A row on Saudi-Syrian initiative continues



Although the Syrian president Bashar Assad confirmed during his last visit to Paris that there was no Saudi-Syrian initiative regarding the International Tribunal for Lebanon and that the controversy should be solved among the Lebanese themselves, the issue is still attracting attention, observed Tariq Alhomayed in a commentary for the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al Awsat.

Some Lebanese and Saudi sources said that after the indictment of Hizbollah, the March 14 alliance might announce that justice has been achieved. The Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri's bloc may withdraw from the trial, but without obstructing its course.

According to other sources, Hizbollah needs to meet four conditions: the abolition of the veto power system in the Lebanese government, the withdrawal of weapons, joining the national dialogue, and contributing to the implementation of the Taif agreement decisions.

Yet, many believe that Hizbollah is aware that any initiative is less likely to help it out from its current impasse, which explains why the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has described the tribunal as null and void. His opinion, in fact, was not a surprise for most Lebanese since Mr Khamenei expressed the same stance during Mr Hariri's last visit to Tehran, although it was not made public then.

Extremists have served Israel well

In an opinion piece for the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Jareeda, Saleh al Qallab wrote that Christmas celebrations this year were marred by the recollection of deadly attacks on churches and Christian communities in the Arab world.

But those who sow death and destruction are not Muslims; they are criminals and terrorists. Acting in the name of Islam, extremists have terrorised Christians in Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq. They have grossly distorted the image of Islam and help propagate Islamphobic feelings world-wide.

This has also given reason for Israel to claim it is the frontline defence against the West against rising religious extremism. Extremists thus have served the Israeli claim to have a new role for regional empowerment.

Because of the Christian issue, Israel can also avert international pressure to freeze settlement activities and meet its obligations to the peace process in the Middle East, mainly to grant the Palestinian people full rights to establish their independent state.

It is time now that Muslim scholars as well as Islamic and nationalist leaders should realise the risks posed by extremist crimes against Arab Christians. They should act swiftly to put an end to this.

Escalation in Darfur at a critical time

The latest events in Darfur which, according to Khartoum, led to the death of 40 rebels and soldiers, cannot be incidental, noted the UAE newspaper Al Bayan in its editorial.

They came at a time when South of Sudan is heading towards secession. And although the referendum is the only reference to decide on the issue, preparations are in full swing either in Sudan or internationally to deal with the new situation as if the separation of Sudan is certain and only a matter of time.

There is a symbolic dimension of the escalation in Darfur in the run- up days to the referendum, which may lay the ground for further divisions. The secession of the South might set a precedent that will lure more provinces to follow the same path which, in turn, would spark new hotbeds of violent tension.

In Darfur, there is ongoing support to the leaders of rebellion, either through logistics or media coverage. The ultimate aim is to convert a handful of legitimate rights by local political forces into public demands to seek secession similar to what is expected in the South. This is happening while the central government is submerged with pressing issues ranging from opposition in the North to the arrest warrant against the president Omar al Bashir.

Moving UAE identity registration forward

"Fines on failing to meet the deadline for identity cards have been postponed so many times that there is every reason to doubt whether there was any strategy in place when the project was first launched," observed Amani Mohammed in a commentary for the UAE newspaper Al Ittihad.

"Because identity registration is a vital project, it should have been important to plan well for the capacity of its centres. It should be noted that those who have not yet registered number more than five million people, while the deadlines set each time do not proportionally correspond to the centres' capacity."

The identity card is not only an important identification document, but it has also a security dimension, especially since we receive hundreds of new workers every day.

Frequent delays raise the question: why has identity registration not been linked with residence permit renewal since the launch of the project? This could be to a large extent the right decision, which goes in line with the identity registration's requirements.

* Digest compiled by Racha Makarem

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Stage 3 results

1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 4:42:33

2 Tadej Pocagar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:03

3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana 0:01:30

4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ

5 Rafal Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe         

6 Diego Ulissi (ITA) UAE Team Emirates  0:01:56

General Classification after Stage 3:

1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 12:30:02

2 Tadej Pocagar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:07

3  Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana 0:01:35

4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:40

5  Rafal Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe

6 Wilco Kelderman (NED) Team Sunweb)  0:02:06

World record transfers

1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m

Tips for job-seekers
  • Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
  • Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.

David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East

Europe’s rearming plan
  • Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
  • Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
  • Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
  • Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
  • Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Key changes

Commission caps

For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:

• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term). 

• On the protection component, there is a cap  of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).

• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated. 

• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.

• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.

Disclosure

Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.

“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”

Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.

Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.

“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.

Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.

The specs
Engine: 2.4-litre 4-cylinder

Transmission: CVT auto

Power: 181bhp

Torque: 244Nm

Price: Dh122,900