Gebran Bassil, a Lebanese politician and head of the Free Patriotic Movement. Reuters
Gebran Bassil, a Lebanese politician and head of the Free Patriotic Movement. Reuters
Gebran Bassil, a Lebanese politician and head of the Free Patriotic Movement. Reuters
Gebran Bassil, a Lebanese politician and head of the Free Patriotic Movement. Reuters

US-sanctioned Gebran Bassil accuses Saad Hariri of sidelining president in government formation


Aya Iskandarani
  • English
  • Arabic

Gebran Bassil on Sunday accused Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri of sidelining President Michel Aoun, the country’s highest Christian official, in choosing his future ministers.

The process stalled since the appointment two months ago of Mr Hariri to the premiership for the fourth time, as sectarian leaders disagree on their ministerial share of the next Cabinet.

"Why is Saad Hariri assuming that he can nominate Christian ministers on behalf of the resident and Christians? We are not second-class citizens," Mr Bassil said in a televised speech.

An MP and former minister, Mr Bassil, 50, leads the Free Patriotic Movement, founded by his father-in-law, Mr Aoun.

It is Hezbollah’s biggest Christian ally and the largest party in parliament.

Mr Bassil's speech followed one this week by Hezbollah  leader Hassan Nasrallah and a TV interview Druze leader Walid Joumblatt.

Sectarian leaders have evaded responsibility for the stalled government formation, choosing instead to embroil themselves in disputes as the country plunges further into crisis.

But a new, clean government capable of enacting reforms is necessary for Lebanon to gain access to debt relief and international loans.

“The prime minister-designate does not consult us because we did not endorse him and he says he does not want to anger his allies,” said Mr Bassil, insisting that the FPM did not want to play a role in the next government.

"But he consults Hezbollah and expects it to send names for future ministers."

Hezbollah, the FPM and their Christian rivals the Lebanese Forces, did not endorse Mr Hariri’s bid for the premiership.

But the militant group and its Shiite ally – the Amal Movement – are insisting on nominating Lebanon’s future finance minister.

In Lebanon’s power-sharing system, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni and the Speaker of parliament a Shiite.

Ministerial portfolios are not assigned to specific sects.

The quotas were meant to promote shared decision-making after 15 years of civil war that ended in 1990, but the system has been accused by pro-reform activists of promoting nepotism and corruption.

Lebanon has been run by a caretaker government since August, when Hassan Diab  resigned as prime minister after a deadly blast at Beirut port, compounding an economic crisis.

Mr Hariri succeeded him a year after a mass protest movement against corruption, sectarian politics and foreign meddling forced him to resign.

Mr Bassil  was criticised by Lebanese demonstrators, who took to the streets last year to demand reform.

They regard him as a sectarian leader with ambitions for the presidency, an ambition now compromised by US sanctions imposed on him for corruption in November.

Mr Bassil's opponents accuse him of having forged an alliance with Hezbollah and of warming to the Syrian regime to succeed his father-in-law as president.

He has refused to give up his alliance with the militant group although he said the FPM and Hezbollah would launch a dialogue to reassess their partnership.

He has championed “Christian rights", which he says are under threat from Syrian refugees, to whom he refers as “migrants” and “foreigners”.

Pathaan
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Borussia Dortmund 0

Bayern Munich 1 (Kimmich 43')

Man of the match: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)

ICC Awards for 2021

MEN

Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)

T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)

ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)

Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)

WOMEN

Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)

ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)

T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)

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Fuel economy: 6.7L / 100km (estimate)

Company profile

Name: Fruitful Day

Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie

Based: Dubai, UAE

Founded: 2015

Number of employees: 30

Sector: F&B

Funding so far: Dh3 million

Future funding plans: None at present

Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

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Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

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China

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UAE

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Japan

5

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School counsellors on mental well-being

Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.

Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.

Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.

“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.

“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.

“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.

“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”

Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.

The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.

At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.

“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.

“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.

"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

match info

Manchester United 3 (Martial 7', 44', 74')

Sheffield United 0

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Match info:

Real Betis v Sevilla, 10.45pm (UAE)

THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick

Hometown: Cologne, Germany

Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)

Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes

Favourite hobby: Football

Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk

MATCH INFO

Manchester City 3 (Silva 8' &15, Foden 33')

Birmginahm City 0

Man of the match Bernado Silva (Manchester City)

Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away

It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.

The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.

But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.

At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.

The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.

After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.

Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.

And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.

At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.

And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.

* Agence France Presse

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