Following Lebanon’s first national election in nine years, the country’s political balance is in flux as discussions start on forming the next cabinet and parliament meets to elect its leadership at their first session on Wednesday.
The first step – the selection of a speaker – appeared to be a formality after the major parliamentary blocs either said they would support incumbent speaker Nabih Berri or abstain from casting a ballot. But now comes the tortuous process of forming a cabinet.
When speaking about forming a government in Lebanon, “quickly” means weeks instead of months or even years.
The outgoing government was formed in just four weeks. But prior to that, the government of Tammam Salam took 10 months to finalise. Just six weeks after Mr Salam’s government took their positions, then-president Michel Sleiman left his, and the country entered a 29-month hiatus without a head of state while political factions argued over his successor.
Unlike presidential posts and Cabinet, Mr Berri has been a stalwart for more than two decades and is set to return to his post unopposed. Parties have also struck a broad understanding ahead of Wednesday’s meeting that caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri will remain in position.
The horse-trading will now begin for seats around the Cabinet table. Without a fixed number of ministers to appoint, the flexibility can help. But following this month’s election, parties that fared well are looking to increase their representation while those that lost seats are unlikely to want to relinquish converted portfolios.
One potential challenge will be the impact of last week’s US sanctions against Hezbollah officials, and warnings that the group must not take more than their current two posts in Cabinet. After a weekly meeting of his Future Movement parliamentary bloc on Tuesday, Mr Hariri downplayed the impact of the sanctions on the progress of Cabinet formation.
On the other side of the coin, Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces (LF), could also be a spoiler in any quick formation of a government. An unreserved critic of Hezbollah and its arsenal, his mostly Christian party nearly doubled their seats in parliament from eight to 15. If his party is not handed the representation in Cabinet that they feel they deserve after defying expectations at the ballot box, he will likely draw out the process, or be forced into opposition outside of government.
Mr Geagea has said his party will cast blank ballots on Wednesday when the speaker is selected – not as a slight to Mr Berri, but because the group had decided not to support anyone in the post. He has put forward incoming MP Anis Nassar as a candidate for Mr Berri’s deputy, a post normally reserved for an Orthodox Christian.
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As of Wednesday evening, incoming politician Elie Ferzli appeared to have the edge on Mr Nassar with most major parties saying they would support him over the LF’s pick. The third candidate, former education minister and MP Elias Bou Saab, had not received much vocal backing.
The position of deputy speaker was held during the most recent government by a member of Mr Hariri’s Future Movement.
Discussing the coming weeks, Abd Moussa, the general media coordinator for Mr Hariri’s party, touched on the desire of the major parties to agree on ministries quickly.
“We hope we will have a government very soon because Lebanon needs that and it cannot waste time on this because all of the issues in Lebanon need a working government,” said Mr Moussa.
The major issues facing Lebanon remain the same. In addition to the political dilemma Hezbollah presents, the country suffers from an ageing and overstretched infrastructure, daily power outages and regular water cuts.
These decades-long issues remain unsolved largely as a result of politics and corruption. However, following a major donor international conference in Paris on April 6 that saw pledges of US$11 billion (Dh40bn) in loans and grants to fix some of Lebanon’s infrastructure woes, parties are keen to keep the recent momentum on economic reform and project implementation.
In its final meeting on Monday, Cabinet passed a dizzying number of final bills including to reissue tenders to boost power generation and rent a third power barge from Turkish company Karadeniz Holding, media reported.
However, not all are hopeful that the next government will be any more effective than their predecessors at fixing Lebanon’s numerous woes.
"This election was bad for the Lebanese voters – they effectively voted in the same people who got them into the mess we are in – they have not solved anything effectively in the last eight or nine years," Sami Attalah, the executive director of the Lebanese Centre for Policy Studies, told The National.
“It’s not about the faces, it’s about the rules of engagement. Are we going to see any sort of major changes in the decision-making process?” Mr Attalah asked. “The political elite came back on top, only some with more seats and some with fewer seats”.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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
if you go
The flights
Flydubai offers three daily direct flights to Sarajevo and, from June, a daily flight from Thessaloniki from Dubai. A return flight costs from Dhs1,905 including taxes.
The trip
The Travel Scientists are the organisers of the Balkan Ride and several other rallies around the world. The 2018 running of this particular adventure will take place from August 3-11, once again starting in Sarajevo and ending a week later in Thessaloniki. If you’re driving your own vehicle, then entry start from €880 (Dhs 3,900) per person including all accommodation along the route. Contact the Travel Scientists if you wish to hire one of their vehicles.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ogram%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Karim%20Kouatly%20and%20Shafiq%20Khartabil%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20On-demand%20staffing%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2050%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMore%20than%20%244%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20round%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Series%20A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGlobal%20Ventures%2C%20Aditum%20and%20Oraseya%20Capital%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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
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
UAE v United States, T20 International Series
Both matches at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free.
1st match: Friday, 2pm
2nd match: Saturday, 2pm
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Rameez Shahzad, Amjad Gul, CP Rizwan, Mohammed Boota, Abdul Shakoor, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat
USA squad: Saurabh Netravalkar (captain), Jaskaran Malhotra, Elmore Hutchinson, Aaron Jones, Nosthush Kenjige, Ali Khan, Jannisar Khan, Xavier Marshall, Monank Patel, Timil Patel, Roy Silva, Jessy Singh, Steven Taylor, Hayden Walsh
Result
Tottenhan Hotspur 2 Roma 3
Tottenham: Winks 87', Janssen 90 1'
Roma 3
D Perotti 13' (pen), C Under 70', M Tumminello 90 2"
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The years Ramadan fell in May
SHADOWS%20AND%20LIGHT%3A%20THE%20EXTRAORDINARY%20LIFE%20OF%20JAMES%20MCBEY
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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
Honeymoonish
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Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
