Afghanistan's supreme leader appeared publicly for only the second time in six years on Sunday, telling worshippers celebrating Eid Al Fitr that the Taliban had achieved freedom and security since seizing power last year.
Two days after a bomb ripped through a mosque in Kabul, an atmosphere of heightened security surrounded the man introduced as Hibatullah Akhundzada, the chief of the Taliban.
"Congratulations on victory, freedom and success," he told thousands of worshippers at the Eidgah mosque in the southern city of Kandahar, the hardline group's power centre.
"Congratulations on this security and for the Islamic system."
While the number of bombings across Afghanistan dropped since Kabul fell to the Taliban last August, attacks soared over the final two weeks of Ramadan, which ended on Saturday for Afghans.
Dozens of civilians have been killed in the mainly sectarian attacks, some claimed by ISIS, against members of the Shiite and Sufi communities.
Friday's bombing of a Sunni mosque in the capital killed at least 10 people.
Mr Akhundzada delivered his brief address from one of the front rows of worshippers in Kandahar without turning to face the crowd, social media posts said.
Taliban officials did not allow journalists to approach him, while two helicopters hovered over the mosque for the two-hour event.
Dozens of Taliban fighters were posted to where Mr Akhundzada and other Taliban leaders were sitting, and they stopped worshippers from taking their pictures on mobile phones.
An AFP correspondent at the mosque said the voice claimed to be Mr Akhundzada's came from the front rows of worshippers.
When the man introduced as the Taliban leader began to speak, worshippers chanted: "Allahu Akbar. Long live Islamic Emirate and long live Akhundzada."
Worshipper Aziz Ahmadi said he was overwhelmed.
"I cried when I heard the voice of Sheikh Saheb [Akhundzada] ... to hear him is like achieving my biggest dream," he told AFP.
But Mr Ahmadi said he did not see the leader among the crowd.
Another Kandahar resident, Bismillah, who attended the prayers at the Eidgah mosque, said: "I'm so happy that I can't even describe it.
"I had a dream to pray alongside my supreme leader, to hear his voice or to see him."
A senior Taliban government official told AFP that he saw Mr Akhundzada delivering the address.
"I saw him from a distance as he spoke. I even met him two days ago at his office," he said.
It was Mr Akhundzada's second known public appearance since taking control of the Taliban in 2016.
His low profile fed speculation about his role in the new Taliban government, formed after the group took control of Kabul on August 15 — and even rumours of his death.
His public profile has largely been limited to the release of messages during Islamic holidays from his office in Kandahar.
In October, Mr Akhundzada visited the Darul Uloom Hakimiah mosque in the southern city, according to an audio recording circulated by Taliban social media accounts.
On Friday, in a message released ahead of Eid Al Fitr, he made no mention of the bloodshed that had rocked Afghanistan during Ramadan, instead praising the Taliban's building of "a strong Islamic and national army" and "strong intelligence organisation".
Unlike those in Kandahar, many Afghans in Kabul preferred to stay indoors on Sunday rather than pray at mosques after the recent deadly attacks.
"The situation of our people is very sad, especially after what happened in the mosques," Kabul resident Ahmad Hashemi told AFP.
"Many young and old people have been martyred. The people of Afghanistan have nothing but sorrow."
The deadliest attack during Ramadan was in the northern province of Kunduz, where a bomb ripped through a mosque as a group of Sufis performed rituals.
At least 36 people were killed and scores more were wounded. No group has so far claimed that attack.
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The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
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Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Scorebox
Dubai Hurricanes 31 Dubai Sports City Eagles 22
Hurricanes
Tries: Finck, Powell, Jordan, Roderick, Heathcote
Cons: Tredray 2, Powell
Eagles
Tries: O’Driscoll 2, Ives
Cons: Carey 2
Pens: Carey
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
if you go
The flights
Emirates offer flights to Buenos Aires from Dubai, via Rio De Janeiro from around Dh6,300. emirates.com
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Tangol sell experiences across South America and generally have good access to tickets for most of the big teams in Buenos Aires: Boca Juniors, River Plate, and Independiente. Prices from Dh550 and include pick up and drop off from your hotel in the city. tangol.com
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Tangol will pick up tourists from any hotel in Buenos Aires, but after the intensity of the game, the Faena makes for tranquil, upmarket accommodation. Doubles from Dh1,110. faena.com
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50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
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Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
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Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs: 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
Price, base / as tested: Dh101,140 / Dh113,800
Engine: Turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 148hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm @ 2,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed CVT
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
RESULTS
Argentina 4 Haiti 0
Peru 2 Scotland 0
Panama 0 Northern Ireland 0
The 24-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg).
Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Youri Tielemans (Monaco), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur).
Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea/Dortmund), Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Dries Mertens (Napoli).
Standby player: Laurent Ciman (Los Angeles FC).
Brief scores:
Scotland 371-5, 50 overs (C MacLeod 140 no, K Coetzer 58, G Munsey 55)
England 365 all out, 48.5 overs (J Bairstow 105, A Hales 52; M Watt 3-55)
Result: Scotland won by six runs
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Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder (Cooper) / 2.0-litre four-cylinder (Cooper S)
Power: 136hp @ 4,500rpm (Cooper) / 192hp @ 5,000rpm (Cooper S)
Torque: 220Nm @ 1,480rpm (Cooper) / 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (Cooper S)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 4.8L to 5.4L / 100km
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Results
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Cofe
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 80-100
Amount raised: $13m
Investors: KISP ventures, Cedar Mundi, Towell Holding International, Takamul Capital, Dividend Gate Capital, Nizar AlNusif Sons Holding, Arab Investment Company and Al Imtiaz Investment Group
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Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
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Fuel consumption: 8.6L/100km
On sale: October to December
Price: From Dh875,000 (estimate)
