Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has condemned an Israeli drone strike that killed five people, including three children, in the southern town of Bint Jbeil as a “massacre”.
The drone struck a motorcycle and a car with two missiles on Sunday, according to Lebanon's National News Agency. Five people were killed, including three children, and two others were wounded, the county's health ministry said.
Lebanese newspaper L'Orient–Le Jour identified the driver of a Mercedes SUV that was struck by a missile as Chadi Sobhi Charara. It said he and several children were killed.
Mr Aoun said in a statement: “While we are in New York to discuss peace and human rights issues, Israel persists in its ongoing violations of international resolutions, most notably the cessation of hostilities agreement, by committing a new massacre in Bint Jbeil, which claimed the lives of five martyrs, including three children.
“From New York, we call on the international community, whose leaders are present in the halls of the United Nations, to exert every effort to stop violations of international resolutions, especially the states sponsoring the November 27, 2024 Declaration, and to pressure Israel to withdraw from Lebanese territory and abide by the aforementioned declaration.
“There is no peace above the blood of our children.”
Israel claimed it targeted a "terrorist [who] operated from within a civilian population and in violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon".
"As a result of the strike, several uninvolved civilians were killed. The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible. The incident is under review," a statement read.
Israel has continued to launch attacks in Lebanon despite a November truce ending more than a year of conflict with Hezbollah. Israel has also kept troops in five southern areas that it deems are strategic.
Israeli strikes killed two people in the south of the country on Friday. Israel claimed they were Hezbollah operatives.
The latest strikes comes as Lebanon’s government, under unprecedented US pressure, seeks to disarm Hezbollah.
The army said the number of Israeli ceasefire violations now amounts to 4,500 and said continuing attacks risk slowing down Hezbollah’s disarmament.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's war with Hezbollah has created the possibility for peace with Lebanon and Syria.
“Our victories in Lebanon against Hezbollah have opened a window for a possibility that was not even imagined before our recent operations and actions: the possibility of peace with our northern neighbours,” Mr Netanyahu told the cabinet on Sunday.
In August, Beirut ordered its military to draw up disarmament plans, which its cabinet said the army would begin implementing.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi said earlier this month that the army would start by fully disarming Hezbollah near the border with Israel within three months, then turn its focus to other areas.
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Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
if you go
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
