ISIL has fed on sectarianism and anti-western sentiment to increase its ranks and encourage other groups to pledge allegiance.
ISIL has fed on sectarianism and anti-western sentiment to increase its ranks and encourage other groups to pledge allegiance.

Far from disrupting old orders, ISIL is cementing them



Several months of fighting have done little to dislodge ISIL. The Pentagon acknowledged in January that the jihadist group had only lost 1 per cent of its territory in Iraq.

Meanwhile, the group acquired some following in North Africa, is reportedly preparing to declare an emirate in Lebanon and has threatened members of the US-led campaign. ISIL has fed on sectarianism and anti-western sentiment to increase its ranks and encourage other groups to pledge allegiance.

This has led to a widespread belief that it is redrawing the Middle East map. In actuality it is cementing rather than challenging the regional order.

The Arab Spring brought down four regimes and threatened other positions. Thanks to the rise of ISIL and other extremist groups, however, they are now sitting more comfortably. Once-restive populations have grown relatively silent, concerned their countries may end up like Iraq, Syria, Libya or Yemen.

ISIL has, to some extent, papered over divisions among populations regarding government policies, particularly those relevant to security and law and order. With every threat against a country and every brutal execution, people rally around their leaders. Examples this year alone include the beheadings of Egyptians in Libya, and the burning alive of Jordanian pilot Maaz Al Kassasbeh.

As a result, divisions in Jordan about the wisdom of joining the US-led campaign against ISIL have given way to calls for King Abdullah to increase his country’s military involvement in the coalition. Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El Sisi, too, is pushing himself to the forefront of a “war on terror”, a mantra that is being echoed by his regional counterparts, often in coordination with each other and with foreign powers.

The collective message is that stability and security come above all else. Western governments belatedly criticised state abuses in the wake of the Arab Spring. However, they – as well as Russia and China – are once again turning a blind eye in favour of securing reliable partners for their own political, economic and military gain.

In a fundamentally flawed view of ISIL’s defeat as the end game, and one that must be achieved at all costs, there are growing calls in the West to resume ties with Syrian president Bashar Al Assad. For such proponents, ISIL’s barbarity has whitewashed Mr Al Assad’s record and never mind that it had destroyed the country before the rise of the jihadists.

The UN has been clear about Mr Al Assad’s primary culpability. Last September, the head of the UN commission investigating war crimes in Syria said the regime “remains responsible for the majority of the civilian casualties, killing and maiming scores of civilians daily”.

In April, UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said regime atrocities “far outweigh” those of the opposition, and the former is “mostly responsible” for human rights violations.

“You cannot compare the two,” she added. Meanwhile, the US-led campaign against ISIL has enabled Mr Al Assad to intensify assaults on opposition groups.

Similarly, arms are flowing to Baghdad, which has systematically alienated Iraq’s Sunni Arabs, indiscriminately bombed civilian areas, committed atrocities and watched as allied militias have done the same. There is no longer much thought given to how the policies of Baghdad and Damascus have provided fertile ground for ISIL and its ilk, as if the jihadists popped up out of nowhere and for no reason.

Officials in the US-led campaign have said the war against ISIL could take years, even decades. The Middle East’s leaders and their foreign allies would be mistaken in thinking that the region’s peoples will indefinitely forgo their basic rights in the name of security.

Sharif Nashashibi is a journalist and analyst on Arab affairs

FFP EXPLAINED

What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.

What the rules dictate? 
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.

What are the penalties? 
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Scores

Rajasthan Royals 160-8 (20 ov)

Kolkata Knight Riders 163-3 (18.5 ov)

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

Cricket World Cup League Two

Oman, UAE, Namibia

Al Amerat, Muscat

 

Results

Oman beat UAE by five wickets

UAE beat Namibia by eight runs

 

Fixtures

Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia

Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE

Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia

Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia

APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits

Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

Storage: 128/256/512GB

Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4

Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps

Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

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
Scoreline

Liverpool 3
Mane (7'), Salah (69'), Firmino (90')

Bournemouth 0

A little about CVRL

Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.

One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases. 

The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery. 

Stage 3 results

1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 4:42:33

2 Tadej Pocagar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:03

3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana 0:01:30

4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ

5 Rafal Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe         

6 Diego Ulissi (ITA) UAE Team Emirates  0:01:56

General Classification after Stage 3:

1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 12:30:02

2 Tadej Pocagar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:07

3  Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana 0:01:35

4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:40

5  Rafal Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe

6 Wilco Kelderman (NED) Team Sunweb)  0:02:06

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IF YOU GO

The flights

FlyDubai flies direct from Dubai to Skopje in five hours from Dh1,314 return including taxes. Hourly buses from Skopje to Ohrid take three hours.

The tours

English-speaking guided tours of Ohrid town and the surrounding area are organised by Cultura 365; these cost €90 (Dh386) for a one-day trip including driver and guide and €100 a day (Dh429) for two people. 

The hotels

Villa St Sofija in the old town of Ohrid, twin room from $54 (Dh198) a night.

St Naum Monastery, on the lake 30km south of Ohrid town, has updated its pilgrims' quarters into a modern 3-star hotel, with rooms overlooking the monastery courtyard and lake. Double room from $60 (Dh 220) a night.

 

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

SPECS
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The specs: 2017 Dodge Viper SRT

Price, base / as tested Dh460,000

Engine 8.4L V10

Transmission Six-speed manual

Power 645hp @ 6,200rpm

Torque 813Nm @ 5,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined 16.8L / 100km

Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

Tuesday's fixtures
Group A
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Iran v Uzbekistan, 8pm
N Korea v UAE, 10.15pm
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Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

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What is hepatitis?

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.

There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.

Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.

People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.

There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.

The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.