What time is it in Lebanon? Depends on who you ask...

What time is it in Lebanon? Depends on who you ask...
FPM leader Bassil said the move was "not acceptable." (AFP/File)
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Updated 26 March 2023

What time is it in Lebanon? Depends on who you ask...

What time is it in Lebanon? Depends on who you ask...
  • Caretaker PM Najib Mikati postponed decision to April 20
  • Religious bodies, parties, business, media vent frustration

LONDON: The Lebanese government’s decision to delay the start of daylight saving by a month has further divided the nation already crippled by medicine shortages, a severe financial crisis and rising corruption cases.

The decision on Thursday by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, to “exceptionally” postpone daylight saving to midnight on April 20 instead of March 25 has sparked dispute, with several politicians, businesses, citizens and even media outlets refusing to comply with the delay.

Gebran Bassil, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, said in a tweet that the move was “not acceptable” and “carries obvious messages,” calling for appeals against it.

Leaked footage of a conversation between Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri prompted many to take to social media to either support or denounce the decision, at times using sectarian rhetoric.

In the video, which shows the two officials discussing daylight saving, Berri suggests that instead of shifting fast-breaking time to 7 p.m., it should remain at 6 p.m. “until the end of Ramadan.”

“This matter goes beyond daylight saving. It is an existential issue for us; the Christians of the East,” one Twitter user wrote.

Another person said he has already advanced his clocks “so that Lebanon continues to resemble us and every patriot, whether Christian or Muslim.”

Others found this an occasion for dark humor. Lebanese journalist Jad Ghosn tweeted: “Starting tomorrow, appointments should be (scheduled) according to either LBC or NBN,” in reference to the two Lebanese TV channels, one of which is Christian-run while the other is owned by the Berri family.

“Unbelievable!” he concluded.

An Instagram user suggested that now in Lebanon, instead of asking "What time is it?", people will be asking "What is your religion?".

LBCI was not the only media outlet to reject the government’s decision. OTV, a newscaster launched by Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, also announced that it would not abide by Mikati’s decision and, instead, would advance its lock an hour at midnight.

Describing the government’s decision as “last-minute” and “absolutely unprepared,” L’Orient-Le Jour and L’Orient Today said in a statement it would not be possible to amend its schedule at short notice.

The Lebanese news platform, which describes itself as independent, said its decision was not only driven by technical challenges but also by political aspects. “We refuse … to waste time and energy to implement a decision taken with revolting levity and negligence, by political leaders totally disconnected from the reality of the country,” the statement read.

The country’s flagship air carrier Middle East Airlines issued a statement highlighting that to ensure smooth traffic from March 26 to April 20, “departure timings of all flights departing from Rafic Hariri International Airport – Beirut would be shifted by one hour earlier during this period.” Also, the timetable for “inbound flights from foreign airports” would “remain the same without any modification, according to the local time in the country of departure.”

Several businesses in the hospitality sector, such as Centrale Restaurant in Beirut, confirmed on their social media accounts that they would switch to daylight saving time.

Religious and educational institutions were also among those refusing to comply with the decision. The Maronite Catholic Archeparchy of Antelias announced in a statement it would observe daylight saving time while scheduling masses and prayers.

College Notre-Dame de Jamhour stated on social media that it would follow universal time.

Daylight Saving Time starts in mid- or late-March in many parts of the world. This year it coincided with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which started on the evening of Wednesday March 22 in most Middle East nations.


Venice’s Grand Canal turns bright green due to fluorescein

Venice’s Grand Canal turns bright green due to fluorescein
Updated 30 May 2023

Venice’s Grand Canal turns bright green due to fluorescein

Venice’s Grand Canal turns bright green due to fluorescein
  • The results “have not shown the presence of toxic elements in the samples analyzed,” the statement said, without specifying the origin of the substance

ROME: The spectacular transformation of a stretch of Venice’s Grand Canal to fluorescent green was due to fluorescein, a non-toxic substance used for testing wastewater networks, local authorities said on Monday.
Residents noticed a stretch of Venice’s Grand Canal turned bright green Sunday, prompting police to investigate amid speculation it could be a stunt by environmentalists.

In this image released by the Italian firefighters, a firefighter on a boat looks at the arched Rialto Bridge along Venice's historical Grand Canal as a patch of phosphorescent green liquid spreads in it, Sunday, May 28, 2023. (AP)

But analysis showed “the presence of fluorescein in samples taken,” said the the Regional Agency for Environmental Prevention and Protection of Veneto (Arpav).
The results “have not shown the presence of toxic elements in the samples analyzed,” the statement said, without specifying the origin of the substance.
The change in color noticed by residents raised eyebrows, with police looking into whether Sunday’s development could be a protest by climate change activists, according to local daily La Nuova Venezia.
It is not the first time the Grand Canal has turned green.
In 1968, Argentine artist Nicolas Garcia Uriburu dyed the waters of Venice’s Grand Canal green with a fluorescent dye during the 34th Venice Biennale in a stunt to promote ecological awareness.
 

 


Saudi astronaut Ali Al-Qarni shares image of Riyadh

Saudi astronaut Ali Al-Qarni shares image of Riyadh
Updated 29 May 2023

Saudi astronaut Ali Al-Qarni shares image of Riyadh

Saudi astronaut Ali Al-Qarni shares image of Riyadh
  • Al-Qarni and his fellow astronaut Rayyanah Barnawi are the first Saudi nationals to be sent to the International Space Station (ISS)

LONDON: Saudi astronaut Ali Al-Qarni shared a photo of the Saudi capital Riyadh from space on his Twitter account on Sunday.

Al-Qarni and his fellow astronaut Rayyanah Barnawi are the first Saudi nationals to be sent to the International Space Station (ISS), with the latter the first Saudi and Arab woman to be given the honor.

Both have shared images of their homeland and the Middle East from their vantage point more than 400 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.

“Riyadh is shining even in space,” Al-Qarni tweeted alongside a photo of Riyadh and a photo of the Saudi flag inside the space station.

Al-Qarni and Barnawi are conducting experiments and research including cancer prevention and prediction, microgravity, cloud seeding and cell reprograming, according to reports.


Light pollution threatens to darken the night sky in 20 years, scientists warn

Light pollution threatens to darken the night sky in 20 years, scientists warn
Updated 29 May 2023

Light pollution threatens to darken the night sky in 20 years, scientists warn

Light pollution threatens to darken the night sky in 20 years, scientists warn
  • Disappearance of stars is having consequences on humans, animals
  • Singapore, Qatar and Kuwait top list of most light-polluted countries in the world

LONDON: Light pollution could darken the night sky in just two decades, making stars invisible to the human eye, scientists warned.

Martin Rees, the British astronomer royal, said in an interview with The Guardian that light pollution has worsened rapidly in recent years and could soon wipe out our ability to see the night sky.

“The night sky is part of our environment, and it would be a major deprivation if the next generation never got to see it, just as it would be if they never saw a bird’s nest,” Rees said.

“You don’t need to be an astronomer to care about this. I am not an ornithologist but if there were no songbirds in my garden, I’d feel impoverished.”

Rees noted that in 2016, astronomers reported that the Milky Way was no longer visible to a third of humanity. He attributed this to the increasing use of light-emitting diodes and other forms of lighting, which are now brightening the night sky at a dramatic rate.

The World Atlas of Night Sky Brightness, a computer-generated map that provides data on how and where our globe is lit up at night, shows that vast areas of North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia are glowing with light, while only the most remote regions on Earth (Siberia, the Sahara, and the Amazon) remain in total darkness.

The map, based on thousands of satellite photos, reveals that Singapore, Qatar, and Kuwait are among the most light-polluted countries in the world, highlighting how densely populated areas are most affected by the issue.

According to research by physicist Christopher Kyba, of the German Centre for Geosciences, light pollution is now obscuring the stars at a rate of about 10 percent per year.

Kyba explained that a child born where 250 stars are visible at night today would only be able to see about 100 by the time they reach 18.

“A couple of generations ago, people would have been confronted regularly with this glittering vision of the cosmos, but what was formerly universal is now extremely rare. Only the world’s richest people, and some of the poorest, experience that anymore. For everybody else, it’s more or less gone,” Kyba said.

Aside from astronomical and cultural repercussions, the excessive or inappropriate use of outdoor artificial light is affecting human health and wildlife behavior.

Scientists warned that the increased use of lights wreaks havoc on natural body rhythms in humans and animals, destabilizing many wild species that rely on the night sky for their migration movements.

In 2019, scientists found that the issue is contributing to an “insect apocalypse,” after discovering that light has a significant impact on how bug species move, search for food, reproduce, grow and hide from predators.

Nevertheless, introducing only a modest number of changes to lighting could considerably improve the situation and have “an enormous impact,” Kyba argued.

These moves would include ensuring outdoor lights are carefully shielded, point downwards, have limits placed on their brightness, and are not predominantly blue-white but have red and orange components.


Nepal celebrates 70 years since first Everest summit

Nepal celebrates 70 years since first Everest summit
Updated 29 May 2023

Nepal celebrates 70 years since first Everest summit

Nepal celebrates 70 years since first Everest summit
  • Top Nepali climbers, including the record holder for most Everest ascents Kami Rita Sherpa, were honoured in a ceremony

KHUMJUNG: The sons of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa led celebrations in Nepal on Monday to mark the 70th anniversary of the historic first ascent of Everest.
The scaling of the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak on May 29, 1953, changed mountaineering forever and made the New Zealander and his Nepalese guide household names.
"In a whole lot of ways, it was not just Ed Hilary and Tenzing Norgay that reached the summit of Mount Everest, it was all of humanity," Peter Hillary said at a school founded by his father in the remote village of Khumjung at 3,790 metres.
"Suddenly, all of us could go," he said.
And gone they have. In the past seven decades, more than 6,000 climbers have climbed the world's highest mountain, according to the Himalayan Database.
It remains dangerous, with more than 300 losing their lives in the same period, including 12 this year. Five others are missing, putting 2023 on course to be a record deadly year.
As well as supporting tourism, the rapid growth in the climbing industry has raised revenue for Nepal, which today charges foreigners an Everest permit fee of $11,000.
Family members of both the climbers joined locals and officials at the school on Monday morning to inaugurate the Sir Edmund Hillary Visitors Centre, housed in the original building that opened in 1961.
Butter lamps were lit in front of a photograph of Hillary and Tenzing, and their sons, Peter Hillary and Jamling Norgay, cut a red ribbon to open the doors to the centre.
A renovated museum is also being opened in Tenzing Norgay's name in Namche Bazaar, the largest tourist hub in the trek to the Everest base camp.
In Kathmandu, officials and hundreds from the mountaineering community joined a rally with celebratory banners.
Top Nepali climbers, including the record holder for most Everest ascents Kami Rita Sherpa, were honoured in a ceremony.
Sanu Sherpa, the only person to climb the world's 14 highest peaks twice, called on the government to support the Nepali guides, who bear huge risks to carry equipment and food, fix ropes and repair ladders.
"The government has not done much for the Sherpa. I think it would be of great help and we would be happy if the government helps educate children of those climbers who died on mountains," Sherpa told AFP.


Riders in Lebanon must haggle with drivers to take an Uber

Riders in Lebanon must haggle with drivers to take an Uber
Updated 27 May 2023

Riders in Lebanon must haggle with drivers to take an Uber

Riders in Lebanon must haggle with drivers to take an Uber

Once known for quick and affordable on-demand rides, Uber is now struggling with pricing rides in Lebanon, leading the company to launch a “flex” option.

The new and seemingly only way to book an Uber in the country requires riders to “bid” for their ride. The rider suggests a price and the driver then accepts, rejects or counteroffers, and so on.

Lebanon adopted a new official exchange rate on Feb. 1, marking a massive 90 percent devaluation from its current official rate, which had remained unchanged for 25 years.

The currency fluctuation is so drastic — changing every day or even every hour — that Uber was unable to price a ride fair to the market, said Uptin Saiidi, journalist and content creator, in an Instagram video.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Uptin (@uptin)

 

Drivers were calling riders once they booked a ride and then negotiating over the phone before agreeing to pick them up, so Uber launched the “flex” ride so both parties could haggle within the app.

Uber has been criticized in the past for increasing fares in Lebanon, with users calling for its boycott. The ride-sharing app displayed fares in US dollars from its launch in Lebanon until 2021 when it switched to the local currency — but the fares were much more expensive.

“With the economic collapse in Lebanon, and the extinction of USD bank notes and the rendering of bank cards useless, pricing in USD is no longer possible,” Lebanese blogger Gino Raidy wrote in a blog post.

It seemed that Uber chose the 3,900 LL/USD exchange rate “that the governor of Lebanon’s central bank pulled out of somewhere,” which led to fares “increasing significantly, given they were being paid on the ‘official’ exchange rate of around 1,500 LL/USD,” Raidy said.

An Uber spokesperson told Al Arabiya at the time that it had only increased its recommended fares, which had nothing to do with the exchange rate.

Currently, it seems that riders must negotiate or bid to book an Uber. Meanwhile, many are switching to other services such as Bolt, which are cheaper and more efficient.