The US has marked the anniversary of Syria's decade-long war by slamming President Bashar Al Assad's government for refusing to engage seriously in peace talks and for planning phoney elections later this year.
Washington's UN envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield rejected the presidential vote being staged in regime-held areas this summer, saying it was not part of UN-supervised efforts to unite and rebuild a fragmented country.
She spoke at a UN Security Council meeting on Syria characterised by stark differences between the US, Russia and others on the conflict, and after thousands of Syrians on Monday staged an anti-Al Assad protest in Idlib, the country’s last rebel-held bastion.
“I would ask the international community to not be fooled by the coming Syrian presidential elections,” Ms Thomas-Greenfield told the 15-nation council.
“These elections will neither be free nor fair. They will not legitimise the Assad regime.”
At the same meeting, UN peace envoy Geir Pedersen lamented how the Syrian government's crackdown on pro-democracy uprisings in March 2011 quickly spiralled into a multi-front civil war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions from their homes.
“The Syrian tragedy will go down as one of the darkest chapters in recent history,” said Mr Pedersen.
“The Syrian people are among the greatest victims of this century.”
He described limited progress on the Syrian Constitutional Committee, which comprises representatives of Mr Al Assad’s government, opposition and civil society, and has the mandate to draw up a new constitution leading to UN-supervised elections.
Mr Pedersen said he was negotiating between the government and opposition leaders in a bid to launch the sixth round of constitutional talks. The fifth session ended in January with Damascus rejecting proposals.
Speaking with reporters after UN council talks, the envoy described an opening for new, invigorated peace negotiations after a year of “relative calm” in north-western Syria, where a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey has reduced levels of violence.
Mr Pedersen said he had met with government, opposition and foreign figures to find ways of “consolidating this calm” and rolling it out in other parts of the fragmented country as a “true nationwide ceasefire”.
“There is a way forward, but we need to find a way around what I call the ‘you-first syndrome’ that has dominated much of the diplomacy around Syria for the last decade,” said the Norwegian diplomat.
“All players, including the Syrian government and opposition, and key international players will need to be ready to identify not only what they realistically hope to achieve, but what they can put on the table.”
Few analysts expect the committee to make real progress. Fighting has largely ceased and forces backing Mr Al Assad, with Russian and Iranian support, recaptured most of the country and the president has few reasons to seriously negotiate with opponents.
Ms Thomas-Greenfield said Damascus has “not taken a single step” to pursue a peace deal with the opposition and urged Russia, Syria’s main ally on the UN council, to press Damascus to “quit stalling”.
A decade of Syrian war – in pictures
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
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Rating: 4/5
Liverpool's all-time goalscorers
Ian Rush 346
Roger Hunt 285
Mohamed Salah 250
Gordon Hodgson 241
Billy Liddell 228
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Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
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Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
A cryptocurrency primer for beginners
Cryptocurrency Investing for Dummies – by Kiana Danial
There are several primers for investing in cryptocurrencies available online, including e-books written by people whose credentials fall apart on the second page of your preferred search engine.
Ms Danial is a finance coach and former currency analyst who writes for Nasdaq. Her broad-strokes primer (2019) breaks down investing in cryptocurrency into baby steps, while explaining the terms and technologies involved.
Although cryptocurrencies are a fast evolving world, this book offers a good insight into the game as well as providing some basic tips, strategies and warning signs.
Begin your cryptocurrency journey here.
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
