Ink was barely dry on an Arab declaration on anti-narcotics co-operation with Damascus when the Jordanian military announced this week that its forces had intercepted another drone from Syria.
Unlike previous seizures of airborne drugs, usually on small, commercial drones, the military said this one was carrying TNT explosives.
The announcement on Wednesday marked an escalation in a two-year drug war, pitting Jordan’s security forces against cartels based in areas under the control of President Bashar Al Assad in southern Syria.
Jordanian security analyst Saud Al Sharafat says the drone could have been on a trial run “to see if the Jordanian Armed Forces can control it” or intended for "certain people to commit terrorism”.
Unlike the rest of the Arab Levant, where lawlessness is rife, obtaining explosives in Jordan is difficult, even for legitimate use, such as in rock quarries, says Mr Al Sharafat.
By announcing the TNT seizure, he says Jordan has sent a “coded message” to regional powers that the border problem with Damascus is developing into a grave security threat to the kingdom.
Mr Al Sharafat, who heads the Shorufat Centre for Globalisation and Terrorism Studies in Amman, says the TNT signals the possible start of a “build-up of weapons infrastructure to destabilise Jordanian security”.
Iran-backed militia zone
Southern Syria became a main transit and manufacturing centre of narcotics after the area was recaptured by the Syrian army, the Lebanese Shiite guerrilla group Hezbollah and other pro-Iranian militias in 2018.
Their consolidation of control was made possible by a deal between Washington, Israel and Moscow, which resulted in the withdrawal of western and Arab support from rebels fighting Mr Al Assad.
Jordan says the Syrian military and militias allied with Iran are overseeing the drug flows, particularly Captagon amphetamine pills, the most lucrative of an array of narcotics crossing the border.
In January 2020, the Jordanian military started toughening its response to the smuggling by reacting more swiftly and responding with more firepower, as the US and western allies sent hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade Jordan’s border defences.
In the same year, and upon prodding from Moscow, Mr Al Assad's most powerful supporter, Jordan embarked on a rapprochement with Mr Al Assad, and supported the readmission of Damascus to the Arab League in May.
The Syrian President has been largely ostracised, after his security forces used force to suppress the peaceful 2011 revolt against his rule. The revolt became militarised by the end of that year and Syria has been in civil war since.
In a television interview last week, Mr Al Assad said the state has nothing to do with the drug-smuggling. He blamed the narcotics boom on neighbouring countries he did not name, which he said had sowed chaos in Syria.
His Foreign Minister, Faisal Mekdad, on Tuesday met representatives of an Arab League committee – Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon – formed in May to follow up on the normalisation.
An official declaration after the meeting said the five countries “look forward to continued and intensified” anti-narcotics co-operation with Damascus.
In Amman, the military provided no details about the drone, beyond saying that members of the engineers corps handled the situation.
A member of the Syrian opposition, who has contacts in Jordan, said at least 600 smugglers on the border with Jordan possess small, Chinese-made commercial drones of the type likely to have carried the TNT.
The 600 are linked to an amalgamation of Syrian security forces and loyalist militias in the border area, he said.
“Any of them could have loaded the drone with TNT, without any way to link the explosives to the regime,” he said.
“The regime's strategy is to put more pressure on Jordan. It is telling Jordan, 'we can do more to you, and not just narcotics'."
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Sub Regional Qualifier
Event info: The tournament in Kuwait this month is the first phase of the qualifying process for sides from Asia for the 2020 World T20 in Australia. The UAE must finish within the top three teams out of the six at the competition to advance to the Asia regional finals. Success at regional finals would mean progression to the World T20 Qualifier.
UAE’s fixtures: Fri Apr 20, UAE v Qatar; Sat Apr 21, UAE v Saudi Arabia; Mon Apr 23, UAE v Bahrain; Tue Apr 24, UAE v Maldives; Thu Apr 26, UAE v Kuwait
World T20 2020 Qualifying process:
- Sixteen teams will play at the World T20 in two years’ time.
- Australia have already qualified as hosts
- Nine places are available to the top nine ranked sides in the ICC’s T20i standings, not including Australia, on Dec 31, 2018.
- The final six teams will be decided by a 14-team World T20 Qualifier.
World T20 standings: 1 Pakistan; 2 Australia; 3 India; 4 New Zealand; 5 England; 6 South Africa; 7 West Indies; 8 Sri Lanka; 9 Afghanistan; 10 Bangladesh; 11 Scotland; 12 Zimbabwe; 13 UAE; 14 Netherlands; 15 Hong Kong; 16 Papua New Guinea; 17 Oman; 18 Ireland
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
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
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Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
The years Ramadan fell in May
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What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Nick's journey in numbers
Countries so far: 85
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Fixtures and results:
Wed, Aug 29:
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Thu, Aug 30: UAE v Nepal; Hong Kong v Singapore; Malaysia v Oman
Sat, Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong; Oman v Singapore; Malaysia v Nepal
Sun, Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman; Malaysia v UAE; Nepal v Singapore
Tue, Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore; UAE v Oman; Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu, Sep 6: Final
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
RACE CARD
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,400m
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