Lebanon’s president urged calm and religious authorities rushed to defuse tension after mass protests took a sectarian turn on Saturday night and the military said no further breach would be tolerated.
President Michel Aoun called on the nation to heed Saturday’s clashes as a “warning bell”.
“The persecution of any religious symbol or Lebanese sect is the persecution of all Lebanese,” Mr Aoun said. “Our strength was, is and will remain in our national unity, whatever our political differences.”
Both Dar Al Fatwa, the country’s highest Sunni authority, and Imam Abdul Amir Qabalan, Lebanon’s highest Shiite authority, condemned sectarian chants and slogans heard during Saturday night’s demonstrations.
Thousands took to the streets in downtown Beirut on Saturday afternoon in a return of the anti-government demonstrations that brought down the government of Saad Hariri in October.
But as the day wore on, protesters – throwing stones and fireworks – fought with the police who fired tear gas. At least 48 people were wounded, the Lebanese Red Cross said.
Officers also moved to break up scuffles between a contingent of Hezbollah and Amal Movement supporters and the protesters.
Demonstrators chanted anti-Hezbollah slogans and insults about its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, while the supporters chanted sectarian slogans back.
In chants heard in videos posted online the group can be heard insulting revered Sunni figures including Aisha, one of the Prophet Mohammed’s wives.
In response, groups took to the streets and blocked roads in several largely Sunni areas of the country – including south Beirut – and gunfire was reported.
The Lebanese army warned that it would not tolerate future incidents, saying the “security of the people and country is above any other consideration.”
The military warned that Saturday’s sectarian-charged clashes could have “dragged the country into a dangerous slope, as what happened almost destroyed national unity, tore civil peace and nurtured division."
Dar Al Fatwa, Lebanon’s highest Sunni religious authority, called for calm and said Muslims should not fall “into the trap of sectarian and religious sedition”.
It said: “The insults emanate from certain ignorant people who do not know the true values of Islam”.
The Shiite High Council supported the statement of Dar Al Fatwa and said there were “suspicious attempts to evoke sectarian sedition among the Lebanese and to strike at their national and religious unity”.
Lebanon’s most senior Shiite politician, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, also condemned the chants as “worse than murder,” and an attempt to “assassinate the country."
"Every act from any side targeting Lebanese unity, security, stability and livelihoods is an Israeli act. Any voice that promotes strife [between the Lebanese] is a Hebrew voice, even if spoken in Arabic," he said in a statement released by Parliament’s press office.
Former prime minister Saad Hariri said he was appalled by the insults and called on people not to react in a way that would threaten civil peace or sow discord.
“Any insult against Sayyeda Aisha is disgraceful and unacceptable and struck us all at the core,” he said in a tweet. “I appeal to … all religions to respect the statement of Dar Al Fatwa and warn the Muslim public against falling into the trap of sectarian strife. God’s curse on strife and those who awaken it.”
Hezbollah also denounced the chants, saying it did not support the message. It also spoke out against sectarian division. Amal officials denounced what it called a “blatant attempt to provoke sedition between the faithful”.
The military was present in large numbers in Ein El Remmeneh and Chiyah in south Beirut, a mixed Christian-Shiite site of one of the massacres of the 1975-90 civil war.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s office tweeted, saying: “The prime minister condemns and denounces in the strongest terms, all sectarian slogans ... and calls on all Lebanese and their political and spiritual leaders to exercise awareness and wisdom and co-operate with the army and security services.”
Walls
Louis Tomlinson
3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
Rory Reynolds
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
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BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
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
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
Blonde
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The chef's advice
Troy Payne, head chef at Abu Dhabi’s newest healthy eatery Sanderson’s in Al Seef Resort & Spa, says singles need to change their mindset about how they approach the supermarket.
“They feel like they can’t buy one cucumber,” he says. “But I can walk into a shop – I feed two people at home – and I’ll walk into a shop and I buy one cucumber, I’ll buy one onion.”
Mr Payne asks for the sticker to be placed directly on each item, rather than face the temptation of filling one of the two-kilogram capacity plastic bags on offer.
The chef also advises singletons not get too hung up on “organic”, particularly high-priced varieties that have been flown in from far-flung locales. Local produce is often grown sustainably, and far cheaper, he says.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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