldwide arrested or suspended for their pro-Palestine activism.
Universities are on edge – even in Lebanon. Although the small Mediterranean country has technically been at war with Israel since 1948, it is also fragmented along political and sectarian lines. In Lebanon, Palestinian activism has been a touchy subject since the country’s 1975-1990 civil war, which some say was exacerbated by the presence of Palestinian political activity.
About 20 Lebanese army soldiers were sent to AUB’s main entrance where the university’s protest was taking place. They watched as students chanted ‘We want to know where our money is going” but took no further action to quell the rally.
Ali Tayyar, a third-year mechanical engineering student at AUB, said: “Whenever we see what's happening throughout the world with the students – in Columbia, Harvard, MIT, in Boston University, in all these universities – we see students are doing so much. And they’re not even close to Palestine like we are. So we wanted to support them. We felt ashamed [in comparison].”
“This protest was started by a group of non-Palestinians who wanted and were galvanised to do something on campus after they saw what was happening around the world,” said Mr Tayyar, who is also vice president of the Palestinian Cultural Club.
Staging divestment rallies on Lebanese campuses carries less urgency than in the rest of the world because Lebanon's national boycott law already prevents direct economic co-operation with Israel, Mr Tayyar explained. Still, he said, appealing for financial transparency from the university is a fair demand given the murky nature of the globalised economy, where thousands of interlinked companies and conglomerates could have ties to Israel.
“If there any ties or investments with Israel-related companies or companies that support Israel, we want to know,” he said. “And if there are, we need to divest.”
It remains too early to tell whether Lebanese universities like AUB will concede to student demands. The National contacted AUB for comment but did not receive a response.
The anonymous student who spoke to The National said students were already organising with the aim of further pressuring AUB into financial transparency and divestment. In the meantime, she said, they're communicating with organisers on US campuses “on how to maintain the momentum”.
For Palestinian students like Yumna Hamidi, a Media Studies student from Tulkarm in the West Bank who is in Lebanon on scholarship, the rallies are a message in and of themselves.
“I hope the university student movements will continue and that they will expand to other Arab countries and areas of the western world,” she said. “Because it might lead to a ceasefire and an end to the genocide in Gaza.
“It makes us feel as if we're not alone,” she said.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
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."
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
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
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Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPAD%20PRO%20(12.9%22%2C%202022)
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if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
Results
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStage%207%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E1.%20Adam%20Yates%20(GBR)%20UAE%20Team%20Emirates%20%E2%80%93%203hrs%2029min%2042ses%3Cbr%3E2.%20Remco%20Evenepoel%20(BEL)%20Soudal%20Quick-Step%20%E2%80%93%2010sec%3Cbr%3E3.%20Geoffrey%20Bouchard%20(FRA)%20AG2R%20Citroen%20Team%20%E2%80%93%2042sec%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EGeneral%20Classification%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E1.%20Remco%20Evenepoel%20(BEL)%20Soudal%20Quick-Step%3Cbr%3E2.%20Lucas%20Plapp%20(AUS)%20Ineos%20Grenaders%20%E2%80%93%2059se%3Cbr%3E3.%20Adam%20Yates%20(GBR)%20UAE%20Team%20Emirates%20%E2%80%9360sec%3Cbr%3ERed%20Jersey%20(General%20Classification)%3A%20Remco%20Evenepoel%20(BEL)%20Soudal%20Quick-Step%3Cbr%3EGreen%20Jersey%20(Points%20Classification)%3A%20Tim%20Merlier%20(BEL)%20Soudal%20Quick-Step%3Cbr%3EWhite%20Jersey%20(Young%20Rider%20Classification)%3A%20Remco%20Evenepoel%20(BEL)%20Soudal%20Quick-Step%3Cbr%3EBlack%20Jersey%20(Intermediate%20Sprint%20Classification)%3A%20Edward%20Planckaert%20(FRA)%20Alpecin-Deceuninck%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Stage result
1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 4:42:34
2. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
3. Elia Viviani (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
4. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) BikeExchange-Jayco
5. Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
6. Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
7. Max Kanter (Ger) Movistar Team
8. Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
9. Tom Devriendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
10. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) UAE Team Emirate
Drivers’ championship standings after Singapore:
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - 263
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari - 235
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes - 212
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull - 162
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 138
6. Sergio Perez, Force India - 68
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
