Ahmed Qasoum was filming the journey to his parents’ home to send a video to his daughter living in Turkey. She is one of 13 million Syrians displaced in the past 10 years who may never return home.
“I did not know that I was actually documenting a disaster that would change our lives,” he said.
I am a civilian not related to any military or political bodies. I am just a poor farmer who makes my living from different jobs I work in, after I lost my job previously
Ahmed Qasoum,
air strike victim
The video Mr Qasoum was shooting caught the moment a US drone strike – targeting the leader of the Al Qaeda-affiliated Guardians of Religion organisation – hit, injuring him and his family.
The car was almost completely destroyed in the attack, between Idlib and Arihah, which was intended to hit the militant on a motorbike.
Mahmoud,10, was among the wounded, sustaining serious injuries. He has been in intensive care since last Saturday.
Centcom, the general headquarters of US forces in the Middle East, said that the Al Qaeda commander had been killed in the strike.
Guardians of Religion has been the target of US drone operations since its formation in 2017. The US admitted that civilians were injured and said that investigations were under way.
Metres from a drone strike
“Joy has turned into bloodshed”, Mr Qasoum said of their journey.
They had not visited their grandparents' home in 10 months, in Al Rami village on the outskirts of Idlib city.
“We decided to visit them early in the winter, we were happily going back with the kids. Suddenly, we were surrounded by blood inside and outside the car, blood covering my eyes so I could no longer see.”
Mr Qasoum has lived with his family in Afrin, 80 kilometres from Idlib, since they were displaced from Kafr Battik, a small village that was heavily bombed by the Russian air force and retaken by government forces in 2019.
But almost nowhere can be considered safe in northern Syria, including the village of Al Rami.
Mr Qasoum's daughter in Turkey, who recently got married, suggested the video.
“When we told her we were going to visit her grandparents in Idlib she asked us to film the journey back and forth,” Mr Qasoum said.
There was a man on a motorbike trying to overtake them, he said.
“The motorbike suddenly turned into fragments. I could not hear the explosion sound but the fragments hit the left side of the car and devastated it. I was injured in my head,” he said.
People quickly gathered around and took them to the hospital.
“We were bleeding and could not wait for the ambulance and White Helmets to arrive," he said, referring to a local search and rescue organisation established by Syrians opposed to the government. "I didn’t lose consciousness before we arrived at the hospital. I did not know who rescued us and how.”
Ahmed’s wife Fatima Qarqaa, 48, recalls the incident.
“I was not conscious of what had happened. The car door opened ... while the car was moving very fast. My kids fell on the pavement while my husband was hit in his head and I was hit in my leg," she said.
"My younger boy got injured in his head. I saw him bleeding horribly. I did not realise how we got injured or when.”
She went on to say that her husband got up to check on his children despite being injured as people gathered around them.
No accountability
Mr Qasoum now faces great difficulty to meet the medical costs of surgery and drugs for his family, as well their material loss.
“I’ve lost my car, which is no longer useful for anything, it’s full of fragments. One pill of medicine costs around 400 Turkish pounds and I can’t provide all these expenses. Furthermore, my kids’ injuries will take a long time to heal.”
The family was rushed to the Syrian American Medical Society Hospital in Idlib.
“We have taken the required procedures, said Dr Ahmed Al Biosh, a pulmonologist and respiratory physician at the hospital’s intensive care ward.
He described Mahmoud's state after performing first aid and an initial operation as stable after being in a critical condition when he arrived.
“There was a cerebrospinal fluid leak plus trauma in the skull. He underwent a surgical operation and was connected to artificial respiration in intensive care for 48 hours,” Dr Al Biosh said.
Mahmoud was released from intensive care without displaying any neurological damage, but had a temperature so a cerebrospinal fluid sample was taken to make sure he was not infected with meningitis.
“It is necessary to keep monitoring him after his release to see if he [will] get back to normal,” Dr Al Bios said.
Mr Qasoum said: “I hold the responsibility of the damage to the international bodies that targeted me with my family. I am a civilian not related to any military or political bodies. I am just a poor farmer who makes my living from different jobs I work in, after I lost my job previously,” he said.
Ms Qarqaa said she fears for her children’s future, even if they recover from their injuries.
“I do not know who could relieve us of our loss. My leg that I could no longer walk on normally. My son Waleed and my daughter Batoul were injured in their limbs,” she said.
“I’m afraid the psychological effect could impact them. I am now afraid of getting in a car and hearing the sound of air strikes. It seems we won’t get back to normal,” she said.
Roll%20of%20Honour%2C%20men%E2%80%99s%20domestic%20rugby%20season
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3ECBDC%20real-value%20pilot%20held%20with%20three%20partner%20institutions%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPreparing%20buy%20now%2C%20pay%20later%20regulations%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPreparing%20for%20the%202023%20launch%20of%20the%20domestic%20card%20initiative%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EPhase%20one%20of%20the%20Financial%20Infrastructure%20Transformation%20(FiT)%20completed%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
Uefa Nations League: How it Works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
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What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
Race card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 (PA) US$100,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
7.05pm: Meydan Classic Listed (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,600m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy Group 2 (TB) $300,000 (T) 2,810m
9.25pm: Curlin Stakes Listed (TB) $175,000 (D) 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
10.35pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
The National selections
6.30pm: Shahm, 7.05pm: Well Of Wisdom, 7.40pm: Lucius Tiberius, 8.15pm: Captain Von Trapp, 8.50pm: Secret Advisor, 9.25pm: George Villiers, 10pm: American Graffiti, 10.35pm: On The Warpath
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Five healthy carbs and how to eat them
Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand
Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat
Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar
Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices
Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants
Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique
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
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 2
(Martial 30', McTominay 90 6')
Manchester City 0
Apple%20Mac%20through%20the%20years
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Total eligible population
About 57.5 million people
51.1 million received a jab
6.4 million have not
Where are the unvaccinated?
England 11%
Scotland 9%
Wales 10%
Northern Ireland 14%
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
