A fugitive suspected of helping to organise the attack on the French magazine Charlie Hebdo has finally begun a five-year prison sentence handed down to him in 2011.
Peter Cherif, who was arrested in Djibouti earlier this month, was a close associate of the two brothers, Cherif and Said Kouachi, who killed 12 people during the 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo's offices in Paris.
The brothers, who targeted the satirical magazine because of its depictions of the Prophet Mohammed, were killed two days later during a shootout with police.
Cherif is believed to have met and trained the Kouachi brothers in Yemen, where he fled after disappearing during the last day of his 2011 trial in France for fighting with Al Qaeda in Iraq.
The 36-year-old French national has been on the run until his arrest on December 16. He was expelled to France a week later where he is facing new terrorism charges.
Cherif is accused of "criminal association" with a terrorist group. France’s defence minister said he had played an “important role in organising” the Charlie Hebdo attack but did not give any further detail.
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Read more:
Charlie Hebdo suspect detained in France
Gunman from Christmas market attack in France still at large
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Also known as Abu Hamza, Cherif was one of France’s most wanted jihadists. He converted to Islam in the 1990s and was first arrested in Fallujah, Iraq in 2004 by US forces for fighting with Al Qaeda. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison but escaped in 2007, reportedly fleeing to Syria.
Cherif surrendered to French authorities in 2008 before fleeing again during his trial. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment in absentia for being a member of a terrorist organisation.
Company name: Farmin
Date started: March 2019
Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: AgriTech
Initial investment: None to date
Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
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Freezer tips
- Always make sure food is completely cool before freezing.
- If you’re cooking in large batches, divide into either family-sized or individual portions to freeze.
- Ensure the food is well wrapped in foil or cling film. Even better, store in fully sealable, labelled containers or zip-lock freezer bags.
- The easiest and safest way to defrost items such as the stews and sauces mentioned is to do so in the fridge for several hours or overnight.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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