Insight and opinion from The National’s editorial leadership
January 05, 2024
The Jabalieh Dome, a magnificent stone rotunda of ancient and mysterious provenance, has long drawn visitors to the south-eastern Iranian city of Kerman. However, since 2020, when the body of the prolific Iranian general Qassem Suleimani was buried a kilometre away, it has become a mere side attraction. Suleimani, who was the most powerful figure in Iran’s security apparatus at the time of his death, is so highly regarded that his burial site attracts thousands of mourners each year.
Now, the stretch of road between Suleimani’s tomb and the dome will be known for the tragedy that transpired there on Wednesday, the fourth anniversary of his death, when twin explosions killed nearly 100 people, many of them visiting mourners. It was the deadliest terrorist attack on Iranian soil since the country’s 1979 revolution.
When Suleimani was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad four years ago, it seemed as though the entire Middle East stood still. Everyone – including Iran’s own government – feared that even the slightest counter could set the whole region ablaze. That almost happened a few days afterwards, when an Iranian missile operator near Tehran erroneously downed a commercial aircraft he mistook for a hostile warplane, killing 176 people.
In the end, no new war broke out after the killing of Suleimani, although existing ones very much continued. In that incredibly tense atmosphere, cooler heads prevailed.
The hope is that a similar outcome awaits the region at the end of this week. The blasts in Kerman happened amid a particularly volatile time in the Middle East. Israel’s increasingly horrific invasion of Gaza, sparked by a brutal attack carried out by Hamas on October 7, has claimed 22,000 Palestinian lives. A day before the attack in Kerman, what appeared to be an Israeli drone strike in the Lebanese capital killed Saleh Al Arouri, a Hamas official particularly close to the Iranian government.
It is unsurprising many in Iran have pointed the finger for Wednesday’s bombings at Israel, given that country’s special status in Iranian propaganda. As we wrote in these pages, the Israeli government’s killing of Mr Al Arouri did it no favours; it signalled the country’s willingness to expand its war deep into other countries, giving fuel to critics’ worst suspicions.
Nonetheless, there are other potential culprits. Chief among them, based on capability and modus operandi, is ISKP, the branch of ISIS based in neighbouring Afghanistan. Last night, ISIS claimed responsibility for the bombings.
The blasts in Kerman happened amid a particularly volatile time in the Middle East
If that is the case, it will be a reminder that instability is spreading as much in the region’s eastern deserts as it is on its Mediterranean shore. The international community’s failures in finding a way to engage constructively with Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers, to whom it unceremoniously abandoned the country in 2021, has not only given opportunity to groups like ISIS, but brought greater volatility to the Afghan-Iranian border area. The Taliban and Iran have occasionally found areas of mutual interest (fighting ISKP, which frequently attacks the Taliban, may be one of them now), but their shared history is coloured more by violence than co-operation. Suleimani himself made his reputation in Iran’s military in part by planning operations against Afghan militants, including the Taliban.
Taking the Middle East from where it is now to a calmer place is not a matter of rolling back the clock. The enormous damage done in the past three months cannot be undone.
Even so, regional governments and the international community should make it the highest priority now not to fan any flames. A US drone strike on Iran-backed militias in Baghdad on Thursday indicates this will be difficult. But efforts at methodical diplomacy and de-escalation are worth making in earnest. A durable solution in at least one of these many conflicts plaguing the region can encourage more of the same in others.
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
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.
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
New schools in Dubai
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
Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)
Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.
Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.
Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.
Get your priorities right.
And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.
The UAE squad for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games
The jiu-jitsu men’s team: Faisal Al Ketbi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Yahia Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Obaid Al Nuaimi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Mansoori, Saeed Al Mazroui, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Qubaisi, Salem Al Suwaidi, Khalfan Belhol, Saood Al Hammadi.
Women’s team: Mouza Al Shamsi, Wadeema Al Yafei, Reem Al Hashmi, Mahra Al Hanaei, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Hessa Thani, Salwa Al Ali.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokens that represent ownership of unique items. They allow the tokenisation of things such as art, collectibles and even real estate.
An NFT can have only one official owner at one time. And since they're minted and secured on the Ethereum blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.
This means NFTs are not interchangeable and cannot be exchanged with other items. In contrast, fungible items, such as fiat currencies, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties.
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
The biog
Favourite Emirati dish: Fish machboos
Favourite spice: Cumin
Family: mother, three sisters, three brothers and a two-year-old daughter
