Followers of Moqtada Al Sadr storm the Swedish embassy in Baghdad. AP
Followers of Moqtada Al Sadr storm the Swedish embassy in Baghdad. AP
Followers of Moqtada Al Sadr storm the Swedish embassy in Baghdad. AP
Followers of Moqtada Al Sadr storm the Swedish embassy in Baghdad. AP

Swedish embassy in Baghdad stormed by protesters after burning of Quran in Stockholm


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Crowds of protesters broke into the Swedish embassy in Baghdad on Thursday, hours after radical cleric Moqtada Al Sadr called for demonstrations at the site.

It was not clear if diplomats were present or had been evacuated.

The protesters, some of whom waved the flag of Mr Al Sadr's militia group, Saraya Al Salaam, spent up to 15 minutes inside the embassy compound but dispersed after security forces reached the area, AFP reported.

Washington responded to the protest by calling for calm and urging "the government of Iraq to protect all diplomatic families".

The protest follows the burning of a Quran in front of Stockholm's largest mosque on Wednesday.

Mr Al Sadr, who has widespread support among Shiite Muslims in neglected parts of the country's south, and an impoverished area of Baghdad known as Sadr City, tweeted that Iraq should expel the Swedish ambassador.

"Expel the Swedish ambassador who represents his country that is hostile to Islam and supports immorality, and sever ties with it," he wrote.

Mr Al Sadr said the perpetrator, who has been identified by Swedish authorities as Iraqi citizen Salwan Momika, should be stripped of his citizenship and sent to Iraq for trial.

Iraq's Supreme Court Chief Justice Faiq Zaidan had previously called on Sweden to extradite Mr Momika.

Swedish police were present at what Mr Momika called a protest, but they later said that the the act had not caused "disturbances to order".

The police said an investigation had been opened over "agitation against an ethnic group" because he had staged his event so close to a mosque.

The US State Department condemned Mr Momika's actions.

"We believe the demonstration created an environment of fear that will impact the ability of Muslims and members of other religious minority groups from freely exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief in Sweden," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

Mr Miller was careful to add that while the US condemned the burning of the Quran, it respected "freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly".

Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica

Best Agent: Jorge Mendes

Best Club : Liverpool   

 Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)  

 Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker

 Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo

 Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP

 Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart

Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)

Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)

Best Women's Player:  Lucy Bronze

Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi

 Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)

 Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)

 Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs

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EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS

Estijaba – 8001717 –  number to call to request coronavirus testing

Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111

Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre

Emirates airline – 600555555

Etihad Airways – 600555666

Ambulance – 998

Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries

Other IPL batting records

Most sixes: 292 – Chris Gayle

Most fours: 491 – Gautam Gambhir

Highest individual score: 175 not out – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)

Highest strike-rate: 177.29 – Andre Russell

Highest strike-rate in an innings: 422.22 – Chris Morris (for Delhi Daredevils against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017)

Highest average: 52.16 – Vijay Shankar

Most centuries: 6 – Chris Gayle

Most fifties: 36 – Gautam Gambhir

Fastest hundred (balls faced): 30 – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)

Fastest fifty (balls faced): 14 – Lokesh Rahul (for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Daredevils in 2018)

 

How to help

Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200

Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

MATCH INFO

Manchester United 2 (Heaton (og) 42', Lindelof 64')

Aston Villa 2 (Grealish 11', Mings 66')

The Vile

Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah

Director: Majid Al Ansari

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog

Siblings: five brothers and one sister

Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota

Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym

Favourite place: UAE

Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera

What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books

How to get exposure to gold

Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.

A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.

Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.

Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.

London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long

However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.

Secret Pigeon Service: Operation Colomba, Resistance and the Struggle to Liberate Europe
Gordon Corera, Harper Collins

HIJRA

Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy

Director: Shahad Ameen

Rating: 3/5

The 12 breakaway clubs

England

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur

Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus

Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

Updated: June 30, 2023, 3:55 AM