US envoy Tom Barrack on Wednesday cancelled part of a planned tour of south Lebanon after protests against his visit, reflecting anger in the Shiite-majority region over US policy.
Mr Barrack arrived by helicopter at the Francois El Hage military barracks in Marjayoun in the morning, where there was a heavy deployment of Lebanese troops, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) said.
He was scheduled to visit the war-ravaged town of Khiam a few kilometres away, near one of the Israeli-occupied positions in south Lebanon, as well as the coastal city of Tyre, but cut his trip short, the NNA said. Activists staged sit-ins in Tyre and Khiam protesting against Mr Barrack’s visit.
Mr Barrack’s trip to the south, a region where Hezbollah holds sway and which was heavily bombed in its war with Israel last year, followed meetings with Lebanese leaders in Beirut on Tuesday as part of a US-backed push to disarm the political and paramilitary group.
The US envoy angered the Lebanese when he referred to reporters at a press conference after his meeting as “animalistic”.
Long a taboo in Lebanon, the issue of disarming Hezbollah is now on the table after the cabinet this month narrowly endorsed a US-backed proposal requiring the group to hand over all its weapons. The government is expected to present a plan on Sunday to persuade the Iran-backed group to lay down its arms, while Israel is expected to submit a corresponding framework for withdrawing its troops from five occupied positions in southern Lebanon.
Mr Barrack also said the US would back a one-year extension of Unifil, a UN peacekeeping force deployed in southern Lebanon since 1978. The extension of the current mandate, which expires on Sunday, is currently under discussion by the Security Council.
Unifil spokesman Andrea Tenenti said the force is waiting for the renewal to be officially adopted. “Sometimes there are a lot of differences between what people say and what we see on paper,” he told The National. “We will see what the Security Council ultimately decides.”
He said ending the Unifil mission would leave a “vacuum that could jeopardise stability”. Mr Tenenti also pointed out that the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon was linked to the deployment of the Lebanese army in the region.
The Israeli withdrawal is part of the terms of a November ceasefire, which ended 14 months of cross-border attacks, including two months of full-scale war. But Israel has kept troops in several strategic areas while continuing to carry out strikes across the country almost daily.
Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah members and military infrastructure. The attacks have killed dozens of civilians in Lebanon since the ceasefire, according to the UN.
Hezbollah has refused to surrender its weapons, accusing the Lebanese government of making a grave mistake.
Washington has proposed economic incentives in exchange for the group's disarmament. In his press conference, Mr Barrack said southerners reliant on Iranian funds could not simply be asked to “plant more olive trees”. He added that the US and its allies should offer a “substitute” for Iranian financing. He floated the idea of creating an economic zone along the devastated southern region bordering Israel.
A source close to Hezbollah dismissed the idea as “false promises”.
“In addition to it being an attack on Lebanon’s sovereignty, who has the right to determine the purpose of using these lands? The Lebanese people, not the Americans,” the source told The National.
Many border villages in southern Lebanon have been destroyed by Israeli forces, with residents still unable to rebuild due to continuing attacks and a lack of funds.
A report released by Amnesty International on Tuesday said Israeli forces have heavily damaged at least 10,000 structures outside of combat operations, most of them after the ceasefire, in what it described as a violation of international humanitarian law.
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
The five pillars of Islam
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
HOSTS
T20 WORLD CUP
2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland
ODI WORLD CUP
2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh
CHAMPIONS TROPHY
2025: Pakistan; 2029: India
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs: 2018 Maserati GranTurismo/GranCabrio
Price, base Dh485,000 (GranTurismo) and Dh575,000 (GranCabrio)
Engine 4.7L V8
Transmission Six-speed automatic
Power 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 520Nm @ 4,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.3L (GranTurismo) and 14.5L (GranCabrio) / 100km
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20Tabby%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%20August%202019%3B%20platform%20went%20live%20in%20February%202020%3Cbr%3EFounder%2FCEO%3A%20Hosam%20Arab%2C%20co-founder%3A%20Daniil%20Barkalov%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Payments%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2040-50%20employees%3Cbr%3EStage%3A%20Series%20A%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Arbor%20Ventures%2C%20Mubadala%20Capital%2C%20Wamda%20Capital%2C%20STV%2C%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Founders%20Capital%2C%20JIMCO%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20Venture%20Souq%2C%20Outliers%20VC%2C%20MSA%20Capital%2C%20HOF%20and%20AB%20Accelerator.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Black Panther
Dir: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
Five stars
If you go
The flights
The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings
The stay
Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
