Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi appointed a new national security adviser and head of the National Security Agency. Prime Minister Media Office
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi appointed a new national security adviser and head of the National Security Agency. Prime Minister Media Office
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi appointed a new national security adviser and head of the National Security Agency. Prime Minister Media Office
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi appointed a new national security adviser and head of the National Security Agency. Prime Minister Media Office

From ISIS attacks to a French apology: non-coronavirus news you may have missed


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Iraq PM Mustafa Al Kadhimi reshuffles top security posts

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi has appointed Major General Abdul Ghani Al Asadi as head of the National Security Agency, government sources confirmed to The National on Saturday.

Gen Al Asadi will replace Faleh Al Fayadh, head of the Popular Mobilisation Units paramilitary grouping, the sources said.

The move marks another step by Mr Al Kadhimi towards fulfilling his promise to reassert state sovereignty after taking office in early May.

Gen Al Asadi served in Iraq’s Special Operations Forces until his retirement was ordered by former prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi in 2018. He was a key commander in the government forces’ US-backed campaign against ISIS in Iraq.

Protester hit by car on closed Seattle highway dies

Orange crosses surround spots of blood on the Interstate 5 motorway in Seattle on which protesters Summer Taylor, 24, and Diaz Love, 32, were struck by a car. Taylor died less than 24 hours later, and Ms Love is in a critical condition in hospital. AP
Orange crosses surround spots of blood on the Interstate 5 motorway in Seattle on which protesters Summer Taylor, 24, and Diaz Love, 32, were struck by a car. Taylor died less than 24 hours later, and Ms Love is in a critical condition in hospital. AP

A 24-year-old woman died on Saturday after she and another woman were hit by a car on a closed highway in Seattle while protesting against police brutality, authorities said.

Summer Taylor, who was from the city, died in the evening at Harborview Medical Centre, hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg said.

Taylor and Diaz Love, 32, of Portland, Oregon, were hit when the vehicle barrelled through a panicking crowd of protesters on Interstate 5 early on Saturday morning, officials said.

Ms Love is in a serious condition in the intensive care unit at Harborview, Ms Gregg said.

Dozens killed in ISIS and regime clashes in Syria, monitor says

An undated image, which appears to be a screenshot from a video and which was published by the Islamic State group in the Homs province (Welayat Homs) on August 25, 2015, allegedly shows smoke billowing from the Baal Shamin temple in Syria's ancient city of Palmyra. The temple was reportedly destroyed by the extremist group and news of its demolition sparked international condemnation earlier this week. AFP PHOTO / HO / WELAYAT HOMS === RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / WELAYAT HOMS" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES, AFP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE'S EDITORIAL CONTENT, DATE AND LOCATION WHICH CANNOT BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED === (Photo by - / WELAYAT HOMS / AFP)
An undated image, which appears to be a screenshot from a video and which was published by the Islamic State group in the Homs province (Welayat Homs) on August 25, 2015, allegedly shows smoke billowing from the Baal Shamin temple in Syria's ancient city of Palmyra. The temple was reportedly destroyed by the extremist group and news of its demolition sparked international condemnation earlier this week. AFP PHOTO / HO / WELAYAT HOMS === RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / WELAYAT HOMS" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES, AFP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE'S EDITORIAL CONTENT, DATE AND LOCATION WHICH CANNOT BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED === (Photo by - / WELAYAT HOMS / AFP)

Clashes between Russia-backed Syrian regime forces and the Islamic State group have killed more than 50 fighters on both sides in two days, a Britain-based war monitor said on Saturday.

Fighting and Russian air strikes in the central desert province of Homs since late Thursday have claimed the lives of 20 pro-government fighters and 31 militants, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"The fighting started in the night of Thursday to Friday with a jihadist assault on regime positions" near the town of Al-Sukhna, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Algeria expects France to apologise for colonial past, president says

Algeria is waiting for an apology for France's colonial occupation of the North African country, the president said, expressing hope that his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron would build on recent conciliatory overtures.

A global reexamination of the legacy of colonialism has been unleashed by the May killing of unarmed African American George Floyd by a white police officer, which sparked mass protests around the world.

An Algerian woman holds a drawing of a fights as she mourns over one of the national flag-draped coffins containing the remains of 24 Algerian resistance fighters decapitated during the French occupation of the country, at the Moufdi-Zakaria culture palace in Algiers, Algeria, 4 July, 2020. EPA
An Algerian woman holds a drawing of a fights as she mourns over one of the national flag-draped coffins containing the remains of 24 Algerian resistance fighters decapitated during the French occupation of the country, at the Moufdi-Zakaria culture palace in Algiers, Algeria, 4 July, 2020. EPA

"We have already had half-apologies. The next step is needed... we await it," President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Saturday in an interview with news channel France 24.

"I believe that with President Macron, we can go further in the appeasement process... he is a very honest man, who wants to improve the situation."

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The language of diplomacy in 1853

Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)


We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.

Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale

Gulf Under 19s final

Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B

Anna and the Apocalypse

Director: John McPhail

Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton

Three stars

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Normcore explained

Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.

Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

Rating: 5/5

MEYDAN%20RACECARD
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What is the definition of an SME?

SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.

A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors. 

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES

UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)

  • Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs 
  • Thursday 20 January: v England 
  • Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh 

UAE squad:

Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith  

About Krews

Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi

Based: Abu Dhabi

Founded: January 2019

Number of employees: 10

Sector: Technology/Social media 

Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support

 

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War 2

Director: Ayan Mukerji

Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana

Rating: 2/5