Conflicting reports on a Russian soldier’s death in Aleppo, Syria have highlighted the complex web of terrain control in the north of the country, where factions and world powers still vie for influence, 12 years into the simmering civil war.
The soldier was killed and four others were injured after their vehicle was reportedly struck by an explosion on Monday on the road between Herbel and Maarat Umm Hawsh in northern Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.
Images on social media showed a Russian armoured vehicle on its side with the engine block torn off, its wheels sheared from its chassis.
Syrian-Kurdish media claimed a Turkish drone or artillery attack had taken place, while some sources speculated that a roadside bomb had been placed by a Turkish-backed paramilitary force called the National Army, formerly known as the Free Syrian Army.
Many of its members harbour a deep resentment against Russian forces, from days when former rebels fought bloody battles against the Syrian-Russian alliance at the height of the civil war.
In recent weeks, Syrian regime forces have launched artillery strikes on villages and towns of Idlib and the nearby countryside of Aleppo held by Turkish-backed militia groups, leading to civilian injuries, and reviving memories of widespread, indiscriminate bombardment by the regime's air force and later, its Russian allies.
Some observers have long feared a major Syrian offensive to reclaim Idlib, a densely populated governorate under the control of radical militants adjacent to Aleppo.
But an increasingly entrenched Turkish presence in parts of Syria on the northern border has made this prospect more unlikely, despite regular clashes.
A source in a local volunteer group – which uses social media to highlight the level of violence in the area – said the vehicle was part of a convoy of five on the M5, a route regularly patrolled by Russian forces. It lies only kilometres from National Army forces' territory.
The source said Russian helicopters took off from Arima, where Syrian forces have a small base and took the injured soldiers to Manbij, “one of the Russian points”.
Manbij is held by Syrian-Kurdish militia forces allied to the US, but Syrian government forces are also stationed in the area. Russia and Turkish forces have held joint patrols in the area in the past, as part of a trust-building measure between the two sides.
Complicating matters, Turkish forces and their National Army allies have clashed with Syrian troops, and in some places Syrian and Russian forces share locations.
Syria's army have also co-ordinated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – usually in the face of Turkish operations – despite the SDF's alliance with the US.
Syrian Kurds continue to explore ties with the government after Turkish operations against them and fears that the US will one day leave Syria.
Meanwhile, President Bashar Al Assad insists Turkish forces must leave Syrian soil, which has slowed attempts by Ankara and Damascus to reach a bargain on the fate of northern Syria.
Conflicting views
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has claimed Turkish forces bombed Maarat Umm Hawsh and farms around Herbel in regions under Kurdish control as a Russian military patrol passed through the region. It said a mortar hit one of the vehicles and damaged it.
However, the local volunteer source said the vehicle may have struck a landmine.
Another source in the National Army, going by the name Farouq Abu Baker, said some of his forces were stationed 2km away and he presumed the incident had been caused “either by an explosive device implanted by some party or was an accident that occurred to the vehicle”.
He dismissed allegations of Turkish involvement. The government in Ankara has also denied involvement.
“We in the National Army have no problem in targeting the Russian army active in the region, because we consider it an occupation and it’s legal to fight it,” he said, while denying involvement.
Conflicting control in Aleppo
The province of Aleppo is divided into three regions each under the control of different factions from north to south.
In the far north, parts of Aleppo’s border with Turkey are controlled by the National Army and some co-located Turkish forces, after being taken over from Kurdish armed groups during the Turkish-led Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016, and the later Operation Olive Branch in 2018, including Azaz and Jarablus, extending to the town of Al Bab, near the centre of Aleppo governorate.
Parts of the west of the governorate – where Monday’s incident took place – are under the control of the SDF and include Tall Rifat and the formerly government-controlled Menagh Military Airbase.
The south of the governorate is under government control, including Aleppo city itself, in addition to some parts of the countryside and Nairab Military Airport.
The local volunteer said Russian patrols had been ongoing in areas controlled by the SDF, in addition to their presence in government-held areas.
The National Army source added “the Russian-Turkish joint patrols are few and mostly around Kobani”, a Kurdish-majority town also known as Ayn Al Arab in Syria.
"Previously they passed along the line dividing between the areas under the National Army control and the Kurdish Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria,” he said.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Three stars
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
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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Company%20profile
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Results:
First Test: New Zealand 30 British & Irish Lions 15
Second Test: New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
Third Test: New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Company%20Profile
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NEW ARRIVALS
Benjamin Mendy (Monaco) - £51.75m (Dh247.94m)
Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) - £45.9m
Bernardo Silva (Monaco) - £45m
Ederson Moraes (Benfica) - £36m
Danilo (Real Madrid) - £27m
Douglas Luiz (Vasco de Gama) - £10.8m
Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books
if you go
The flights
Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.
The hotel
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Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850
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Events and tours
There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com
For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art.
More information
For ideas on planning a trip to Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The distance learning plan
Spring break will be from March 8 - 19
Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm
Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19
Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning
Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
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
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test India won by innings and 53 runs at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
