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Former Lebanese PM highlights civilian toll in Israeli attacks on Lebanon

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Former Lebanese PM highlights civilian toll in Israeli attacks on Lebanon

2025-03-15 16:40 Last Updated At:03-16 16:07

Former Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab highlighted that the majority of victims of Israeli attacks in Lebanon were ordinary citizens, including women, children, and the elderly, during an interview with China Media Group (CMG).

Diab pointed to the tough conditions Lebanon is enduring in the wake of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict and called for an urgent resolution to the Palestinian and Middle East issues

Israel was reportedly behind the pager explosions across Lebanon in September last year. Later, it launched air and ground strikes against Lebanon, resulting in the death of Hezbollah's former leader, Hassan Nasrallah. The two sides reached a ceasefire agreement more than two months later.

"The conditions in Lebanon have been very tough. And of course, I stayed in Beirut during that time, and the southern part of Beirut, Dahieh, was almost completely destroyed, as you saw from the pictures. And for the first time, the center of Beirut was hit multiple times. From my understanding, 99.9 percent of the victims are simply citizens—children, women, old people—normal people that have nothing to do with the conflict. So this is why I said, after almost eight decades of conflict, a solution has to be found for the Middle East, the Palestinian issue," said Diab.

He described the Israeli bombings as an "unprecedented war," revealing that he had lost many friends in the attacks.

"Absolutely, many friends that I have in different sectors have been affected. I mean, homes destroyed, injured, some actually killed in this conflict. So, it touches every Lebanese home. I think this unprecedented war," Diab said.

Diab said that the unending cycles of war and ceasefire have eroded his optimism about the future. He called on the international community to treat Lebanon fairly and take decisive action to bring the conflict to a lasting end.

"Well, I've always been optimistic in my life, but previous cycles of violence, and ceasefires, and wars, we may face another round of, I hope not. But I don't feel that Lebanon is being fairly treated in the sense that this conflict has deeply affected Lebanon and that international players should put an end to this once and for all," he said.

The economic impact of the recent Israel-Hezbollah conflict on Lebanon amounts to 14 billion U.S. dollars, with reconstruction and recovery costs estimated at an additional 11 billion U.S. dollars, according to a World Bank report.

Former Lebanese PM highlights civilian toll in Israeli attacks on Lebanon

Former Lebanese PM highlights civilian toll in Israeli attacks on Lebanon

Former Lebanese PM highlights civilian toll in Israeli attacks on Lebanon

Former Lebanese PM highlights civilian toll in Israeli attacks on Lebanon

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ETF scale on Shanghai Stock Exchange surges to 2.9 trln yuan

2025-04-17 14:24 Last Updated At:14:47

The total assets of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) have amounted to 2.9 trillion yuan (around 394.64 billion U.S. dollars), according to the latest data from the Shanghai bourse.

Since the start of this year, the net inflow into ETFs across the market has exceeded 130 billion yuan, and the number of ETF products available on the market has exceeded 670, the SSE reported.

Specifically, stock ETFs account for the largest portion with total assets of 2.1 trillion yuan (about 285.77 billion U.S. dollars), while broad-based ETFs have assets totaling 1.6 trillion yuan. Bond ETFs account for over 200 billion yuan, and the scale of dividend ETFs is around 100 billion yuan.

Notably, five ETFs on the Shanghai market boast assets exceeding 100 billion yuan each, representing 83 percent of all such large-scale ETFs across both the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses. Additionally, 52 ETFs traded on the SSE have assets surpassing 10 billion yuan, representing 71 percent of the total ETFs in two major exchanges.

Meanwhile, there is a notable growing appeal of Chinese ETFs to international investors. Overseas funds tracking indices such as the SSE and CSI (China Securities Index) have reached a combined amount of 150 billion yuan, reflecting heightened global confidence in index-based investments targeting China's markets.

ETFs are investment funds that hold multiple underlying assets and can be traded on an exchange, similar to individual stocks. They can be structured to track a wide range of investments, from the price of a single commodity to a large and diversified portfolio of stocks.

ETF scale on Shanghai Stock Exchange surges to 2.9 trln yuan

ETF scale on Shanghai Stock Exchange surges to 2.9 trln yuan

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