Talks to form a new Lebanese government remained deadlocked on Thursday as the two major Shiite parties stood firm on their demand to keep hold of the Finance Ministry.
Prime minister-designate Mustapha Adib met President Michel Aoun in the afternoon after 11th-hour talks with senior members of the Amal Movement and Hezbollah.
After the 30-minute meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, Mr Adib said he had discussed the “difficulties facing us in government formation” with Mr Aoun and they agreed to more time for consultations.
But he said he was “well aware that we do not have the luxury of time”.
Mr Aoun said he urged Mr Adib to continue contacts with parties as soon as possible because the "current circumstances require urgent action to rescue" Lebanon.
Lebanese political leaders had promised French President Emmanuel Macron that they would form a government by September 15, in the first stage of a French road map for reforms in the crisis-hit country.
But the process has been held up by the insistence of Amal and Hezbollah to keep the Finance Ministry, rather than allowing a rotation of top ministries between parties.
The two parties also insist on choosing all of the Shiite ministers in the new Cabinet.
Hezbollah’s “Loyalty to the Resistance” parliamentary bloc said on Thursday that the party “categorically refused to accept anyone else naming ministers that represent them in government”, particularly the finance minister.
The party also condemned what it called an American attempt to sabotage government formation efforts.
The US Treasury Department announced new sanctions on Thursday on two Lebanon-based companies, Arch Consulting and Memaar Construction, for their links to Hezbollah.
A Hezbollah executive council official, Sultan Asaad, was also designated.
This follows US sanctions last week on former finance minister and senior Amal Movement member Ali Hassan Khalil, and former transport minister Youssef Fenianos, for alleged corruption and aiding Hezbollah.
On Tuesday, as Mr Macron’s deadline for a new government loomed, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said French efforts to resolve the crisis in Lebanon would be in vain without addressing Hezbollah’s weapons.
France differentiates between the military and political arms of Hezbollah and considers it to be an elected and legitimate player in Lebanese politics.
Rumours earlier flew about the purpose of Mr Adib's visit to the presidential palace.
While some suggested Mr Adib would be presenting a full Cabinet line-up, others said he would abandon the task of forming a government and step aside after only two weeks.
The deadline agreed to with Mr Macron required an incredibly fast turnaround for a country where government formation takes months of negotiations.
The French presidency on Wednesday expressed "regret that Lebanese political leaders had not managed to keep their commitments".
But the leaders said it was "not too late" for a government to be formed.
Mr Macron met the heads of Lebanon’s political blocs during a visit at the beginning of September.
It was his second trip to the country in less than a month after the explosion at Beirut port on August 4 that killed almost 200 people and damaged half of the capital.
Mr Adib, formerly Lebanon’s ambassador to Germany, was given the job of forming a government on August 31 after broad support from the establishment including Mr Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement, Hezbollah and former prime minister Saad Hariri.
He wants to build a small cabinet of technocrats to enact reforms that will help Lebanon to emerge from its acute economic crisis and recover from the port blast.
If it does not implement these reforms, billions of dollars in international loans and grants will be in jeopardy.
Mr Adib is also pushing for a shake-up of which parties hold certain ministries, particularly the four “sovereign ministries” of finance, defence, interior and foreign affairs.
Mr Hariri condemned Mr Berri’s opposition to a rotation of the ministries, saying on Wednesday that “no sect has the exclusive right to the Finance Ministry or any other ministerial portfolio”.
He said that preventing a rotation between parties could ruin the only remaining hope to save Lebanon and its people.
Druze leader Walid Joumblatt was similarly critical of the political wrangling that delayed the new cabinet, describing the French initiative as “the last chance to stop Lebanon’s demise”.
Mr Aoun’s party also announced last week that they would not take part.
Party leader Gebran Bassil, who is Mr Aoun’s son-in-law, said that "internal and external" forces were trying to thwart government formation.
Mr Bassil criticised Mr Adib for trying to impose a line-up without broader political approval.
Hassan Diab, Mr Adib’s predecessor, announced the resignation of his government on August 10.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
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
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
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
TICKETS
For tickets for the two-day Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) event, entitled Dubai Invasion 2019, on September 27 and 28 go to www.meraticket.com.
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Raha%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Kuwait%2FSaudi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tech%20Logistics%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2414%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Soor%20Capital%2C%20eWTP%20Arabia%20Capital%2C%20Aujan%20Enterprises%2C%20Nox%20Management%2C%20Cedar%20Mundi%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20166%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The currency conundrum
Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”
Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.
This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.0%20twin-turbo%20inline%20six-cylinder%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeight-speed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E503hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E600Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh400%2C000%20(estimate)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alaan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Parthi%20Duraisamy%20and%20Karun%20Kurien%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247%20million%20raised%20in%20total%20%E2%80%94%20%242.5%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20and%20%244.5%20million%20in%20a%20pre-series%20A%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
