Libyan town denies terror links, sets sights on ousting Qaddafi


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DARNA, Libya // Seated around a white plastic table in the madrassa of a mosque, members of Darna's governing council last week insisted their city was not infested with jihadis as some in the West have suggested.

Some Western authorities are worried about Darna and its radical links as they mull whether to arm Libya's struggling rebel forces against Colonel Muammar Qaddafi's regime.

The city of 85,000 inhabitants, with its vibrant market place and freshly painted houses, does not look at first glance more conservative than other towns in eastern Libya. Nevertheless, files found by United States forces in 2007 in an al Qa'eda safehouse in Iraq showed that the second highest percentage of foreign jihadis in the country were Libyans from the east, 60 per cent of them from Darna.

In 2008, US diplomatic cables made public by Wikileaks said that the city was getting more conservative under the influence of former jihadis returning from fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In Darna, no one denies the involvement of some residents in Afghanistan and Iraq. It was with a certain pride last week that 24-year-old Said al-Sheari, who had just returned from eight days on the Libyan front, said he was trained by two Darna men who had fought in Afghanistan: Abdel Hakim al-Hasidi and Abu Sufian Bin Qum.

Abdel Hakim al-Hasidi is the man now in charge of security in the city. In previous press interviews, he said he fought against coalition forces in Afghanistan. In an interview with The National, however, he admitted to being in Afghanistan in the 90s but denied fighting the Americans.

Wearing combat fatigues, Mr. al-Hasidi said last week he was detained by US forces in Pakistan and later turned over to the Libyans who imprisoned him for four years. He denied any relationship with al Qa'eda and assured that his primary aim is to topple the Qaddafi regime. He said he has trained and sent to the frontline 300 men.

Abu Sufian Bin Qumu is no stranger to Western intelligence agencies either. He is a former Guantanamo inmate who was arrested in Pakistan after coming back from Afghanistan in 2001. Guantanamo memos link him to al Qa'eda. US forces turned him over to Libyan authorities, who imprisoned him until 2010.

In the madrassa of the Sahaba mosque in Darna, which has become the uprising's hub in town, young men and women hang hand-made anti-regime posters on the walls.

Mansour al-Hasidi, a teacher wearing a corduroy jacket and a long thick beard that makes him look more like a Bakunin revolutionary than a pious Muslim, accused the Qaddafi regime of spreading rumours to undermine the rebel cause.

At the beginning of the uprising, town residents declared the birth of an "Islamic state of Darna".

"In the streets, the al Qa'eda ideology would not pass here, even if there are people who went fighting abroad," he said. Most of the jihadis were supported by Col Qaddafi's regime, according to city council members.

Tarek al Majri, 30, still has a government card that proves he went to fight in 2003 along with the anti-occupation forces of Saddam Hussein. He showed a long scar on his left calf. "I was wounded during a battle against American forces at Baghdad airport in the first days of the invasion," he recalled.

Mr. al Majri enlisted at the local university, where the regime had opened a recruting bureau for those looking to fight in Iraq.

The Islamist sentiment in Darna, said some analysts, is linked to a tradition of opposition. The town boasts that it fought an American Marine invasion in 1804, and fiercly resisted the Ottoman and the Italian rule. In the 1990s, Darna was the site of a protracted battle between the regime and the Libyan Islamic Fighiting Group, an Islamist group formed by Libyans who had fought the Soviets in Afghanistan.

Because of the delibarate attempt of the central government to disenfranchise the east of the country, "anti-Qaddafi's feelings linked up with Islamists sentiments", said Jason Pack, a Libya expert at Oxford University who believes Islamist groups were more focused on undermining the regime than fighting a global war.

"At a certain point, the only form of opposition left in the country was through the mosque," Mr Pack said. "Today, Islamists groups would not be able to really gain the support of the population and because of the long regime repression they are not organised enough to pose a serious threat in Libya."

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Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.

  • It’s So Easy
  • Mr Brownstone
  • Chinese Democracy
  • Welcome to the Jungle
  • Double Talkin’ Jive
  • Better
  • Estranged
  • Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
  • Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
  • Rocket Queen
  • You Could Be Mine
  • Shadow of Your Love
  • Attitude (Misfits cover)
  • Civil War
  • Coma
  • Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
  • Sweet Child O’ Mine
  • Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
  • Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
  • November Rain
  • Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
  • Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
  • Nightrain

Encore:

  • Patience
  • Don’t Cry
  • The Seeker (The Who cover)
  • Paradise City
SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%20Twin-turbocharged%204-litre%20V8%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20625%20bhp%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20630Nm%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh974%2C011%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont

Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950

Engine 3.6-litre V6

Gearbox Eight-speed automatic

Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm

Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm

Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km

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
Wednesday's results

Finland 3-0 Armenia
Faroes Islands 1-0 Malta
Sweden 1-1 Spain
Gibraltar 2-3 Georgia
Romania 1-1 Norway
Greece 2-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Liechtenstein 0-5 Italy
Switzerland 2-0 Rep of Ireland
Israel 3-1 Latvia

House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

  1. Edinburgh, Scotland 
  2. Westminster, London 
  3. Camden, London 
  4. Glasgow, Scotland 
  5. Islington, London 
  6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
  7. Highlands, Scotland 
  8. Argyll and Bute, Scotland 
  9. Fife, Scotland 
  10. Tower Hamlets, London 

 

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

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Price: From Dh149,900

Five famous companies founded by teens

There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:

  1. Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate. 
  2. Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc. 
  3. Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway. 
  4. Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
  5. Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Francesco Totti's bio

Born September 27, 1976

Position Attacking midifelder

Clubs played for (1) - Roma

Total seasons 24

First season 1992/93

Last season 2016/17

Appearances 786

Goals 307

Titles (5) - Serie A 1; Italian Cup 2; Italian Supercup 2

No.6 Collaborations Project

Ed Sheeran (Atlantic)

The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet

Price, base: Dh429,090

Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8

Transmission Seven-speed automatic

Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm

Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km

HOW TO WATCH

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Biog

Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara

He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada

Father of two sons, grandfather of six

Plays golf once a week

Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family

Walks for an hour every morning

Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India

2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business

 

Specs

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Range: Up to 610km

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Torque: 985Nm

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Types of policy

Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.

Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.

Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.

Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

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Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2019 Mini Cooper

Price, base: Dh141,740 (three-door) / Dh165,900 (five-door)
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

The specs

Engine: 5.0-litre V8

Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm

Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: L/100km

Price: Dh306,495

On sale: now

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The specs: Fenyr SuperSport

Price, base: Dh5.1 million

Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm

Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km

MATCH INFO

Inter Milan v Juventus
Saturday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Watch the match on BeIN Sports

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home. 

Mobile phone packages comparison
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets