DAMASCUS // Syrian protesters held their largest anti-regime demonstrations in months yesterday, with 200,000 taking to the streets in Homs, according to opposition activists.
A heavy security presence and army checkpoints preventing free movement meant protesters could not gather in a single, central area.
Instead, opposition figures in the city said neighbourhoods had held separate demonstrations as residents left mosques following Friday prayers, each involving thousands of people.
The scale of protests cannot be independently verified but footage on satellite news channels, apparently broadcast live from Homs, a key centre of the nine-month-old uprising, indicated that significant demonstrations were taking place.
The last time activists were able to stage such huge protests was in July, when more than 500,000 people were said to have taken part in anti-regime rallies in Hama, another central Syrian city.
A military assault at the start of August put a stop to such large-scale, open public dissent there.
Opposition activists have warned that Homs may now face a similar fate, with warnings that a build-up of troops and security forces may herald a planned attack.
Protests in Homs have been protected from attack by armed guards, mainly residents and army defectors carrying small arms, activists say.
But there have also been growing signs that a war is underway in the city, one already stained by sectarian bloodshed between the Sunni majority and Alawite minority.
Syria's president, Bashar Al Assad, and the main figures in his ruling circle are all Alawites.
Pro-government media denied any activists had taken to the streets in Homs on Friday, with the correspondent for Al Dounia television suggesting that opposition groups had built a film set-style mock-up portraying areas of the city in Qatar, from where they acted out fabricated rallies.
Syrian officials have repeatedly accused Qatar and GCC states of stoking the uprising as part of an effort to overthrow Mr Al Assad in pursuit of an agenda driven by America and Israel.
At least four people were killed by security forces nationwide yesterday, according to human rights groups, although some activists said the actual number was 14.
It can take days for casualty figures to seep through and they remain a subject of much dispute.
Last week the UN human rights commission said more than 5,000 people had been killed by the security services since March as part of a "systematic" campaign of violence intended to crush largely peaceful anti-regime protests.
Mr Al Assad has dismissed such figures, saying that about 1,000 security personnel had been killed by "terrorists", who were also responsible for civilian casualties.
Sana, the official state news agency, made no mention of civilian deaths yesterday, but said security forces had killed members of an "armed terrorist gang" in Deraa, the southern province in which the uprising began in March.
The latest protests came after Russia proposed the text for a draft UN Security Council resolution that was more critical of its ally Damascus than a pervious version, suggesting Moscow could be toughening its stance.
Under the new text, Russia condemned violence by all parties and ruled out foreign intervention, as it had done previously, but specifically referred to the "disproportionate use of force by the Syrian authorities".
It also called on the Syrian authorities to "put an end to suppression of those exercising their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association".
According to Russian news agencies, the Syrian vice president, Faruq Al Shara, arrived in Moscow yesterday for talks.
The Arab League's working group on Syria is due to meet in Doha today, after a planned meeting of regional foreign ministers to discuss a league peace plan was indefinitely postponed.
The Arab League imposed economic sanctions against Damascus last month after it failed to implement an agreed programme designed to end the crisis.
Since then, Syria has said it would grant access for independent monitors but with caveats that Arab officials refused to accept.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in London, said protesters yesterday vented their frustration at the league for the postponed meeting.
Organisers set the slogan for the protests as: "The Arab League is killing us - enough deadlines."
psands@thenational.ae
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Company%20profile
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The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier, in Bangkok
UAE fixtures Mon Nov 20, v China; Tue Nov 21, v Thailand; Thu Nov 23, v Nepal; Fri Nov 24, v Hong Kong; Sun Nov 26, v Malaysia; Mon Nov 27, Final
(The winners will progress to the Global Qualifier)
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh12 million
Engine 8.0-litre quad-turbo, W16
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch auto
Power 1479 @ 6,700rpm
Torque 1600Nm @ 2,000rpm 0-100kph: 2.6 seconds 0-200kph: 6.1 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
Match info
Liverpool 4
Salah (19'), Mane (45 2', 53'), Sturridge (87')
West Ham United 0
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The Laughing Apple
Yusuf/Cat Stevens
(Verve Decca Crossover)
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
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
Crime%20Wave
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
List of alleged parties
- May 15 2020: Boris Johnson is said to have attended a Downing Street pizza party
- 27 Nov 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff
- Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson
- Dec 13 2020: Mr Johnson and his then-fiancee Carrie Symonds throw a flat party
- Dec 14 2020: Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative Party headquarters
- Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
- Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
Racecard
6pm: Mina Hamriya – Handicap (TB) $75,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
6.35pm: Al Wasl Stakes – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (Turf) 1,200m
7.10pm: UAE Oaks – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,900m
7.45pm: Blue Point Sprint – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,000m
8.20pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy – Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (T) 2,810m
8.55pm: Mina Rashid – Handicap (TB) $80,000 (T) 1,600m
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
The years Ramadan fell in May
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
More from UAE Human Development Report:
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Results
3pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,400m, Winner: Lancienegaboulevard, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Fawzi Nass (trainer).
3.35pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m, Winner: Al Mukhtar Star, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
4.10pm: Handicap Dh165,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: Gundogdu, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.45pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Speedy Move, Sean Kirrane, Satish Seemar.
5.20pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Moqarrar, Dane O’Neill, Erwan Charpy.
5.55pm: Handicap Dh175,000 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Dolman, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Word for Woman is Wilderness
Abi Andrews, Serpent’s Tail
Voy!%20Voy!%20Voy!
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