Syrian soldiers patrol at a checkpoint in the southern city of Deraa. AFP
Syrian soldiers patrol at a checkpoint in the southern city of Deraa. AFP
Syrian soldiers patrol at a checkpoint in the southern city of Deraa. AFP
Syrian soldiers patrol at a checkpoint in the southern city of Deraa. AFP

Roadside bomb hits bus in Syria, wounding 16


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Sixteen people were wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Deraa governorate, Syrian state media reported on Monday.

The attack reportedly occurred on a bridge at the Nasib border crossing with Jordan and was carried out against customs officials.

“Sixteen employees of the joint Syrian-Jordanian duty free zone were injured after terrorists planted an explosive device near the bus they were on,” state news agency Sana said.

The attack took place “near the Saida bridge on the Damascus-Amman highway”, Sana said.

Originally one of the first governorates to rise up against the rule of President Bashar Al Assad in 2011, Deraa was the site of heavy fighting during the conflict.

A series of deals between the Syrian government and rebel groups led to many fighters and their families moving to the north of the country, but a simmering insurgency remains, particularly in rural parts of the governorate.

ISIS — whose third leader was killed in the area in October — sometimes claims responsibility for attacks in the region.

The governorate is significantly more secure than the north of the country. Idlib governorate, which is under the control of a group formerly linked to Al Qaeda, still experiences sporadic violence and government shelling.

Monday's attack comes one day after a rare car bombing rocked the capital Damascus, with no deaths reported and no group claiming responsibility.

On January 30, a bomb attack on a bus carrying Syrian police wounded 15 officers in Deraa province.

The Syrian war broke out in 2011 with the brutal repression of peaceful anti-government protests, and escalated into a deadly armed conflict that pulled in foreign powers and global terror groups.

More than half a million people have been killed and about half of Syria's prewar population has been forced from their homes.

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Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8

Transmission: nine-speed automatic

Power: 630bhp

Torque: 900Nm

Price: Dh810,000

Best Foreign Language Film nominees

Capernaum (Lebanon)

Cold War (Poland)

Never Look Away (Germany)

Roma (Mexico)

Shoplifters (Japan)

How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO

Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
 
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Namibia beat Oman by 52 runs
UAE beat Namibia by eight wickets
UAE v Oman - abandoned
Oman v Namibia - abandoned

Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

LA LIGA FIXTURES

Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)

Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)

Friday

Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)

Valencia v Levante (midnight)

Saturday

Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)

Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)

Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)

Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)

Sunday

Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)

Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)

Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)

THE SPECS

Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)

Power: 141bhp 

Torque: 250Nm 

Price: Dh64,500

On sale: Now

How%20champions%20are%20made
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Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

Updated: April 03, 2023, 6:28 PM`