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A former British diplomat and whistleblower on the Iraq war believes UK foreign policy should shed its colonial hangover of “British interests” overseas and instead think more about how nations can work together on global issues.
Carne Ross spent more than 15 years as a British diplomat working on Middle Eastern files including the Iraq war – before resigning in 2004 to give secret testimony on the UK's intelligence on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Today he is a Green Party candidate in the UK general elections, helping to steer the party’s foreign policy of “global solidarity”, while challenging Labour’s prospects at forming the next government. His opponent in London's South Islington constituency that he is standing in is Emily Thornberry, a shadow cabinet member and Labour MP of almost 20 years.
“I reject the notion of British interests. I think this is a manufactured notion. A safer world will come about when we show solidarity with people all over the world, and above all, for the protection of their human rights,” he said during a video interview.
Mr Ross’s anger over the legacy of the Iraq War is what compels him to stand with the Greens, a party with historically few seats in parliament.
“Tony Blair has been rehabilitated. His officials who perpetrated the lies have also been rehabilitated. There's been no real accountability. So I'm quite angry about that,” he added.
His testimony to the Butler inquiry in 2004 as the UK’s Iraq expert on weapons of mass destruction at the UN, later to the Chilcot Inquiry, helped expose that the basis for the Iraq War – that Saddam Hussein had obtained weapons of mass destruction – was a lie.
“In Britain it's certainly believed by most people that the war was based on a lie. I'm partly responsible for that belief, which I'm proud of,” he said.
But he is nonetheless filled with regret. "It's awful being a mouthpiece for a government you don't agree with," he said.
The Iraq war and the war on terror, he said, were the catalysts for the “erosion of global rules” that drives major conflicts today, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“Putin and Lavrov have been around for a very long time, and they have long memories. They took their cue from the lawlessness of (the) Western war on terror and the Iraq war to pursue their own illegal actions in places like Georgia but above all, Ukraine,” he said, with reference to the Russo-Georgian war of 2008.
Today, the West’s inaction over Gaza and Israel’s perceived impunity, he added, further threatens this world order.
The Green Party has condemned the Hamas attacks of October 7, but also called for a ceasefire “early on” because they had anticipated the huge civilian casualties that would ensure. The party is on the margins of the UK Left and is currently polling around 5 per cent.
As well as supporting the cases against Israel and Israeli officials at the international courts, they have called for the Metropolitan Police in the UK to investigate government ministers for complicity in war crimes because of continuing arms sales to Israel.
It is a position, which Mr Ross says differs greatly from the Labour party. “Even now (Labour) doesn’t seem to be calling for an unambiguous and lasting ceasefire, which I find incredible,” he said. “Labour Party talks about a rules-based order, but we actually stick to it."
Ms Thornberry, he points out, had refused to answer a BBC journalist on whether the Israeli siege of Gaza in the early days of the war was a breach of international law.
The West would pay in the long term for pursuing a diplomacy that put security interests and economic relationships over global human rights and climate action.
“The West did not show solidarity with the Global South on covid or on debt. People in the Global South ... see the hypocrisy and the double standards of the West in places like Gaza. There is a price for that,” he said.
The consequences of this were already palpable with Ukraine's struggle to attract leaders from the Global South countries to its peace summit in Switzerland this week.
He also condemned the UK's "deep defence" relationships with Israel and Saudi Arabia as examples of putting security interests over solidarity.
Catapulted to another existence
Mr Ross had expected to be a diplomat all of his life, but his resignation after Iraq became “a catapult into another existence”.
“At the time that was a disaster for me professionally, but looking back, I'm glad it happened, because it's awful being a mouthpiece for a government you don't agree with.”
He founded Independent Diplomat, a non-profit supplying diplomats for hire to unrepresented minority groups around the world, from the Polisario in Western Sahara to the Kurds of North East Syria - people left behind when a world order of nation states was established in the last century.
He also worked with the Syrian opposition against shortly after the revolution in 2011, where he had supported a military intervention against Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, who launched barrel bomb and chemical weapons attacks against civilians with Russian-backing.
The lessons from these inform the paths forward that he sees to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Palestinians needed to be given “the space to develop their own political voice, ideally, a united political voice that can represent the views of the Palestinian people fairly,” he said.
The international community should move beyond rhetoric and pressure Israel to leave to occupied territories. "Warm words" about a two-state solution were moot without "real pressure".
“There must be a political solution that provides for the security and the protection of human rights for Israelis and Palestinians, but it's going to take international pressure for that to come,” he added.
Mr Ross' diplomatic journey turned him into an “accidental” and “gentle anarchist”, the memoirs and philosophy of which he will outline in his next book, The Gentle Anarchist.
“Elites in institutions don't take seriously the people they're fully responsible for. I saw that myself when I was part of an elite institution,” he said.
“We thought that we knew best, and that's what you're encouraged to believe. That's why I'm an anarchist these days. Institutions as much as they are necessary need to be absolutely transparent and accountable, and they're not.”
In the long term, abolishing the British foreign office may be the only way to rid the institutions of its colonial hangovers and ensure its transparency, he said.
“I'd abolish it. It is deeply steeped in its own arrogant traditions, it needs to be totally abolished,” he told The National.
Although diplomats are necessary, he insists, institutions like the FCDO in its current form were not – they needed to be rebuilt from the ground up to be “absolutely transparent and accountable”.
“It's not that I don't see the need for diplomats. Of course, we need diplomats to explain our views to other people and to listen.
“But I would make those temporary representatives. I would make their work transparent."
As an MP, he hopes to also encourage people to lead less consumerist lives and advocates for forms of spiritual fulfilment that could lead us towards a more sustainable future.
“We have a hyper consumerist society, because our spiritual needs are not being met. The society I envisage allows for those spiritual needs to be met,” he said.
“We'd consume less and produce less, which would ultimately help us live more in harmony with the planet.”
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
EPL's youngest
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Emirates Cricket Board Women’s T10
ECB Hawks v ECB Falcons
Monday, April 6, 7.30pm, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
The match will be broadcast live on the My Sports Eye Facebook page
Hawks
Coach: Chaitrali Kalgutkar
Squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Archara Supriya, Chamani Senevirathne, Chathurika Anand, Geethika Jyothis, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kashish Loungani, Khushi Sharma, Khushi Tanwar, Rinitha Rajith, Siddhi Pagarani, Siya Gokhale, Subha Srinivasan, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish
Falcons
Coach: Najeeb Amar
Squad: Kavisha Kumari (captain), Almaseera Jahangir, Annika Shivpuri, Archisha Mukherjee, Judit Cleetus, Ishani Senavirathne, Lavanya Keny, Mahika Gaur, Malavika Unnithan, Rishitha Rajith, Rithika Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Shashini Kaluarachchi, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Vaishnave Mahesh
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sweet%20Tooth
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Engine: 80 kWh four-wheel-drive
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 760Nm
Price: From Dh280,000
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.
Wydad 2 Urawa 3
Wydad Nahiri 21’, Hajhouj 90'
Urawa Antonio 18’, 60’, Kashiwagi 26’
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Khalid%20Fahad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Shaima%20Al%20Tayeb%2C%20Wafa%20Muhamad%2C%20Hamss%20Bandar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
Without Remorse
Directed by: Stefano Sollima
Starring: Michael B Jordan
4/5
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
UAE group fixtures
Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran
Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait
Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, Alishan Sharafu, Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Ayaz, Zahoor Khan, Chirag Suri, Sultan Ahmed
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
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
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Need to know
The flights: Flydubai flies from Dubai to Kilimanjaro airport via Dar es Salaam from Dh1,619 return including taxes. The trip takes 8 hours.
The trek: Make sure that whatever tour company you select to climb Kilimanjaro, that it is a reputable one. The way to climb successfully would be with experienced guides and porters, from a company committed to quality, safety and an ethical approach to the mountain and its staff. Sonia Nazareth booked a VIP package through Safari Africa. The tour works out to $4,775 (Dh17,538) per person, based on a 4-person booking scheme, for 9 nights on the mountain (including one night before and after the trek at Arusha). The price includes all meals, a head guide, an assistant guide for every 2 trekkers, porters to carry the luggage, a cook and kitchen staff, a dining and mess tent, a sleeping tent set up for 2 persons, a chemical toilet and park entrance fees. The tiny ration of heated water provided for our bath in our makeshift private bathroom stall was the greatest luxury. A standard package, also based on a 4-person booking, works out to $3,050 (Dh11,202) per person.
When to go: You can climb Kili at any time of year, but the best months to ascend are January-February and September-October. Also good are July and August, if you’re tolerant of the colder weather that winter brings.
Do not underestimate the importance of kit. Even if you’re travelling at a relatively pleasant time, be geared up for the cold and the rain.
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The years Ramadan fell in May
The%20specs
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Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
Suggested picnic spots
Abu Dhabi
Umm Al Emarat Park
Yas Gateway Park
Delma Park
Al Bateen beach
Saadiyaat beach
The Corniche
Zayed Sports City
Dubai
Kite Beach
Zabeel Park
Al Nahda Pond Park
Mushrif Park
Safa Park
Al Mamzar Beach Park
Al Qudrah Lakes
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
match info
Maratha Arabians 138-2
C Lynn 91*, A Lyth 20, B Laughlin 1-15
Team Abu Dhabi 114-3
L Wright 40*, L Malinga 0-13, M McClenaghan 1-17
Maratha Arabians won by 24 runs
