Lebanese prime minister-designate Saad Hariri met with several parliamentary blocs on Monday as he began the process of consulting parties and new MPs to form the country's next government.
The talks came the day after several Lebanese newspapers quoted Parliament speaker Nabih Berri as saying that the new cabinet should be formed by the end of Ramadan in mid June. He was reported as saying that no party had an interest in delaying the formation of government, adding that Hezbollah would not be making “impossible demands” but that it would get its share of seats.
Mr Hariri was tasked with heading the next government last week, with 111 of the 128 MPs voting for the former prime minister. He hopes to form the government quickly, he said, in order to maintain legislative momentum from the outgoing cabinet and parliament.
Lebanon is seeking to implement a number of economic reforms and pass long-awaited decrees in order to capitalise on the nearly $11 billion in loans and grants pledged by the international community at April’s CEDRE conference to invest in the country’s crumbling infrastructure. Mr Hariri has said that implementing the previous administration’s Capital Investment Plan, pitched at the Paris summit, could lead to tens of thousands of new jobs over the next five to 10 years.
Hezbollah – which the US designates a terrorist entity – held two ministries in the previous cabinet but Washington has indicated that the party taking more seats could jeopardize ongoing support.
After a meeting with Mr Hariri, Mohammad Raad, an MP with Hezbollah’s ‘Loyalty to the Resistance’ parliamentary bloc, said that they would seek the Finance Ministry as well as a new full ministry post they have floated called the Planning Ministry. Local media reported that this was in line with Hezbollah’s plans to tackle corruption, a central pillar of their election campaign.
The National News Agency (NNA) reported that when asked about recent US sanctions on senior Hezbollah officials, Mr Raad said that they were external influences, but did not elaborate.
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Read more:
Lebanese politician meet for first parliamentary session
US-Gulf sanctions target top leaders of Hezbollah
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The speaker’s bloc has called on Mr Hariri to increase the number of women in Cabinet by allocating a quarter of seats for female ministers. The call was backed by MP Bahia Hariri, Mr Hariri’s aunt who represented his Future Movement.
Gebran Bassil, the caretaker foreign minister and head of the Free Patriotic Movement – who took a seat in parliament at May’s election and now lead’s the ‘Strong Lebanon’ bloc – called for the formation of a national unity government with the largest representation from across the political spectrum.
One of the most contentious challenges will be reconciling parties demands for the so-called sovereign portfolios – the interior, defence, foreign and finance ministries. Although Lebanon has no fixed number of ministers and each cabinet can fluctuate in size, there is a limited number of coveted key portfolios.
“We have been deprived of the finance or interior ministries for years,” Mr Bassil said. “It is about time our bloc be granted one.”
He also advocated that key portfolios be offered to ministers representing some of the smaller sects in Lebanon’s 18 officially recognized denominations, according to the state-run NNA. "We are not keeping portfolios for [specific] sects or political forces." The sovereign ministries are currently equally distributed between Christians and Muslims.
Mr Bassil also said that the ministerial statement – in effect the government’s manifesto read to parliament before taking office – should include facilitating the return of Syrian refugees, the dire economic situation and drafting an emergency plan, tackling the country’s rampant corruption and implementing administrative decentralisation. Lebanon officially hosts just under 1 million Syrian refugees but the government places the real figure at upwards of 1.5 million people displaced by the neighbouring conflict.
Teymour Joumblatt, who succeeded his longtime Druze political leader father Walid Joumblatt as head of the Progressive Socialist Party’s ‘Democratic Gathering’ parliamentary bloc, told Mr Hariri that the next government should focus on national unity and be representative of the political landscape after the last election.
Former prime minister Tammam Salam took a different tack and urged caution and deliberation in cabinet formation discussions. After meeting Mr Hariri, the NNA quoted him as saying that he had encouraged Mr Hariri not to rush cabinet formation and to ensure the rotation of key ministries.
He also dismissed speculation that he could return to Cabinet and said he backed Mr Hariri’s push to not have MPs also serving as ministers. Mr Salam was re-elected on the prime minister-designee’s Future Movement list to represent Beirut’s second district.
Most major parties have said they would not nominate MPs for ministerial posts, excluding Mr Hariri, who is an MP for Beirut’s second district and has already been nominated Prime Minister.
Newly elected deputy parliament speaker Elie Ferzli also said that it was important that while Cabinet was representative it wasn’t all-encompassing. He said that if all parties had a place in government it would be indistinguishable from parliament and there would be no opposition voices. He later clarified that this was not an attempt to sideline any single parties.
"How can [cabinet] be overseen if there is no opposition in Parliament?" he asked. "I cannot imagine Parliament without an opposition."
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
Brief scores:
England: 290 & 346
Sri Lanka: 336 & 243
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Captain Marvel
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn
4/5 stars
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
Ten10 Cricket League
Venue and schedule Sharjah Cricket Stadium, December 14 to 17
Teams
Maratha Arabians Leading player: Virender Sehwag; Top picks: Mohammed Amir, Imad Wasim; UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Zahoor Khan
Bengal Lions Leading player: Sarfraz Ahmed; Top picks: Sunil Narine, Mustafizur Rahman; UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Rameez Shahzad
Kerala Kings Leading player: Eoin Morgan; Top picks: Kieron Pollard, Sohail Tanvir; UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Imran Haider
Pakhtoons Leading player: Shahid Afridi; Top picks: Fakhar Zaman, Tamim Iqbal; UAE players: Amjad Javed, Saqlain Haider
Punjabi Legends Leading player: Shoaib Malik; Top picks: Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan; UAE players: Ghulam Shabber, Shareef Asadullah
Team Sri Lanka Cricket Will be made up of Colombo players who won island’s domestic limited-overs competition
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
FIGHT CARD
1. Featherweight 66kg
Ben Lucas (AUS) v Ibrahim Kendil (EGY)
2. Lightweight 70kg
Mohammed Kareem Aljnan (SYR) v Alphonse Besala (CMR)
3. Welterweight 77kg
Marcos Costa (BRA) v Abdelhakim Wahid (MAR)
4. Lightweight 70kg
Omar Ramadan (EGY) v Abdimitalipov Atabek (KGZ)
5. Featherweight 66kg
Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Kagimu Kigga (UGA)
6. Catchweight 85kg
Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) v Iuri Fraga (BRA)
7. Featherweight 66kg
Yousef Al Husani (UAE) v Mohamed Allam (EGY)
8. Catchweight 73kg
Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Abdipatta Abdizhali (KGZ)
9. Featherweight 66kg
Jaures Dea (CMR) v Andre Pinheiro (BRA)
10. Catchweight 90kg
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cargoz%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Premlal%20Pullisserry%20and%20Lijo%20Antony%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2030%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A