Syria has unveiled a new national emblem which reflects the country’s “united, indivisible” identity, according to Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara.
Mr Al Shara launched the new emblem at the People’s Palace in Damascus on Thursday, with Syrians taking to the streets in the capital and in provinces to celebrate.
The design features the golden eagle, which symbolises “strength, determination, speed, mastery, and innovation in performance”, Mr Al Shara said. Three gold stars above the bird of prey represent the “liberation of the people”.
The eagle’s tail has five feathers that represent the country's main geographic regions − north, east, west, south and central − symbolising Syrian unity.
Its wings are made of 14 feathers, representing Syria’s governorates. The “symbolic, symmetrical arrangement” of the wings aims to show “the importance of each Syrian governorate and its role in the stability of the state”, reported state-run news agency Sana.
“Syrian people … History tells us that the era of your decline has passed, the time of your rise has come, your blood was not shed in vain, your suffering was heard, your migration has ended, your prisons have been dissolved and patience has brought you victory,” Mr Al Shara said at the unveiling ceremony.
“We cannot celebrate this occasion without extending a sincere and grateful salute to all the Syrian youth who contributed to building this identity, to all those who participated in it inside and outside the country, taking the initiative, being creative, defying circumstances and believing that beloved Syria deserves more.”
Mr Al Shara, a former militant with Al Qaeda in Iraq, came to power last December, after his Hayat Tahrir Al Sham rebel group led a lightning offensive that ended former president Bashar Al Assad’s 24-year rule.
The government, which is dominated by HTS figures, is trying to unify and rebuild the country after more than 13 years of civil war.
Mr Al Shara said the new national emblem aims to restore “confidence and dignity” among Syrians, both at home and abroad, and signifies a state “that does not accept division” and where cultural and ethnic diversity is a factor of enrichment, not conflict.
However, attacks on minorities in the past six months underline the challenges it faces in creating such a state.
A suicide bombing that killed at least 25 people at a church in Damascus last month was claimed by a HTS splinter group that is said to operate like ISIS and is highly critical of Mr Al Shara.
The group also claims to have taken part in a retaliatory killing spree against members of the Alawite minority in March, in which more than 800 people, mostly civilians, were killed, according to an estimate by the UK-based Syrian Network for Human Rights.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
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
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
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
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
RESULT
Norway 1 Spain 1
Norway: King (90 4')
Spain: Niguez (47')
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
FIXTURES
December 28
Stan Wawrinka v Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 29 - semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Stan Wawrinka / Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Milos Raonic / Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 30
3rd/4th place play-off, 5pm
Final, 7pm
