Iran will grow stronger despite setbacks in Syria, says Khamenei

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Iran and its alliance in the Middle East has not been weakened despite the toppling of its ally Bashar Al Assad in Syria, the country's supreme leader Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday,

Mr Khamenei said that the US and Israel were behind Mr Al Assad's deposing in Syria, which has struck a blow to Iran's influence in the area, especially after its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, reached a ceasefire deal with Israel last month.

“The more pressure you exert, the stronger the resistance becomes. The more crimes you commit, the more determined it becomes. The more you fight against it, the more it expands,” Mr Khamenei said in a speech reported by Iranian state media.

“Iran is strong and powerful – and will become even stronger.”

The fall of Mr Al Assad, a staunch Iranian ally, is widely seen as a significant blow for Tehran and its so-called Axis of Resistance, an informal alliance stringing together Syria and militant groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, that opposes Israel and US influence in the Middle East.

Iran spent billions of dollars supporting Mr Al Assad during the civil war and sent its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to Syria to keep its ally in power. Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters also played a major role in helping the deposed Syrian dictator crush rebel forces during the civil war.

The Iranian embassy in Damascus was ransacked after Bashar Al Assad was ousted. AFP

But as soon as the rebel forces, led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, took over Damascus and announced the fall of the regime on Sunday, the Iranian embassy in Damascus was vandalised.

Meanwhile, Nato member Turkey, which is fighting the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, has been a major backer of opposition groups aiming to overthrow Assad since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.

Soon after the fall of Mr Al Assad, Iran hinted that it was willing to establish normal relations with Syria’s new government based on a “far-sighted and wise approach.” The Iranian leadership has also called on the rebel forces to establish an inclusive government representing all segments of Syrian society.

In his speech, Mr Khamenei said the swift offensive which led to Mr Al Assad fleeing Syria was “mainly planned in the command rooms of America and Israel. We have evidence of this”.

He said one of Syria’s neighbouring governments, which has supported and armed anti-Assad regime rebels, was involved, in an apparent reference to Turkey.

“The neighbour had a “clear role and continues to do so,” he said.

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Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
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What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

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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Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.