Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Turkey's actions in the region had become a cause for concern. AFP
Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Turkey's actions in the region had become a cause for concern. AFP
Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Turkey's actions in the region had become a cause for concern. AFP
Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Turkey's actions in the region had become a cause for concern. AFP

Arab League denounces Turkish interference in region


Mina Aldroubi
  • English
  • Arabic

The Arab League has condemned Turkish military intervention throughout the region.

Turkey’s “military intervention in Arab lands, whether in Iraq, Syria or Libya, has become a cause for concern”, Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said yesterday.

Most Arab countries “disapproved of its military presence”, Mr Aboul Gheit said.

His comments came after Turkish strikes on several areas of northern Iraq on Sunday as part of a pattern that had become “a cause for concern”.

“The strikes represent an attack on Iraqi sovereignty and are taking place without co-ordination with the government in Baghdad,” Mr Aboul Gheit said.

Ankara regularly attacks Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants, both in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish south-east and in northern Iraq, where the group is based.

Mr Aboul Gheit said the strikes reflected Turkey’s “underestimation of international law and its relations with its neighbours”.

A Turkish security source told Reuters that the warplanes took off from the south-east Turkish cities of Diyarbakir and Malatya, and other bases.

The defence ministry said the air operation was focused on the PKK stronghold of Qandil, near the Iranian border, and in Sinjar, Zap, Avasin-Basyan and Hakurk.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi chaired a meeting of the National Security Council in response to the strikes.

It received briefings on security across Iraq, and “discussed a number of policies including measures to counter the disinformation spread by terrorists and others to undermine Iraq’s security and stability”.

The PKK is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the US and the EU.

The Arab League’s council adopted a resolution in March to take a unified Arab approach towards Turkey and condemn Ankara’s continuing intervention in Iraq.

“Arab countries unanimously agreed to this decision that included the condemnation of the Turkish incursion into Iraqi territory and a request to the Turkish government to immediately withdraw its forces,” the statement said.

“Arab nations view this move as a threat to the region.”

The League said it supported the Iraqi government “in the steps it takes, in accordance to international law, to ensure that Turkey withdraws its forces from the country”.

“This move is to consolidate the sovereignty of the Iraqi government over all of its territory,” it said.

Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side

8 There are eight players per team

There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.

5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs

B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs

Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

Red flags
  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
  • Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
  • Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
  • Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
  • Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

How to register as a donor

1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention

2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants

3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register. 

4) The campaign uses the hashtag  #donate_hope

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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

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2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

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.

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Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)

Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:

1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Company%20profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The lowdown

Badla

Rating: 2.5/5

Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment 

Director: Sujoy Ghosh

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke

57%20Seconds
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GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

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

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

Closing the loophole on sugary drinks

As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.

The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.

Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.

Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
 

Not taxed:

Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.