Scandal-hit charity Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) has suffered a series of setbacks after Germany cut official funding and its Norway branch was hit by new resignations over support of Hamas.
The German interior ministry announced Islamic Relief Deutschland (IRD) had its funding suspended over its alleged connections to the Muslim Brotherhood.
A report from the domestic intelligence agency, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, said the Islamic Relief bodies in the UK and Germany "have significant personal connections to the Muslim Brotherhood or related organisations".
The allegations follow the resignations of three senior figures from the UK’s IRW headquarters over anti-Semitism and posts supporting Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
The latest resignation has been in Norway, when a second member of its three-strong team, Abdo Samie Nasri, stepped down at the weekend after he was confronted with social media posts on his Facebook page supporting Hamas terror attacks by Norwegian news site Document.
Now only one board member remains.
Earlier the chair of Islamic Relief Norway, Tayeb Abdoun, who was also IRW’s former chief executive, resigned after posting anti-Semitic remarks, publishing his support for the Muslim Brotherhood and quoting the founder of Al Qaeda.
Norway’s remaining member Kaissar Ben Bahri Bac-Alihas said a new board will be formed shortly.
In Germany, the Interior Ministry said it has stopped funding IRW and IRD over their ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
A spokesperson said it had information that both IRW and IRD had "significant connections to the Muslim Brotherhood or related organisations".
The German Foreign Office said IRD will receive a final payment in January "in order to be able to guarantee the delivery of urgently needed medicines" to hospitals in Syria.
The announcement followed a request by Germany’s FDP political party.
FDP parliamentary deputy Stephan Thomae said the move shows that IRW is "still at the very beginning" of its efforts to differentiate itself from the Muslim Brotherhood.
The aim of liberal democracy must be to "identify tendencies that disrupt the state at an early stage," he said.
The managing director of IRD, Tarek Abdelalem, told German news site Handelsblatt that the charity is doing everything it can to reassure the German government.
"We are doing everything within our means to create clarity and hope for the support of the federal government,” he said.
“We hope that in the future we will be able to carry out projects such as the health project in north-west Syria with the support of the Federal Foreign Office.”
In Sweden, the national aid agency Sida has reportedly considered increasing IRW’s funding after previously saying it was looking at the allegations as it reviewed its contracts with IRW.
A report by British consultancy Itad, commissioned by Sida, to examine the humanitarian organisations it supports concluded that IRW was a “principled and effective humanitarian actor”. Chairman of Islamic Relief Sweden is Lamia el Amri, who is also a director of IRW having survived a shake-up of the board earlier this year.
In August, IRW said it would remove all of its trustees after the first accusations emerged, but a closed door meeting resulted in Ms El Amri holding on to an office.
Ms El Amri also works for the Swedish educational network Ibn Rushd Study Association.
It has been linked through its founder, the Islamic Association of Sweden, to the Muslim Brotherhood's European umbrella organisation, the Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe.
Last week, The National revealed that IRW's founder Hany El Banna had referred to Yazidis as "devil worshippers" in a lecture. He has since apologised.
The Nobel prize winner Nadia Murad has condemned the comments.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
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%3Cp%3ESix%20of%20the%20eight%20fast%20bowlers%20used%20in%20the%20ILT20%20match%20between%20Desert%20Vipers%20and%20MI%20Emirates%20were%20left-handed.%20So%2075%20per%20cent%20of%20those%20involved.%0D%3Cbr%3EAnd%20that%20despite%20the%20fact%2010-12%20per%20cent%20of%20the%20world%E2%80%99s%20population%20is%20said%20to%20be%20left-handed.%0D%3Cbr%3EIt%20is%20an%20extension%20of%20a%20trend%20which%20has%20seen%20left-arm%20pacers%20become%20highly%20valued%20%E2%80%93%20and%20over-represented%2C%20relative%20to%20other%20formats%20%E2%80%93%20in%20T20%20cricket.%0D%3Cbr%3EIt%20is%20all%20to%20do%20with%20the%20fact%20most%20batters%20are%20naturally%20attuned%20to%20the%20angles%20created%20by%20right-arm%20bowlers%2C%20given%20that%20is%20generally%20what%20they%20grow%20up%20facing%20more%20of.%0D%3Cbr%3EIn%20their%20book%2C%20%3Cem%3EHitting%20Against%20the%20Spin%3C%2Fem%3E%2C%20cricket%20data%20analysts%20Nathan%20Leamon%20and%20Ben%20Jones%20suggest%20the%20advantage%20for%20a%20left-arm%20pace%20bowler%20in%20T20%20is%20amplified%20because%20of%20the%20obligation%20on%20the%20batter%20to%20attack.%0D%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CThe%20more%20attacking%20the%20batsman%2C%20the%20more%20reliant%20they%20are%20on%20anticipation%2C%E2%80%9D%20they%20write.%0D%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CThis%20effectively%20increases%20the%20time%20pressure%20on%20the%20batsman%2C%20so%20increases%20the%20reliance%20on%20anticipation%2C%20and%20therefore%20increases%20the%20left-arm%20bowler%E2%80%99s%20advantage.%E2%80%9D%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world
New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.
"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."
The Farewell
Director: Lulu Wang
Stars: Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma
Four stars
Rooney's club record
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
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Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)
Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)
Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
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T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
MATCH INFO
Day 1 at Mount Maunganui
England 241-4
Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28
New Zealand
Yet to bat
THE BIO
Favourite author - Paulo Coelho
Favourite holiday destination - Cuba
New York Times or Jordan Times? NYT is a school and JT was my practice field
Role model - My Grandfather
Dream interviewee - Che Guevara
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group B
Barcelona v Tottenham Hotspur, midnight
Most match wins on clay
Guillermo Vilas - 659
Manuel Orantes - 501
Thomas Muster - 422
Rafael Nadal - 399 *
Jose Higueras - 378
Eddie Dibbs - 370
Ilie Nastase - 338
Carlos Moya - 337
Ivan Lendl - 329
Andres Gomez - 322
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16 second leg
Paris Saint-Germain (1) v Borussia Dortmund (2)
Kick-off: Midnight, Thursday, March 12
Stadium: Parc des Princes
Live: On beIN Sports HD
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
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The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
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Brief scores:
Newcastle United 1
Perez 23'
Wolverhampton Rovers 2
Jota 17', Doherty 90' 4
Red cards: Yedlin 57'
Man of the Match: Diogo Jota (Wolves)
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff