I have just returned from a week in Syria with the British-Syrian diaspora, who have done much over the past 12 years to keep the flame of hope alive. If smiles and positivity are anything to go by, I for one am overwhelmed by a sense of hope after a few days in Damascus and Homs with the people I’ve been involved with.
This is something I never expected after the years of death and destruction witnessed in the north-west province of Idlib. The old Syrian regime and their Russian backers tried to subjugate the people with gas attacks and a scorched earth policy designed to raze the place to the ground – but they could not put out the fire in people’s hearts for a free Syria.
It was ostensibly the British-Syrian diaspora, from the Syrian British Medical Society (SBMS) and UOSSM (Union of Syrian Medical Charities), who kept the medical facilities in Idlib running, giving the residents some hope and the will to carry on.
They were ably supported over all these years by eminent and some wealthy Syrians, in effect in exile in the UK and Europe, who would often be in north-west Syria using their own money and resources to keep the lights on and put food in people's mouths as [removed president Bashar Al] Assad and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin tried to kill them.
The revolution that toppled the old guard in Damascus grew out of north-west Syria, and the interim President Ahmad Al Shara, though once an extremist, now appears to be a viable leader who seems to be steering the new Syria into a path to become a moderate, secular and democratic country, which it once was in the mists of time before the Assads.
The Syrians I know, some very close to the new team, tell me they are the real deal, but Al Assad and Putin have bankrupted the country and most immediately Al Shara needs money and advice to keep the mechanics of government moving.
Those of us in Iraq in 2003 saw what happened when the Saddam regime was deposed and the government ministries were folded, causing disaster, and allowing the extremists to develop and almost fatally destroy the country.
This must not be allowed to happen in Syria. Britain is uniquely placed through the British-Syrian diaspora to make a real difference, and opening the British embassy in Damascus cannot happen soon enough.
There may not be a grand building readily available, I’m sure one could be sourced very quickly. I urge the FCDO to take a "bit" of risk with their own, no doubt extensive and elongated threat assessments, but I gauge as one who knows a bit about this place and a bit about security and protection, that if we use the usual "over-abundance" of caution we may miss this fleeting opportunity to stabilise this place.
If we do miss it, expect more threats to the UK itself. I visited the new Syrian Health Ministry, which would like to replicate what SBMS and others did in north-west Syria across the whole of the country.
In the same vein, they have asked the White Helmets, the civil emergency teams set up with British government funding and by the likes of former British Army officer James Le Mesurier, to now run the emergency services countrywide.
Of course, this part of the Middle East is a tinderbox at the moment, with Israel to the south and Lebanon to the west, but at least with the demise of the Russians and Iranians, Syria is now being run by Syrians and not by tyrants and dictators who are out for all they can get.
The Labour government in London still appears to bear the scars of the disastrous Iraq invasion of 2003, and its inexperienced team seem to confuse what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan as a possible blueprint they do not want to replicate in this place.
But I can assure them, that as one who has spent considerable time in all three countries at the worst of their times, the Syria today is different and can, if we act quickly and decisively, be put on the path to a much brighter tomorrow.
The new government in Damascus does not need us to tell them what to do. They know what they want to do, but they want and need our advice and resources to ensure they can do it.
- Hamish de Bretton-Gordon is a former British army officer who has written extensively about Syria and visited the country regularly over the past decade
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
The%20Kitchen
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EDaniel%20Kaluuya%2C%20Kibwe%20Tavares%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EKane%20Robinson%2C%20Jedaiah%20Bannerman%2C%20Hope%20Ikpoku%20Jnr%2C%20Fiona%20Marr%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio
Price, base: Dh198,300
Engine: 2.0L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 280hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,250rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7L / 100km
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The years Ramadan fell in May
UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
More on Quran memorisation:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,100,000 (est)
Engine 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch
Power 630bhp @ 8,000rpm
Torque 600Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 15.7L / 100km (est)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Brief scores:
Day 1
Toss: India, chose to bat
India (1st innings): 215-2 (89 ov)
Agarwal 76, Pujara 68 not out; Cummins 2-40
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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The years Ramadan fell in May
