A spate of suicides in Lebanon has fuelled public anger over an economic crisis that has caused prices to soar and increased unemployment as businesses struggle to survive.
The most widely publicised incident took place in the busy Hamra area of Beirut on Friday morning, when a man shot himself in the street outside a cafe.
“Clients were having coffee when a loud voice was heard saying ‘Lebanon free and independent’ followed by a gunshot. There he was, down on the pavement in a pool of blood,” a waiter from a restaurant nearby told The National.
“He had covered his face with a towel to avoid being seen shooting himself … He left a suicide note beside him that read ‘I am not an atheist’.”
The line is believed to be a reference to a well known song by the Lebanese musician Ziad Rahabni that goes: “I am not an atheist … but hunger is an atheist’.
A small Lebanese flag and a certificate stating that the man had no criminal record were also found beside the body.
The certificate identified the man as Ali Al Huq, 61.
He had returned to the country two years ago after nearly five years in the UAE and was working as a manager in a shop on the outskirts of the capital, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Protesters gathered at the site before the body was removed by authorities and raised slogans blaming the government. In a video on social media, the man’s cousin is heard shouting “he killed himself because of hunger” as security forces carried the body away at 1pm.
Lebanon’s crisis has only grown worse since increasing hardship triggered popular protests against the political system and corruption last October.
The economy took another hit from the restrictions imposed earlier this year because of the pandemic.
The number of people estimated to be living below the poverty line has reached one million – about a fifth of the population – after redundancies, salary cuts and business closures.
Meanwhile, the value of the Lebanese pound has plummeted from its peg of 1,515 to the US dollar to almost 9,000 on the black market amid a foreign currency shortage, pushing the price of basic goods beyond the reach of many in the import-dependent country.
On Friday, news emerged of another death in the southern port city of Saida, where a man aged 32 was found hanged at his home Saida, leaving his wife and daughter behind.
A Lebanese Internal Security officer told The National of two other suicides, of a man in his eighties in Tyre yesterday, and another man, aged about 70, in Baabdat.
Local media reported that the suicide in Tyre was a result of financial problems.
The official attributed the death to a combination of mental illness and “economic pressure”. “Like many other countries, there has been a slight increase in suicide cases for many reasons that aren’t limited to deprivation. Covid-19 and other diseases could be a reason,” he said.
Sabah Mohammad, a retired teacher, said the crisis had left her feeling hopeless.
“I am barely surviving on my pension and what my daughter sends me from abroad,” she said.
“The dollar crisis is pulling us down.
“There have been waves of criticism over the cabinet’s mishandling and mismanaging the crisis. I survived the civil war but I am unsure if we could survive this economic war.”
Sami Nader, an economist and director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs in Beirut, said he expected more suicides to occur because nothing had been done to help Lebanon out of the current crisis.
“The authorities and the government are totally paralysed … no decision has been taken so far to stop the collapse,” Mr Nader said.
“No reforms are on the horizon and that means no international help, because the only way to get out of the crisis is to get some funds from outside.
“Now the only available option is the International Monetary Fund. With all that’s happening, the division inside the government and being incapable of taking any measures to fix the problem, we’re heading for the worst.”
India cancels school-leaving examinations
MATCH INFO
RB Leipzig 2 (Klostermann 24', Schick 68')
Hertha Berlin 2 (Grujic 9', Piatek 82' pen)
Man of the match Matheus Cunha (Hertha Berlin
Jawan
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BOSH!'s pantry essentials
Nutritional yeast
This is Firth's pick and an ingredient he says, "gives you an instant cheesy flavour". He advises making your own cream cheese with it or simply using it to whip up a mac and cheese or wholesome lasagne. It's available in organic and specialist grocery stores across the UAE.
Seeds
"We've got a big jar of mixed seeds in our kitchen," Theasby explains. "That's what you use to make a bolognese or pie or salad: just grab a handful of seeds and sprinkle them over the top. It's a really good way to make sure you're getting your omegas."
Umami flavours
"I could say soya sauce, but I'll say all umami-makers and have them in the same batch," says Firth. He suggests having items such as Marmite, balsamic vinegar and other general, dark, umami-tasting products in your cupboard "to make your bolognese a little bit more 'umptious'".
Onions and garlic
"If you've got them, you can cook basically anything from that base," says Theasby. "These ingredients are so prevalent in every world cuisine and if you've got them in your cupboard, then you know you've got the foundation of a really nice meal."
Your grain of choice
Whether rice, quinoa, pasta or buckwheat, Firth advises always having a stock of your favourite grains in the cupboard. "That you, you have an instant meal and all you have to do is just chuck a bit of veg in."
Sting & Shaggy
44/876
(Interscope)
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Match info
Huddersfield Town 0
Chelsea 3
Kante (34'), Jorginho (45' pen), Pedro (80')
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
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Fast%20X
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The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
More on Quran memorisation:
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Results
6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah – Group 2 (PA) $36,000 (Dirt) 1,600m, Winner: RB Money To Burn, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Turf) 2,410m, Winner: Star Safari, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.40pm: Meydan Trophy – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (T) 1,900m, Winner: Secret Protector, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 - Group 2 (TB) $293,000 (D) 1,900m, Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
8.50pm: Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Zakouski, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) $65,000 (T) 1,000m, Winner: Motafaawit, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
