Live updates: Follow the latest on the Syrian rebel advance
Syrian rebels led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham are closing in on the central city of Homs and have Damascus in their sights, posing a significant challenge to President Bashar Al Assad's government.
Their offensive, which has altered the trajectory of Syria's 13-year civil war, is in its second week. Already the main cities of Hama and Aleppo have fallen to Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, a former affiliate of Al Qaeda listed as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in May 2014. Turkish proxies combined under a formation called the Syrian National Army are also taking part.
The rebel advance has altered lines of control in Syria agreed to by international powers over the past decade. It has strengthened the position of Ankara compared with Russia, Iran and the US, each of which have their own zones of control, manned by proxy militias.
Who is leading the rebel offensive?
The rebels are being led by Hayat Tahrir. It is mainly made up of groups from former jihadist organisation Jabhat Al Nusra, which was linked to Al Qaeda. It broke those ties with Al Qaeda in 2016 and rebranded itself as Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, after a purge undertaken by the group's leader Ahmad Al Shara. He is now using his real name, instead of his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed Al Jolani, as part of an effort to project moderation.
The UN and countries including Russia and Turkey have long designated Hayat Tahrir as a terrorist organisation. Al Jolani previously participated in an Iraqi insurgency against the US as a member of a group that eventually became ISIS. He then led the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda in 2011, in the early years of the civil war.
Hayat Tahrir is considered to have played a significant role in the Syrian civil war, and there are doubts over whether it has shed its Al Qaeda past and extreme ideologies.
Who are the other players?
The rebel groups include factions supported by different regional and local powers, making Syria one of the most complex front lines in the Middle East.
Another battle front elsewhere in the country is between the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed group dominated by the People's Defence Units (YPG) and militiamen linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group that has waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey.
The SDF played a major role on the ground in the US-led war against ISIS in north-eastern Syria, where Washington has about 900 troops.
Who supports the Syrian government?
Russia has been a staunch supporter of Mr Al Assad and has launched air strikes against rebel forces during the civil war. Russian warplanes have been critical for the Syrian army and its pro-Iranian militias in winning back territory. Mr Al Assad has vowed that Syria will continue “to defend its stability and territorial integrity” but he has not appeared in public since losing parts of the country last week.
Iran is also a close ally and backer of Mr Al Assad, with proxies such as Hezbollah playing a crucial role in the conflict. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Mr Al Assad in Damascus on Sunday and said Tehran would “firmly support the Syrian government and army”. But there has been no sign of any significant Iranian intervention.
Why is the timing of the offensive crucial?
The rebels chose to launch the insurgency when Mr Al Assad’s allies were either weakened or occupied with other conflicts. The offensive began soon after a ceasefire was reached between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. But Israel's assault on Lebanon has weakened Hezbollah and put Iran on the defensive.
Russia has focused military resources in Ukraine, where war has been raging for more than two years.
“Keep in mind that, for many years, the Syrian government has been engaged in a civil war backed by three main players, Iran, Russia and Hezbollah,” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday. “All three of those players have been distracted and weakened by conflicts elsewhere.”
The Syrian civil war started after authorities used deadly force to suppress a peaceful, pro-democracy movement that started in March 2011. At least 300,000 people have been killed and 14 million have fled their homes since 2011, according to the UN. More than 7.2 million Syrians remain internally displaced.
What began 13 years ago as pro-democracy protests against the government of Mr Al Assad eventually grew into a nationwide armed rebellion involving a coalition of army defectors and religious groups.
In 2020, Russia and Turkey agreed to a ceasefire in 2020 in northern Syria, which had lessened the violence until the latest offensive.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
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
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Fixtures and results:
Wed, Aug 29:
- Malaysia bt Hong Kong by 3 wickets
- Oman bt Nepal by 7 wickets
- UAE bt Singapore by 215 runs
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
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
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.
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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Results
2pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m, Winner: AF Thayer, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: AF Sahwa, Nathan Crosse, Mohamed Ramadan.
3pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,000m, Winner: AF Thobor, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: AF Mezmar, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
4pm: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup presented by Longines (TB) Dh 200,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Galvanize, Nathan Cross, Doug Watson.
4.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Ajaj, Bernardo Pinheiro, Mohamed Daggash.
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
RESULTS
Light Flyweight (48kg): Alua Balkibekova (KAZ) beat Gulasal Sultonalieva (UZB) by points 4-1.
Flyweight (51kg): Nazym Kyzaibay (KAZ) beat Mary Kom (IND) 3-2.
Bantamweight (54kg): Dina Zholaman (KAZ) beat Sitora Shogdarova (UZB) 3-2.
Featherweight (57kg): Sitora Turdibekova (UZB) beat Vladislava Kukhta (KAZ) 5-0.
Lightweight (60kg): Rimma Volossenko (KAZ) beat Huswatun Hasanah (INA) KO round-1.
Light Welterweight (64kg): Milana Safronova (KAZ) beat Lalbuatsaihi (IND) 3-2.
Welterweight (69kg): Valentina Khalzova (KAZ) beat Navbakhor Khamidova (UZB) 5-0
Middleweight (75kg): Pooja Rani (IND) beat Mavluda Movlonova (UZB) 5-0.
Light Heavyweight (81kg): Farida Sholtay (KAZ) beat Ruzmetova Sokhiba (UZB) 5-0.
Heavyweight (81 kg): Lazzat Kungeibayeva (KAZ) beat Anupama (IND) 3-2.
Where to submit a sample
Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
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