The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) has warned that its operations could be disrupted by a recent UN decision to reduce peacekeeping personnel worldwide by 25 per cent, following US funding cuts to the world body.
A senior UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters last week that thousands of peacekeepers could be withdrawn from remote hotspots over the coming months as the United States, the largest UN donor, adjusts contributions in line with President Donald Trump's “America First” agenda. Unifil confirmed the reports.
“Unifil is still studying what the peacekeeping budget shortfalls will mean for our mission in south Lebanon, but we know we have some hard decisions ahead of us,” spokeswoman Kandice Ardiel told The National on Tuesday. “We are currently in the process of finalising our plans but we already know this will directly impact our ability to fully implement the tasks we have.”
Washington is the UN’s largest peacekeeping contributor, providing more than 26 per cent of the total funding, followed by China, which contributes nearly 24 per cent. These assessments are mandatory, not voluntary. The US had been expected to contribute $1.3 billion of the $5.4 billion budget for 2025–2026 peacekeeping operations, but it has told the UN that it will pay only about half that amount – $680 million.
President Trump has consistently argued that international institutions have exploited the US, leading to his decision to significantly reduce foreign aid.
Unifil was established in 1978 following Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon. Its original mandate was to confirm Israel’s withdrawal, restore peace and security and assist the Lebanese government in re-establishing its authority in the area.
Over time, particularly after the 2006 war between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, Unifil's role expanded under UN Security Council Resolution 1701 to include monitoring the cessation of hostilities, supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces in southern Lebanon and helping ensure that the area between the Litani River and the Blue Line, the UN-demarcated border with Israel, remains free of unauthorised armed personnel or weapons.
Following the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah that concluded in November 2024, Unifil has been assisting the Lebanese government to assert control over its southern territory.
Under the US-brokered ceasefire, Hezbollah and Israel were both required to withdraw from south Lebanon, while the UN force deployed there alongside the Lebanese military, in part to help dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure. Israel, however, has kept up regular strikes in Lebanon on what it says are Hezbollah targets, and has maintained its troops in five locations it deems strategically important.
“We will work closely with Lebanese authorities and our troop-contributing countries to implement any required changes in the least disruptive way possible,” said Ms Ardiel. “We will also do all that we can to ensure we continue to accomplish our most important tasks under Resolution 1701.” It remains unclear how many peacekeepers will be affected by the cuts.
Unifil numbers 10,800 military and civilian personnel from almost 50 countries. In August, the Security Council voted to extend the force's mandate until December 2026.
Israel has breached the ceasefire thousands of times, according to data from Unifil. At the weekend, the peacekeeping mission said one of its members was wounded by an Israeli grenade dropped near its position in the country's south, the third such incident in just over a month.
Lebanon is under heavy pressure to disarm non-state actors, including the powerful Hezbollah. Last week, army commander Gen Rodolphe Haykal briefed the Lebanese government on efforts to disarm the group, a month after the cabinet approved the plan.
The US has made it clear that economic aid to Lebanon is largely contingent on progress towards disarmament. At the same time, Washington has pressed Israel to halt strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon to give Beirut space to carry out its operations.
Predictions
Predicted winners for final round of games before play-offs:
- Friday: Delhi v Chennai - Chennai
- Saturday: Rajasthan v Bangalore - Bangalore
- Saturday: Hyderabad v Kolkata - Hyderabad
- Sunday: Delhi v Mumbai - Mumbai
- Sunday - Chennai v Punjab - Chennai
Final top-four (who will make play-offs): Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bangalore
The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20S%20Frederick%20Starr%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Oxford%20University%20Press%3Cbr%3EPages%3A%20290%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20January%2024%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
THE BIO: Mohammed Ashiq Ali
Proudest achievement: “I came to a new country and started this shop”
Favourite TV programme: the news
Favourite place in Dubai: Al Fahidi. “They started the metro in 2009 and I didn’t take it yet.”
Family: six sons in Dubai and a daughter in Faisalabad
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Six pitfalls to avoid when trading company stocks
Following fashion
Investing is cyclical, buying last year's winners often means holding this year's losers.
Losing your balance
You end up with too much exposure to an individual company or sector that has taken your fancy.
Being over active
If you chop and change your portfolio too often, dealing charges will eat up your gains.
Running your losers
Investors hate admitting mistakes and hold onto bad stocks hoping they will come good.
Selling in a panic
If you sell up when the market drops, you have locked yourself out of the recovery.
Timing the market
Even the best investor in the world cannot consistently call market movements.
Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
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
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETuhoon%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EYear%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFares%20Ghandour%2C%20Dr%20Naif%20Almutawa%2C%20Aymane%20Sennoussi%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERiyadh%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Ehealth%20care%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E15%20employees%2C%20%24250%2C000%20in%20revenue%0D%3Cbr%3EI%3Cstrong%3Envestment%20stage%3A%20s%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWamda%20Capital%2C%20Nuwa%20Capital%2C%20angel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
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
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
