The US on Tuesday called for tougher international action against Iran-backed militias in Iraq and for global support to help Baghdad boost security before general elections set for October.
At UN Security Council talks, US envoy Richard Mills condemned an Iran-backed militia's rocket strike in northern Iraq on Monday and criticised Tehran for killing Iraqis and stalling economic growth for its oil-rich neighbour.
UN diplomats met after a rocket attack on a US airbase in Erbil, the main city in Iraq's northern Kurdish region, late on Monday, which killed a foreign civilian worker and wounded nine others, including Americans.
A lesser-known pro-Iranian group called the Guardians of Blood Brigades militia claimed responsibility for the strike, which is thought to be the first missile hit on a Western target since US President Joe Biden took office on January 20.
The attack was condemned by members of the 15-nation Security Council.
“It is essential to create a conducive environment for elections so that they are credible, peaceful and inclusive,” Mr Mills said at virtual council talks.
“A conducive environment means that we must address Iran-backed militias and Iran's destabilising activities in Iraq as well as the remaining elements [of the Islamic State]. These groups undermine the public’s trust in the government and in the October 2021 elections.”
Mr Mills’s statement marked the first US comments on Iraq to the UN under the Biden administration, which is currently weighing how to revive a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran while also curbing what it calls Tehran’s “destabilising” behaviour in the region.
Iraqi politicians last month voted to push back the country’s general elections from June until October 10 to allow more time to organise a vote that could otherwise lack credibility. Iraq’s last nationwide poll in 2018 was marred by allegations of fraud.
Early elections were a key demand of anti-government demonstrators who staged mass protests beginning in October 2019, rallying against corruption, foreign meddling and poor job prospects.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein has written to urge the council to strengthen the role of the UN mission to Iraq (Unami) in monitoring voting. Prominent Shiite leader Moqtada Al Sadr has also voiced support for more UN involvement.
The US, UK and France support expanding Unami‘s mandate to include election monitoring when the mission’s mandate comes up for renewal in May. It is understood that veto-wielding Russia and China will resist such a move.
Russia’s ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said Moscow would “continue to study the possible modalities for the UN's involvement in the process” and was “ready to discuss this issue” further.
UN envoy to Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert urged UN members to make a decision so that Iraqi citizens, politicians and journalists could campaign in a “free and safe environment”.
“I would like to take this opportunity to emphasise the importance of obtaining clarity,” Ms Hennis-Plasschaert told the council.
“Any Iraqi who wishes to participate in these elections, as a candidate or campaigner, must be able to do so without fear of intimidation, attack, abduction or assassination.”
Talk about Iraq's elections came as the country prepared to mark the 30th anniversary of Operation Desert Storm, the US-led military operation to force Saddam Hussein's Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.
The Iraqi leader refused to withdraw and comply with a UN deadline. Early on January 17, 1991, the US, the UK and allies began an aerial bombardment and a military campaign that forced Iraq to retreat.
Ms Hennis-Plasschaert said a commission to investigate the whereabouts of Kuwaitis and other foreigners who went missing under Iraq’s occupation had recently closed the files of 20 Kuwaitis – the first such move in 16 years.
“I extend my deepest condolences to the families of the victims who waited three decades for this conclusion,” said the Dutch diplomat.
“I call on all partners to seize the momentum of recent progress and to further advance the search for missing persons.”
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
Read more about the coronavirus
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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RESULTS
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group One (PA) US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner RB Money To Burn, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner Ekhtiyaar, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) $100,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Commanding, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner Benbatl, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Zakouski, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
9.25pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group Two (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Kimbear, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
10pm Dubai Trophy Conditions (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Platinum Star, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
10.35pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Key Victory, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
%20Ramez%20Gab%20Min%20El%20Akher
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
UNpaid bills:
Countries with largest unpaid bill for UN budget in 2019
USA – $1.055 billion
Brazil – $143 million
Argentina – $52 million
Mexico – $36 million
Iran – $27 million
Israel – $18 million
Venezuela – $17 million
Korea – $10 million
Countries with largest unpaid bill for UN peacekeeping operations in 2019
USA – $2.38 billion
Brazil – $287 million
Spain – $110 million
France – $103 million
Ukraine – $100 million
PAST 10 BRITISH GRAND PRIX WINNERS
2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2012 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2011 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
2010 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2008 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2007 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Brief scores
Barcelona 2
Pique 36', Alena 87'
Villarreal 0
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
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
