A man wearing a Turkish officer's uniform flashes the Grey Wolves sign, during a demonstration in support of Turkey in the Syrian town of Bizaa, north of Aleppo. AFP
A man wearing a Turkish officer's uniform flashes the Grey Wolves sign, during a demonstration in support of Turkey in the Syrian town of Bizaa, north of Aleppo. AFP
A man wearing a Turkish officer's uniform flashes the Grey Wolves sign, during a demonstration in support of Turkey in the Syrian town of Bizaa, north of Aleppo. AFP
A man wearing a Turkish officer's uniform flashes the Grey Wolves sign, during a demonstration in support of Turkey in the Syrian town of Bizaa, north of Aleppo. AFP

France set to ban Turkish ultra-nationalist Grey Wolves group


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France will ban a Turkish ultra-nationalist group known as the Grey Wolves, after a memorial to the victims of the mass killing of Armenians during the First World War was defaced near Lyon.

The announcement by Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin is expected to anger Turkey at a time when relations between Paris and Ankara are tense.

The move to ban the Grey Wolves, who are regarded as the wing of a party allied to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will be put to the French Cabinet on Wednesday, Mr Darmanin told a parliamentary committee.

"To put it mildly, we are talking about a particularly aggressive group," he said. "It deserves to be dissolved."

He said any Grey Wolves' actions or meetings can now be punished by fines or imprisonment.

The memorial to the mass killing of Armenians by Turks of the Ottoman Empire, regarded as genocide by Armenia, was defaced with pro-Turkish slogans including "Grey Wolves" and "RTE", Mr Erdogan's initials.

The incident in the town of Decines-Charpieu took place  as tension between France's Armenian and Turkish communities ran high over the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Turkey has backed its ally Azerbaijan in the conflict over the breakaway in Azerbaijan, which has been populated and governed by Armenian separatists since the 1990s, when the Soviet Union split.

Four people were wounded outside Lyon last Wednesday in clashes between Turkish nationalists and Armenians protesting against Azerbaijan's military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenians have long campaigned for the mass killing of their ancestors to be recognised as genocide.

In Turkey, the Grey Wolves are closely linked to the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP,  of Devlet Bahceli, which has a political alliance with Mr Erdogan's Justice and Development Party.

Analysts consider the MHP to be critical to Mr Erdogan's continued domination of Turkey, with Mr Bahceli's support a key factor behind his victory in the 2018 presidential election.

The Grey Wolves are the militant wing of the MHP and caused havoc on the streets in Turkey during the 1970s and '80s when its members frequently clashed with leftist activists.

Those affiliated to the Grey Wolves, known as Bozkurtlar in Turkish, and the MHP traditionally show their loyalty with a hand gesture in which the little and index fingers are raised.

Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish nationalist who tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II in 1981, was linked to the Grey Wolves.

"It is excellent news," French MP Yael Braun-Pivet, who chairs the laws committee where Mr Darmanin made the announcement, said on Twitter.

"These violent groups have no place in our country."

Weeks of tension between France and Turkey reached a peak last month after the beheading of a French schoolteacher who showed his pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.

After Samuel Paty's death, President Emmanuel Macron delivered a defence of free speech, including the right to mock religion, prompting Mr Erdogan to question his mental health.

France responded by recalling its ambassador to Ankara for consultations.

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  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
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Profile of Hala Insurance

Date Started: September 2018

Founders: Walid and Karim Dib

Based: Abu Dhabi

Employees: Nine

Amount raised: $1.2 million

Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers

 

MATCH INFO

Burnley 0

Man City 3

Raheem Sterling 35', 49'

Ferran Torres 65'

 

 

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

The biog

Name: Greg Heinricks

From: Alberta, western Canada

Record fish: 56kg sailfish

Member of: International Game Fish Association

Company: Arabian Divers and Sportfishing Charters

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Going grey? A stylist's advice

If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”

The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms. 

Ain Issa camp:
  • Established in 2016
  • Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
  • Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
  • Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
  • 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
  • NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
  • One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
Results:

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m | Winner: AF Al Montaqem, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)

5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m | Winner: Daber W’Rsan, Connor Beasley, Jaci Wickham

6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m | Winner: Bainoona, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel

6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m | Winner: AF Makerah, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 | Winner: AF Motaghatres, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel

7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,600m | Winner: Tafakhor, Ronan Whelan, Ali Rashid Al Raihe

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Europe's top EV producers
  1. Norway (63% of cars registered in 2021)
  2. Iceland (33%)
  3. Netherlands (20%)
  4. Sweden (19%)
  5. Austria (14%)
  6. Germany (14%)
  7. Denmark (13%)
  8. Switzerland (13%)
  9. United Kingdom (12%)
  10. Luxembourg (10%)

Source: VCOe 

INDIA SQUADS

India squad for third Test against Sri Lanka
Virat Kohli (capt), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Vijay Shankar

India squad for ODI series against Sri Lanka
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul

While you're here

Awar Qalb

Director: Jamal Salem

Starring: Abdulla Zaid, Joma Ali, Neven Madi and Khadija Sleiman

Two stars

Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others

Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.

As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.

Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.

“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”

Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.

“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”

Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.

What's in the deal?

Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024

India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.

India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.

Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments

India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery

Day 5, Dubai Test: At a glance

Moment of the day Given the problems Sri Lanka have had in recent times, it was apt the winning catch was taken by Dinesh Chandimal. He is one of seven different captains Sri Lanka have had in just the past two years. He leads in understated fashion, but by example. His century in the first innings of this series set the shock win in motion.

Stat of the day This was the ninth Test Pakistan have lost in their past 11 matches, a run that started when they lost the final match of their three-Test series against West Indies in Sharjah last year. They have not drawn a match in almost two years and 19 matches, since they were held by England at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi in 2015.

The verdict Mickey Arthur basically acknowledged he had erred by basing Pakistan’s gameplan around three seam bowlers and asking for pitches with plenty of grass in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Why would Pakistan want to change the method that has treated them so well on these grounds in the past 10 years? It is unlikely Misbah-ul-Haq would have made the same mistake.

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