Syria's dwindling Christian community fears another wave of persecution, a decade after ISIS systematically attacked them, as the violence intensifies between the Syrian army and rebel groups.
Rebels led by the group Hayat Tahrir Al Sham launched a surprise attack on Syria's second largest city Aleppo, last week, leading to the eventual withdrawal of government troops.
The rebels have now entered the central city of Hama, while the government’s ally Russia is carrying out air strikes against them. It marks the biggest escalation of the Syrian civil war since 2016.
For some of the country’s Christians, the events unfolding are a reminder of a dark chapter still fresh in the country’s memory. In only a week since the renewed fighting, many Christians say they are once again caught in the middle of a sectarian conflict that they have no part in.
“What is happening is absolute confusion, because Christians, of course, are terrified of Hayat Tahrir. It's an Islamist group. There's nothing to deny in that fact,” said Dara Foielle, a Syrian Assyrian who lived in Syria in early 2011 before moving to Europe and now lives in Beirut. She has long used a pseudonym due to concerns of being targeted by the Syrian government for her human rights activism.
All of us are worried about what will happen with the Christians or the Kurds … about women and the hijab
Adam,
Aleppo resident
Direct attacks on the Christian community by Hayat Tahrir have not yet been reported, and conflicting narratives have emerged from Aleppo.
Syria was once home to a large Christian population. Before the start of the civil war in 2011, Christians made up about 10 per cent – or slightly more than two million – of the country's 23 million people. Today, the community has shrunk to an estimated 300,000, comprising members of the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Armenian Orthodox and Catholic Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and others.
Assyrians, a distinct ethnic group native to parts of modern-day Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria, sometimes referred to as Syriacs in the country, were among Christians attacked by ISIS and who now fear escalation.
Aleppo has a significant Christian population, as do provincial north-eastern towns such as Qamishli and Hasakah, controlled by the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES/Rojava), and its US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which includes self-styled Christian militias as well as the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
Many Christians from these towns seek out employment or education in the more metropolitan Aleppo. Hayat Tahrir overtook the Syriac Quarter, also called Al Seryan, shortly after its incursion on Aleppo last week, according to the SDF-affiliated Hawar News Agency.
In past outbreaks of conflict, Hayat Tahrir is reported to have confiscated Christian property. The US State Department, in its religious freedoms report last year, said that Hayat Tahrir “committed abuses against members of religious and ethnic minority groups, including the seizure of properties belonging to displaced Christians.” The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Peace, a US-based think tank, also reported the alleged abuses.
Conflicting reports
With lines of communication thinning, conflicting reports have emerged. In a phone call with The National, the Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus denied on Monday reports from members of the Syriac Orthodox Church and on social media of rebel threats to the church in Aleppo, including rumoured commands of a jizya – a tax on non-Muslims by an Islamic state – and obligatory hijab for Christian women.
The Middle East Council of Churches, a group with representation from both the Greek and Syriac Orthodox churches, also denied any direct threats.
“All of us are worried about what will happen with the Christians or the Kurds … about women and the hijab, things like this,” Adam, who lives near the Syriac Quarter and has long interacted with Aleppo’s Christian community, told The National. He uses a pseudonym due to safety reasons.
“For now, nothing like this has happened,” he said. “On Sunday, churches held their services, and a lot of Christians are still in Aleppo. We don’t know what will happen in the next few days, but that’s what has happened in the first 72 hours.”
Adam says the biggest concern at the moment are the unpredictable air strikes on the town.
There are Christians whose numbers are around 20,000 and who - rightly so - fear the arrival of people who adopt extremist Islamist thought, which affects their way of life and the exercise of their freedoms, including religious and social freedoms
Basel Kas Nasrallah,
former adviser to the Grand Mufti of Syria
Basel Kas Nasrallah, former adviser to the Grand Mufti of Syria until the position was dissolved in 2021, told The National that the situation is complex for Aleppo’s diverse population.
“There are Christians whose numbers are around 20,000 and who – rightly so – fear the arrival of people who adopt extremist Islamic thought, which affects their way of life and the exercise of their freedoms, including religious and social freedoms.”
Mr Nasrallah, the first Christian adviser to a Mufti, said that despite individual reported incidents, including a video purportedly showing a rebel fighter pushing down a public Christmas tree, he doesn’t believe there is a direct threat to churches yet.
Residents who recently escaped Aleppo have told The National that electricity has been completely cut off, while others in the city have reported steady electricity since the Hayat Tahrir takeover, the first they’ve enjoyed in years since the start of the civil war.
But pre-emptive panic threatens to boil over.
'We're not prepared for this'
Over the weekend the Syriac Orthodox Church led an initially failed evacuation effort using buses, for students in Aleppo attempting to flee back home to towns such as Qamishli and Hasakah. The church's bishop in Aleppo, Boutrous Kassis, told The National about 200 students sheltered in the archbishopric before finally making it out of the city and arriving in Hasakah on Tuesday night.
Four halls of the Syriac church in Sulaymaniyah, a neighbourhood of Aleppo, became a shelter for the students according to Mr Kassis.
“Our duty is to take care of them. First of all, we must provide energy sources, whether heating or electricity and water. We must also provide food as much as possible,” he told The National.
“We are not prepared for our situation, neither with mattresses nor blankets. The shops were completely closed. Everything we had was distributed to [the students].”
After consulting with the Red Crescent, Mr Kassis said he instructed school buses serving the church’s private school in Aleppo to pick up the youths and bring them back to the church. A tourism company, Izla Tours, based in Qamishli also reportedly supplied buses for evacuation from Aleppo and appeared to post about the efforts on social media. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent and Izla Tours did not immediately respond to The National’s request for comment.
“[When] the buses were moving, I got another call from the besieged group, they said that the [surrounding] shooting was increasing.” Air strikes were also reported nearby, he said, and the students arrived at the church “covered in dust and dirt”.
While the Syrian army retreated almost as soon as Hayat Tahrir forces launched their incursion on Aleppo, gunfights between YPG affiliates and Hayat Tahrir reportedly continued for a while longer, until Kurdish groups agreed to retreat eastward to rural areas and back to the Jazirah district in the north-east.
“Thank God, no one was injured by shrapnel,” Mr Kassis said. “There was great terror. Thank God, the buses arrived on time and in about five batches they were able to bring them to a safe area” in Sulaimaniyah.
“Some of those who went home [in Aleppo] are telling us that they will [come] back to sleep here, because they feel safer in the church than in their homes,” he said. “Especially girls who live alone and are mostly university students.”
Assyrians in particular have described being caught in the middle of infighting between various factions as the civil war approaches its 14th year. This is the latest conflict in a series, including Turkey’s cross-border operations aimed at suspected Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions in Syria and Iraq, which often overlap with Assyrian villages; and consistent tensions with components of the Syrian Democratic Forces, like the YPG, in the AANES.
With Turkish-backed forces such as the Syrian National Army (SNA) making significant advances in Aleppo, the conflict is causing concern among the Christians who recall being caught in crossfire between those various groups and their Turkish, or Turkish-backed, counterparts.
“The sectarian narrative in Syria has always been that the minorities have to stick to the lesser of two evils,” said Foielle, who hasn’t been back to her family’s home in Aleppo due to security concerns since the civil war broke out in 2011. Still, she said, Aleppo is a distinct part of the Syrian Assyrian identity.
“It’s a part of home,” she said. “It's a part of our history. And now it's being taken away. The fact that there is something called Hayy Al-Seryan [the Syriac Quarter] … they are part of our identity, and we are part of the city's identity. And this is what is so exhausting.”
One Syrian Assyrian man who lives in Qamishli and left for Sweden only days before the attacks in Aleppo, told The National there was a lingering air of uncertainty. He also requested not to be identified due to security concerns.
“Now the situation is not good. Everyone is talking differently. There is no accurate information about the subject of migration,” he said.
“If I had known that such events would happen, I wouldn't have left. Honestly, I would have stayed in Syria.”
Section 375
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat
Director: Ajay Bahl
Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL
Rating: 3.5/5
'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESupy%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDani%20El-Zein%2C%20Yazeed%20bin%20Busayyis%2C%20Ibrahim%20Bou%20Ncoula%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFood%20and%20beverage%2C%20tech%2C%20hospitality%20software%2C%20Saas%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%20for%20six%20months%3B%20pre-seed%20round%20of%20%241.5%20million%3B%20seed%20round%20of%20%248%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBeco%20Capital%2C%20Cotu%20Ventures%2C%20Valia%20Ventures%20and%20Global%20Ventures%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Zayed Sustainability Prize
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Baby Driver
Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Lily James
Three and a half stars
The years Ramadan fell in May
The years Ramadan fell in May
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fasset%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammad%20Raafi%20Hossain%2C%20Daniel%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.45%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2086%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-series%20B%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Investcorp%2C%20Liberty%20City%20Ventures%2C%20Fatima%20Gobi%20Ventures%2C%20Primal%20Capital%2C%20Wealthwell%20Ventures%2C%20FHS%20Capital%2C%20VN2%20Capital%2C%20local%20family%20offices%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Twin%20electric%20motors%20and%20105kWh%20battery%20pack%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E619hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C015Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUp%20to%20561km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EQ3%20or%20Q4%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh635%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs – Taycan 4S
Engine: Electric
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 571bhp
Torque: 650Nm
Price: Dh431,800
Specs – Panamera
Engine: 3-litre V6 with 100kW electric motor
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 455bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: from Dh431,800
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO
Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke
Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke
Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO
Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision
Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision
Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO
Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)
Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)
Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision
Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke
Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO
Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SCE%20Studio%20Cambridge%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%2C%20PlayStation%204%20and%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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The specs
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm
Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: From Dh1 million
On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022
WHAT ARE NFTs?
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokens that represent ownership of unique items. They allow the tokenisation of things such as art, collectibles and even real estate.
An NFT can have only one official owner at one time. And since they're minted and secured on the Ethereum blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.
This means NFTs are not interchangeable and cannot be exchanged with other items. In contrast, fungible items, such as fiat currencies, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 3
Gayle (23'), Perez (59', 63')
Chelsea 0
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
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DSC Eagles 23 Dubai Hurricanes 36
Eagles
Tries: Bright, O’Driscoll
Cons: Carey 2
Pens: Carey 3
Hurricanes
Tries: Knight 2, Lewis, Finck, Powell, Perry
Cons: Powell 3
The specs: 2017 Dodge Viper SRT
Price, base / as tested Dh460,000
Engine 8.4L V10
Transmission Six-speed manual
Power 645hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 813Nm @ 5,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 16.8L / 100km
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday Stuttgart v Cologne (Kick-off 10.30pm UAE)
Saturday RB Leipzig v Hertha Berlin (5.30pm)
Mainz v Borussia Monchengladbach (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Union Berlin v SC Freiburg (5.30pm)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (5.30pm)
Sunday Wolfsburg v Arminia (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Hoffenheim (9pm)
Bayer Leverkusen v Augsburg (11.30pm)
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Players Selected for La Liga Trials
U18 Age Group
Name: Ahmed Salam (Malaga)
Position: Right Wing
Nationality: Jordanian
Name: Yahia Iraqi (Malaga)
Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Morocco
Name: Mohammed Bouherrafa (Almeria)
Position: Centre-Midfield
Nationality: French
Name: Mohammed Rajeh (Cadiz)
Position: Striker
Nationality: Jordanian
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Name: Mehdi Elkhamlichi (Malaga)
Position: Lead Striker
Nationality: Morocco
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Company Profile
Company name: NutriCal
Started: 2019
Founder: Soniya Ashar
Based: Dubai
Industry: Food Technology
Initial investment: Self-funded undisclosed amount
Future plan: Looking to raise fresh capital and expand in Saudi Arabia
Total Clients: Over 50
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
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The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
WRESTLING HIGHLIGHTS
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
'Brazen'
Director: Monika Mitchell
Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler
Rating: 3/5
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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MATCH INFO
Wales 1 (Bale 45 3')
Croatia 1 (Vlasic 09')
Squads
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Babar Azam (vc), Abid Ali, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hasnain, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz
Sri Lanka: Lahiru Thirimanne (c), Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Avishka Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Minod Bhanuka, Angelo Perera, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Isuru Udana, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara
Timeline
1947
Ferrari’s road-car company is formed and its first badged car, the 125 S, rolls off the assembly line
1962
250 GTO is unveiled
1969
Fiat becomes a Ferrari shareholder, acquiring 50 per cent of the company
1972
The Fiorano circuit, Ferrari’s racetrack for development and testing, opens
1976
First automatic Ferrari, the 400 Automatic, is made
1987
F40 launched
1988
Enzo Ferrari dies; Fiat expands its stake in the company to 90 per cent
2002
The Enzo model is announced
2010
Ferrari World opens in Abu Dhabi
2011
First four-wheel drive Ferrari, the FF, is unveiled
2013
LaFerrari, the first Ferrari hybrid, arrives
2014
Fiat Chrysler announces the split of Ferrari from the parent company
2015
Ferrari launches on Wall Street
2017
812 Superfast unveiled; Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary
Roll%20of%20Honour%2C%20men%E2%80%99s%20domestic%20rugby%20season
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWest%20Asia%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Bahrain%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Jebel%20Ali%20Dragons%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%201%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Harlequins%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%202%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%20III%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDubai%20Sevens%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
