The UN called for peace in Syria as the country prepared to mark 14 years since the uprising against Bashar Al Assad with public gatherings on Saturday.
The anniversary is the first since the former president fled the country in December as rebels approached Damascus, where people waving the new Syrian flag gathered in Umayyad Square, which was once reserved for supporters of the Assad regime. State news agency Sana also reported large crowds gathered in Idlib, a former rebel stronghold.
“As we reflect on this first commemoration following the former government’s collapse and the jubilation that followed, the horrific violence of the past two weeks is a reminder of the immense challenges that lie ahead,” Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, chairman of the UN Syrian Commission, said in a statement.
Mr Pinheiro was referring to the recent wave of violence that engulfed the coastal areas in which hundreds of civilians, mostly men but also women and children, were killed.
At least 1,500 civilians, mainly Alawites and supporters of the Assad regime, were killed in the fighting that erupted on March 6, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
“At this moment, Syrians need renewed commitment to peace, justice, and the protection of human rights, to break the cycle of violence and ensure accountability for violations, regardless of the perpetrator,” Mr Pinheiro said.
Witnesses have described to the UN Commission extrajudicial killings amid intense clashes in the coastal areas between armed men allegedly loyal to the former government and the new self-declared government's security forces and affiliated groups, said a statement by the commission.
Hundreds of members of these forces are also reported to have been killed in combat or after capture, said the statement.
Interim President Ahmad Al Shara, who headed the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al Sham that led the rebel offensive, has said those responsible will be punished, including his own allies.
Mr Al Shara has vowed to bring all of Syria's armed groups under the Ministry of Defence and to protect the numerous ethnic and religious minorities, which includes the Alawite sect to which the Assad family belongs.
On Thursday, he signed into force a constitutional declaration regulating a five-year transition period before a permanent constitution is adopted.
Analysts have criticised the declaration, saying it grants too much power to the President and fails to provide sufficient protection to minorities.
The UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said on Friday: "It is 14 years since Syrians took to the streets in peaceful protest, demanding dignity, freedom and a better future."
Mr Pedersen said in a statement that despite the civil war, "the resilience of Syrians and their pursuit of justice, dignity and peace endure. And they now deserve a transition that is worthy of this." He called for "an immediate end to all violence and for protection of civilians".
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
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Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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Price: From Dh590,000
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Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
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Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 390bhp
Torque: 400Nm
Price: Dh340,000 ($92,579
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Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
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Daniella Weiss and Nachala
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Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
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RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
Winner: Shafaf, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)
5,30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,200m
Winner: Noof KB, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: The President’s Cup Listed (TB) Dh380,000 1,400m
Winner: Taamol, Jim Crowley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
6.30pm: The President’s Cup Group One (PA) Dh2,500,000 2,200m
Winner: Rmmas, Tadhg O’Shea, Jean de Roualle
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Listed (PA) Dh230,000 1,600m
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7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: AF Mekhbat, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
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4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
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4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,200m
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6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $300,000 (T) 1,800m
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6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $400,000 (D) 2,000m
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7.30pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 $250,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner: Hawkbill, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
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- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
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AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Aaron Finch, Matt Renshaw, Brendan Doggett, Michael Neser, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (captain), Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Jon Holland, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle
The specs: 2018 Ford Mustang GT
Price, base / as tested: Dh204,750 / Dh241,500
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MEN
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T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
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Naga
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
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