Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Sidon's coastline is relatively empty and sombre on Tuesday evening, in comparison to its usual familial mood. It is the day after the Israeli army called on all holidaymakers and “anyone using boats for fishing or any other use” to avoid the coast south of Lebanon’s Awali River.
Most cafes and street vendors on the normally bustling seaside corniche have shut down. Some couples and families walk along the pavement. The fishing boats on the pier are all docked in a neat row and a few fishermen have stayed behind to mend their nets.
Rawad, a corn and confectionery seller on the corniche, told The National that crowds had thinned out after the Israeli army’s warning but that “people started coming back to the seaside tonight”.
“Nothing has happened, they haven’t hit inside [Sidon], so there’s no reason to stop our lives,” he said.
The coastal, Muslim-majority city has little nightlife and communion along the beachfront is among Sidon’s staple night-time attractions. It has also, save for a few assassinations, largely been spared from Israel's escalated bombardment across most of Lebanon, which has killed about 1,500 people in the past three weeks.
Rawad said there was nothing to fear because Israel typically strikes predominantly Hezbollah-controlled areas. Sidon, a major city commonly known as the “gateway to the south” – where Hezbollah holds vast control – is not considered an operational base for the Iran-backed group.
Lebanese Sunni movements and Palestinian factions hold sway in the Sunni-majority city. Hezbollah has dominance further south, where the Israeli army in early October declared a ground invasion of Lebanon that intends to create a 30km buffer between Israel and the Lebanese group. Still, Israel has not stepped away from strikes on areas that host Hezbollah-allied Sunni parties such as the Islamic Group and Hamas.
Israel’s order for residents to stay away from southern Lebanese shores effectively severed a third of Lebanon’s coast from the rest of the country.
“For your safety, refrain from being in the sea or on the beach from now until further notice,” said Israeli army official Col Avichai Adraee on X on Monday night. “Being on the beach and boat movements in the area of the Awali River line southward pose a danger to your life.”
Since Israel escalated its aerial bombardment of Lebanon and announced a ground invasion, its military has issued many similar orders for residents to flee the south. So far, it has forcibly evicted residents in more than 100 southern villages, sending them north of the Awali River.
But it is the first time since the war began that displacement orders have reached Sidon’s shores.
“Israel is trying to cause sectarian strife by scaring the population of Saida away from the coast,” Rawad said, using the Arabic name for the city. “They’re scaring a Sunni-majority city because they want us to turn our backs on Hezbollah. But we’re not scared. And we’re not going anywhere.”
‘No plan to move'
The war has already displaced about 1.2 million people, according to the Lebanese government, and killed more than 2,119 since October 8 last year, when the cross-border conflict between Hezbollah and Israel began.
For many residents of Sidon who spoke to The National, such as fisherman Hassan Salim Baydawi, Hezbollah was a moot point. The Iran-backed group may have entangled Lebanon in a war “that we shouldn't have to shoulder on our own”, and it may be hitting his livelihood, but he is not planning on being displaced from his hometown anytime soon.
He recalled his experience under the previous Israeli invasions of south Lebanon. Mr Baydawi was 11 years old and already a fisherman in 1982, when Israel first invaded. In July 2006, when Israel and Hezbollah were at war and the Sidonian coast was off limits for 33 days, he was 35. However, he remains unfazed about his experiences.
After it invaded and occupied south Lebanon in 1982, “the Israeli army was in Sidon for three years, but we kept working”, he said. Despite the restrictions imposed on civilians along the coast, “all we had to do to go out fishing was get permits from them”.
In 1985, the Israeli military withdrew from Sidon to southern Lebanon. It maintained a self-declared “security zone” that ended with Israel’s withdrawal in 2000 after years of guerrilla attacks by Hezbollah.
But the 2006 war was worse for Mr Baydawi. During that war, Israel imposed a month-long naval blockade of the Lebanese coast that not only prevented fishermen from working but restricted the movement of goods and people by sea.
The prospect of Israeli bombardment or the arrival of troops in Sidon does not frighten Mr Baydawi, but the thought of unemployment does. Already, he told The National, Lebanon’s army intelligence agency has banned fishermen from going out to sea to ensure residents’ safety after Israel’s threats on south Lebanon’s coast.
Fishing is a vital economic activity for many in Sidon and along the coast, with an Israeli blockade potentially further restricting livelihoods already strained by Lebanon's economic near-collapse. “We’re fishermen. If we don’t set sail every day we don’t eat,” Mr Baydawi said.
But he doesn’t see himself leaving Sidon even if Israel were to target the coastal areas of the city. For him, it is just a matter of waiting out the war and hoping for the best.
“If we die, we die,” he said. “It’s better to die at home than to be humiliated by displacement.”
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
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Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 3
Gayle (23'), Perez (59', 63')
Chelsea 0
Essentials
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Seattle from Dh6,755 return in economy and Dh24,775 in business class.
The cruise
UnCruise Adventures offers a variety of small-ship cruises in Alaska and around the world. A 14-day Alaska’s Inside Passage and San Juans Cruise from Seattle to Juneau or reverse costs from $4,695 (Dh17,246), including accommodation, food and most activities. Trips in 2019 start in April and run until September.
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
RESULTS
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.
Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.
Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.
Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.
Paltan
Producer: JP Films, Zee Studios
Director: JP Dutta
Cast: Jackie Shroff, Sonu Sood, Arjun Rampal, Siddhanth Kapoor, Luv Sinha and Harshvardhan Rane
Rating: 2/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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Civil%20War
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
