The video of Syria’s Justice Minister purportedly overseeing the execution of two women under Al Nusra Front's interpretation of Sharia in Idlib during the civil war has prompted warnings of Iranian and Russian-backed online campaigns to discredit the interim administration in Damascus.
Shadi Muhammad Al Waisi, who was a religious official in Al Nusra Front, is alleged to have condemned the women to death for prostitution and adultery in video dated January 2015, which has appeared on social media.
One of the women pleads to see her children before she is shot in the head. The man alleged to be Mr Al Waisi and the men with him shout "God is great" following the killings. Al Nusra Front was the precursor to Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, which overthrew the Assad regime last month.
The killings are said to have happened in Idlib, which was controlled by Al Nusra Front at the time.
The footage "reflects a stage we have moved beyond"
HTS official speaking to Verify-Sy
Fact-checking platform Verify-Sy said it had confirmed the authenticity of the videos and that Mr Al Waisi was featured in them. It quoted unnamed senior officials of the current HTS-led Syrian administration. The official said the video "documents the enforcement of the law at a specific time and place, where the procedures were carried out in accordance with the laws in effect at the time".
The official claimed the footage "reflects a stage we have moved beyond" and that a "thorough review" would be carried out by the government.
The HTS government, let by Ahmad Al Shara, has not commented on the footage. The two women were said to have been executed after convictions for prostitution and adultery.
HTS is now steering the transition from the rule of former president Bashar Al Assad. But concerns remain among Syrians and the international community over the group's former association with Al Qaeda.
The group has sought to rebrand from its roots and has revoked some strict measures. De facto leader Mr Al Shara has also undergone a transformation, moving away from his nom de guerre. The US recently removed a $10 million bounty offered for his capture.
Nonetheless, online investigators warned that the video of the executions could have have been unearthed as part of a co-ordinated online campaign by forces loyal to Mr Al Assad to discredit the interim administration.
While it was hard to determine who originally shared the video, investigators said the content had been amplified by social media accounts in Iraq and Lebanon, which are believed to be linked to Iranian-backed militias supporting the Assad regime, as well as influential accounts in Russia.
Since the fall of the Assad regime, online spaces have been flooded with allegations against some members of the new administration - some of which are false.
“These disinformation actors, such as Russia, Iran, falsely portray members of the administration as extremist operatives, claiming they are working to transform Syria into a hub for extremism and establish an Islamist state,” said Zouhair Al Shimale, London-based Syrian who researches online disinformation and is communications manager at Verify Sy.
While he did not dispute Verify Sy's findings on Mr Al Waisi, he said the spread of such stories was an attempt to block Mr Al Shara's attempts to rebuild Syria and normalise relations with the West. “They want to target western audiences and they select key narratives to go on, like forcing women to wear hijabs and enforcing Sharia,” he told The National.
He warned against unofficial social media accounts claiming to document human rights abuses, as those same accounts also used their traction to spread disinformation. In some instances “fabricated” claims of human rights abuses against minority groups had also been shared. “These misleading narratives are designed to provoke concern among Western nations and create a public relations crisis for the Syrian government,” he said.
UAE Tour 2020
Stage 1: The Pointe Palm Jumeirah - Dubai Silicon Oasis, 148km
Stage 2: Hatta - Hatta Dam, 168km
Stage 3: Al Qudra Cycle Track - Jebel Hafeet, 184km
Stage 4: Zabeel Park - Dubai City Walk, 173km
Stage 5: Al Ain - Jebel Hafeet, 162km
Stage 6: Al Ruwais - Al Mirfa, 158km
Stage 7: Al Maryah Island - Abu Dhabi Breakwater, 127km
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
The bio
Favourite vegetable: Broccoli
Favourite food: Seafood
Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange
Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania
Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.
Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes
Five films to watch
Castle in the Sky (1986)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Pom Poki (1994)
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
Faber & Faber
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
MATCH INFO
Sheffield United 0 Wolves 2 (Jimenez 3', Saiss 6)
Man of the Match Romain Saiss (Wolves)
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Real Sociedad v Leganes (midnight)
Saturday
Alaves v Real Valladolid (4pm)
Valencia v Granada (7pm)
Eibar v Real Madrid (9.30pm)
Barcelona v Celta Vigo (midnight)
Sunday
Real Mallorca v Villarreal (3pm)
Athletic Bilbao v Levante (5pm)
Atletico Madrid v Espanyol (7pm)
Getafe v Osasuna (9.30pm)
Real Betis v Sevilla (midnight)
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKinetic%207%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rick%20Parish%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Clean%20cooking%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self-funded%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
