Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Ceasefire talks between Hezbollah and Israel mediated by US envoy Amos Hochstein were “positive” in Beirut ahead of his crucial meetings in Israel, but Lebanese concerns now centre on whether the US can ensure Israel respects their sovereignty, sources close to the negotiations told The National.
Mr Hochstein is set to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to finalise an agreement that could see Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon within days, with the main sticking point being the interpretation of a clause on “self-defence”.
The ceasefire proposal outlines a truce during which Israel would withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon within seven days, as Beirut posts army troops to the border and Hezbollah fighters retreat, enabling thousands of displaced Israelis to return to their homes in the north.
A US-led committee would be established during this period to oversee a permanent ceasefire involving UN peacekeepers in Lebanon (Unifil), Lebanese and Israeli officials, and representatives from countries such as the UK and Germany, according to sources and the draft proposal seen by The National.
However, Israel, which has been relentlessly bombing Lebanon for months, insists on retaining the freedom to act against targets in the neighbouring country if the agreement is violated. Meanwhile, Lebanese officials and Iran-backed Hezbollah emphasise that the deal must safeguard Lebanon's sovereignty.
“The atmosphere is very positive,” said a source in Beirut involved in the negotiations.
“The question now is whether the American administration can guarantee that Israel will not continue to violate Lebanon’s sovereignty if a ceasefire is reached, because the Americans said that the issue will be resolved with their guarantee,” explained the source.
It remains unclear whether this means Lebanon is prepared to accept a deal with an ambiguous definition of “the right of both sides to self-defence” outlined in the agreement, in exchange for US guarantees.
Sources close to the talks told The National on Wednesday that the ceasefire deal hinges on the clause, but efforts are under way to craft a formula that satisfies both parties “without implying” that Israel has “unrestricted freedom” of movement against targets in Lebanon.
A western diplomatic source hailed the negotiations as “a step in the right direction,” adding, that "the fact that these negotiations are taking place is progress in itself".
However, several challenges remain, the source warned, including "the details of how the ceasefire will be implemented, the timetable, the withdrawal process, and who will take the first step to cease fire while Israeli forces are still on Lebanese territory add a layer of complexity that may take time to resolve".
Freedom to act
According to a Lebanese political source, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who was negotiating on behalf of Hezbollah, added his comments to the proposed draft during discussions. The current draft also reflects Mr Hochstein's contacts with the Israeli side while at the US embassy in Beirut.
“The constants set by Speaker Berri and Hezbollah are that Israel must not violate Lebanese sovereignty in the future,” the source stated.
“The basis for the negotiations is Resolution 1701. Speaker Berri has repeatedly stated that Israel has violated it more than 30,000 times since its issuance in 2006, and the issue should not be portrayed as the only problem being the presence of Hezbollah” near the border.
Lebanese officials have repeatedly said they are committed to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war and requires all armed forces except the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers to withdraw from the Lebanese side of the border with Israel. It also requires Israel to stop violating Lebanese airspace – but the resolution was never fully implemented.
The western diplomatic source stressed that the main challenge is providing credible guarantees to both sides for properly implementing the 1701, without drafting a new resolution.
“The Lebanese army’s redeployment to the south could also be a reassuring factor,” the source stated. “But it is crucial that the Lebanese army does not end up acting as a border guard for Israel".
“On the Lebanese side, there have been significant and positive shifts,” noted the source.
Hezbollah has now explicitly separated the Gaza front from the Lebanese front in a notable change of stance. For months, the group had repeated that it would not stop its attacks on Israel without a Gaza ceasefire.
The source emphasised that the biggest question remained Israel's willingness to engage and warned of possible setbacks. "In the past, we've seen negotiations that seemed promising followed by a dramatic turnaround”. The diplomatic source recalled September 27, when a similarly positive atmosphere ended with Israel killing Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a massive attack in Beirut.
“There is always a risk of a sudden change in tone. The outcome largely depends on the Israeli side—how it views the political situation in the US, the shift in the US administration, and broader international dynamics."
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar insisted on Wednesday that Israel must maintain “the freedom to act if there are violations”, while Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said that “the Israeli side expects to achieve through the agreement what it could not secure in war, and this is not possible”.
Israel intensified its attacks on Lebanon in late September, killing thousands and devastating much of the country. More than 3,500 people have been killed and 1.4 million displaced since conflict broke out in the border regions in October last year, in parallel with Israel's war on Gaza. As negotiations continued, the Israeli army issued four eviction orders within nine hours on Thursday, targeting villages in southern Lebanon and buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut, which were later struck by missiles.
In his speech, Mr Qassem warned that Hezbollah, which has lost most of its senior leaders in strikes and suffered unprecedented blows since September, is prepared for a “war of attrition” if negotiations fail, threatening attacks on central Tel Aviv.
“Our party operates according to two principles, which are to stop the Israeli aggression in a comprehensive manner and to fully preserve Lebanon's sovereignty,” a source close to Hezbollah said on Thursday.
“The main test for the results of Hochstein's visit is what the Israeli side will decide now,” he added.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
more from Janine di Giovanni
World Cup League Two
Results
Oman beat Nepal by 18 runs
Oman beat United States by six wickets
Nepal beat United States by 35 runs
Oman beat Nepal by eight wickets
Fixtures
Tuesday, Oman v United States
Wednesday, Nepal v United States
Results
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh195,000 1,400m | Winner: ES Ajeeb, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer)
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m | Winner: Al Shamkhah, Royston Ffrench, Sandeep Jadhav
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m | Winner: Lavaspin, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
8.15pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,200m | Winner: Kawasir, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 1,600m | Winner: Cosmo Charlie, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
9.20pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m | Winner: Bochart, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 2,000m | Winner: Quartier Francais, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 1
Mata 11'
Chelsea 1
Alonso 43'
Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
Champions parade (UAE timings)
7pm Gates open
8pm Deansgate stage showing starts
9pm Parade starts at Manchester Cathedral
9.45pm Parade ends at Peter Street
10pm City players on stage
11pm event ends
The 12 breakaway clubs
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
RACE CARD
6.30pm Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200
7.05pm Handicap Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
7.40pm Maiden Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm Handicap Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 1,400m
9.25pm Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 2,000m
The National selections:
6.30pm Underwriter
7.05pm Rayig
7.40pm Torno Subito
8.15pm Talento Puma
8.50pm Etisalat
9.25pm Gundogdu
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
Oppenheimer
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChristopher%20Nolan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECillian%20Murphy%2C%20Emily%20Blunt%2C%20Robert%20Downey%20Jr%2C%20Florence%20Pugh%2C%20Matt%20Damon%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E5%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
SERIES INFO
Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series
All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Test series
1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March
Play starts at 9.30am
T20 series
1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March
TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
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
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
