Given the breadth of Qatar's links to Islamist extremists throughout the Arab world, it was merely a question of time before the sheikhdom found itself linked to the British investigation into last May's Manchester Arena terror attack, which killed 22 people and injured 500 more.
One of the key suspects in the atrocity has emerged as Hashem Abedi, the 20-year-old brother of Salman Abedi, who carried out the suicide bomb attack when the arena was packed with fans attending a concert by the US pop star Ariana Grande.
Although the brothers are British citizens, their family originally comes from Libya, where their father Ramadan was a member of the now-defunct Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), an Islamist terror group that campaigned for the overthrow of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi.
Another leading member of the LIFG was Abdul Hakim Belhaj, who these days is now a leading Islamist figure in Tripoli. Belhaj's name was on the original list of Islamist extremists Qatar has been accused of funding by the quartet of Arab countries, made up of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, and his name has now been linked to the investigation being carried out by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) into the arena bombing.
Earlier this month, the GMP made an extradition request to the Libyan authorities for Hashem Abedi to be brought to Britain for questioning about his involvement in the attack. Both brothers are known to have travelled to Libya shortly before the attack took place, with Salman returning to the UK a month before carrying out the atrocity and Hashem remaining in Tripoli with his father.
Both Ramadan and Hashem were arrested by the Libyan authorities shortly after the attack, although Ramadan was subsequently released.
The British authorities now believe they have enough evidence to charge Hashem with being involved in the plot and are keen to question him about his involvement.
But the extradition request has stalled while the Libyan authorities in Tripoli decide whether or not to comply with the request, and British security officials have now accused Belhaj of being behind the delay.
Hashem is being held by Libya’s Special Deterrence Force, a militia with close ties to Belhaj who, thanks to the support he receives from Qatar, has now emerged as one of the most influential Islamist militants operating in the country.
The struggle for the future of Libya has become one of the key issues in the diplomatic stand-off between Qatar and the quartet.
Since Qaddafi’s overthrow in 2011, the quartet has been actively trying to prevent Islamists like Belhaj from taking over the country. But their efforts have been thwarted by the Qataris, who have been accused of violating the UN arms embargo by providing military equipment to Islamist groups. In addition, the Qataris are said to have paid more than US$890 million (Dh3.3 billion) in aid to Islamist militants, with the funds being shipped to western Libya by a commercial airline that is bankrolled by Qatar.
Western intelligence officials believe Belhaj, who twice met the late Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has been one of the recipients of Qatar’s largesse, which explains why Hizb Al Watan, the party he founded in 2012 and contains many former members of the LIFG, is now so dominant in Tripoli’s political landscape.
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The suggestion that Belhaj is now involved in delaying the extradition of a key suspect in the worst terrorist atrocity Britain has suffered in decades demonstrates the pernicious influence Qatar’s support for Islamist militants has not only on the Middle East, but also the wider world.
Nor, despite the international outcry concerning Qatar’s support for Islamist extremists, does there seem to be any evidence that the sheikhdom has any intention of mending its ways. Yesterday, the quartet of Arab states announced they were extending their terror lists, adding two entities and 11 individuals they have accused of being directly funded by Qatar.
The Qataris' continued involvement in sponsoring Islamist terror groups certainly raises questions as to why the governments of countries like Britain still take a lenient view of Doha's meddling.
The confused signals being sent by many western governments was reflected this week when Qatar’s foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, was invited to talk at London’s Royal United Services Institute, one of Britain’s leading military think tanks, at a conference on counter-terrorism.
It is beyond ironic that someone so closely associated with funding and supporting Islamist terror groups in countries like Syria, in which the Qataris have been actively supporting Salafist groups such as HTS, should be invited to participate in a conference discussing how to combat such extremism.
But such is the British government's all-consuming obsession with Brexit, as well as its unwillingness to involve itself in a diplomatic dispute between the Gulf states it hopes will soon be resolved, that the Qataris are able to operate freely in London without any serious questions being asked about their activities.
The British government might be compelled to take a more proactive approach to tackling Qatar’s support for terrorism if it starts to make attempts to bring to justice those responsible for carrying out the dreadful scenes that took place in Manchester last May.
Con Coughlin is the Daily Telegraph’s defence and foreign affairs editor
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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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
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MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')
Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Visa changes give families fresh hope
Foreign workers can sponsor family members based solely on their income
Male residents employed in the UAE can sponsor immediate family members, such as wife and children, subject to conditions that include a minimum salary of Dh 4,000 or Dh 3,000 plus accommodation.
Attested original marriage certificate, birth certificate of the child, ejari or rental contract, labour contract, salary certificate must be submitted to the government authorised typing centre to complete the sponsorship process
In Abu Dhabi, a woman can sponsor her husband and children if she holds a residence permit stating she is an engineer, teacher, doctor, nurse or any profession related to the medical sector and her monthly salary is at least Dh 10,000 or Dh 8,000 plus accommodation.
In Dubai, if a woman is not employed in the above categories she can get approval to sponsor her family if her monthly salary is more than Dh 10,000 and with a special permission from the Department of Naturalization and Residency Dubai.
To sponsor parents, a worker should earn Dh20,000 or Dh19,000 a month, plus a two-bedroom accommodation
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
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HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
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Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
UAE squad
Rohan Mustafa (captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
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
The 12
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
SPECS
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If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Villains
Queens of the Stone Age
Matador
ACC%20T20%20Women%E2%80%99s%20Championship
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Inside%20Out%202
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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
Ovo's tips to find extra heat
- Open your curtains when it’s sunny
- Keep your oven open after cooking
- Have a cuddle with pets and loved ones to help stay cosy
- Eat ginger but avoid chilli as it makes you sweat
- Put on extra layers
- Do a few star jumps
- Avoid alcohol
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
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