Despite the best efforts of the regime of Muammar Qaddafi, the Libyan leader, to prove otherwise, the tools of revolution and counter-revolution have clearly changed.
The man whom the former US president Ronald Reagan once called "this mad dog of the Middle East" may have scrambled his air force to put down stick-wielding protesters, but he should know by now that the media are mightier than the sword.
The Social Network, the film that tells the Facebook story, may have missed out at the Oscars, but Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's creator, must surely be aware of the impact his website has had on the Arab street and in the overthrow of regimes to which western governments had grown accustomed.
Western governments, in turn, have been embarrassed by the impressive investment portfolios built up in their countries on behalf of disgraced Arab leaders.
It has been a week of red faces. The London School of Economics, the university where Saif al Islam Qaddafi was awarded his PhD in, wait for it, democracy, is now in a bit of a pickle after admitting it accepted a US$1.5 million (Dh5.5m) donation from the Qaddafi family's charitable foundation a year after Saif al Islam graduated. Libya also has a sizeable stake in the Pearson Group, which owns Penguin Books and the Financial Times.
But even if crisis management specialists might smell blood, they would probably prefer to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in before the proverbial horse has bolted.
Bashar al Assad, the Syrian president, appears to have done just that, mobilising the best in his bid to stay ahead of the revolutionary curve.
In this month's Vogue,the socialite writer Joan Juliet Buck has produced a fawning profile of Syria's first lady, Asma al Assad, entitled "A Rose in the Desert".
After a couple of obligatory but nonetheless euphemistic references to Syria's "shadow zones", Ms Buck quickly moves through the gears, painting a masterful portrait of the English-educated Mrs Assad, who grew up among the Syrian elite and quit her job as a banking whizz to get married before bonus time.
"Her accent is English but not plummy. Despite what must be a killer IQ, she sometimes uses urban shorthand: 'I was, like…'."
Her husband Bashar's regime is still a suspect in the 2005 murder of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, and while Ms Buck does reveal that the US state department's website says "the Syrian government conducts intense physical and electronic surveillance of both Syrian citizens and foreign visitors", that information is presented in the context of safety rather than repression.
Meanwhile, readers are told of sightseeing trips the Assads took with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie when the Hollywood couple visited Syria in 2009 on behalf of the UN (celebrities and the world body are 24-carat endorsements). As Pitt nervously points out the absence of a security detail, the Assads in the front of the vehicle poke fun at the Middle East neophyte's anxiety. Bashar himself is of course just a regular guy on whose iMac his seven-year-old daughter watches Tim Burton'sAlice in Wonderland.
As of 2007, Tim Bell and Associates were understood to have been handling the Assads' public relations, and it is likely that Lord Bell, or someone of his calibre, was retained in this instance. It is the second time that the regime has gone on the charm offensive.
In January, when unrest was building in the Arab world, the president gave a rare interview to The New York Times in which he talked about the need for regional governments to "upgrade". Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue, clearly takes longer to mobilise, but her magazine's piece is impressive stuff nonetheless.
The Lebanese, with their own brand of black humour, will see the funny side of the Vogue article, especially the bit where it says that Syria is "a place without bombings, unrest, or kidnappings".
Still, the Lebanese also have their own business to attend to, and at a time when travellers are giving the Middle East a wide berth, Lebanon has done what it does best and launched yet another tourism campaign, this time with the intriguing title of "Lebanon Blues".
Now call me a traditionalist, but to use "blues" with anything and try to make it uplifting, let alone sellable, is brave. But apparently there is method to this Levantine madness. The campaign's creators, the ad agency Impact BBDO, explained at a news conference last week the idea was that Lebanon was the perfect antidote for the blues. I know … me too.
With such outside-the-box thinking, is there any wonder that the running gag in Beirut is that Lebanon, a byword for chaos for so much of past 40 years, is probably the most stable country in the region.
But while Merrill Lynch this week predicted 6 per cent growth this year, we Lebanese know deep down that all is far from well and that the only reason Lebanon is still in one piece is that revolution needs consensus, something that is always at a premium in this town.
A Michael Karam is a publishing and communication consultant based in Beirut
MATCH INFO
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
Godzilla%20x%20Kong%3A%20The%20New%20Empire
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAdam%20Wingard%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBrian%20Tyree%20Henry%2C%20Rebecca%20Hall%2C%20Dan%20Stevens%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
THE BIO:
Sabri Razouk, 74
Athlete and fitness trainer
Married, father of six
Favourite exercise: Bench press
Must-eat weekly meal: Steak with beans, carrots, broccoli, crust and corn
Power drink: A glass of yoghurt
Role model: Any good man
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Results
Final: Iran beat Spain 6-3.
Play-off 3rd: UAE beat Russia 2-1 (in extra time).
Play-off 5th: Japan beat Egypt 7-2.
Play-off 7th: Italy beat Mexico 3-2.
Company%20Profile
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
ARSENAL IN 1977
Feb 05 Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland
Feb 12 Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal
Feb 15 Middlesbrough 3-0 Arsenal
Feb 19 Arsenal 2-3 West Ham
Feb 26 Middlesbrough 4-1 Arsenal (FA Cup)
Mar 01 Everton 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 05 Arsenal 1-4 ipswich
March 08 Arsenal 1-2 West Brom
Mar 12 QPR 2-1 Arsenal
Mar 23 Stoke 1-1 Arsenal
Apr 02 Arsenal 3-0 Leicester
match info
Southampton 0
Arsenal 2 (Nketiah 20', Willock 87')
Red card: Jack Stephens (Southampton)
Man of the match: Rob Holding (Arsenal)
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
MORE ON THE US DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES
More Expo 2020 Dubai pavilions:
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now