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Eni profit falls due to dip in oil prices

Q2 net profit fell by 18% to $637 million.

Emirates NBD H1 profit $3.40bn

Total income rose by 12 percent in the same period.

ADIB H1 pre-tax profit $1.08bn

Q2 pre-tax net profit increases by 14 percent.

AstraZeneca to invest $50bn in US

Bulk of funds to go into a Virginia manufacturing center.

UAB net profit up by 50% for H1

Total assets increase by 11 percent.

Saad Hariri, former PM of Lebanon, quits politics

Lebanon's former prime minister Saad Hariri speaks during a press conference in the capital Beirut on January 24, 2022. - Saad Hariri, 51, announced he would not run in upcoming parliamentary elections and was withdrawing from political life. (Photo by anwar amro / AFP)
  • The Sunni Muslim leader said he was "suspending his work in political life" and urged fellow members of his Future party to leave the political arena
  • A tearful Hariri, who was first elected to parliament in 2005, also announced he would not run in the legislative polls due in May

Former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri announced Monday he would not run in upcoming parliamentary elections and was withdrawing from political life.

The 51-year-old three-time premier, who was propelled into politics by his father Rafic’s assassination in 2005, announced his decision during a press conference in the capital Beirut.

The Sunni Muslim leader said he was “suspending his work in political life” and urged fellow members of his Future party to leave the political arena.

A tearful Hariri, who was first elected to parliament in 2005, also announced he would not run in the legislative polls due in May, citing “Iranian influence and international upheaval”.

Iran backs Hezbollah, a Shiite movement that wields considerable influence in Lebanese politics.

Lebanon is grappling with an economic crisis that has seen the currency lose 90 percent of its value on the black market.

Food prices have quadrupled and around 80 percent of the population now live below the poverty line, according to the United Nations.

Potential donors have repeatedly said any restoration of aid is dependent on the establishment of a viable government committed to rooting out corruption.