Now that it is has become clear that al Qa'eda kills more Muslims than so-called "infidels, atheists and snobs of the western world", there is a great necessity to shed light on the phenomenon of violence and terrorism in modern times and determine who benefited from it most, wrote Saleh al Qallab in the pan-Arab daily Asharq al Awsat.
During the Cold War, the secret services of West Germany and the US's Central Intelligence Agency created in Pakistan alone more than 50,000 schools, called katateeb, which fostered jihadist ideology with the aim of launching attacks against the Soviet Union by causing Islamic republics within the USSR to turn against it.
But after the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, 30 years ago, the conflict in Central Asia became clearer; it came down to a violent clash between western-funded jihadists and the communist hegemony. At that point, the interests of oppressed Muslim communities, willing to staunchly defend their religious beliefs, and those of the US and its allies, who were ready to do anything to break the Soviet Union, were the same.
Al Qa'eda was thus a product of that global conflict, and more specifically, the brainchild of the CIA in the Peshawar camps in Pakistan.
"How will Ayatollah Hussein Montazeri be remembered in the annals of history?" asked Saad Mehio in his comment piece for the Emirati newspaper Al Khaleej.
His opponents would say, as Ayatollah Khamenei did in his condolence letter, that he had committed a sin by publicly criticising Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989. They would also depict him as stubborn, gullible and too lenient with the opponents of the revolution.
His supporters will claim, as Ayatollah Ghirani did, that he is a "chaste and spotless man" who relinquished the position of successor to the Supreme Leader to preserve his values and principles.
"These last attributes, coupled with the fact that the man remained the foremost exponent of human rights, civil liberties and the restricted rule of the Supreme Leader, guarantee that he will remain an icon of integrity to large portions of the Iranian population."
Ayatollah Montazeri always imagined that the system of government in a post-revolution Iran would resemble the one that was created by the Prophet Mohammed in Medina, a system that promotes ethics and justice. "Mr Montazeri was the proverbial idealist who takes part in a revolution - and who subsequently loses his battle against 'the realists' who use the scales of power, not those of justice."
Earlier this week it was rumoured in the Pakistani capital Islamabad that a military coup was in the works, reported Ahmed Amorabi in the Dubai-based newspaper Al Bayan.
"The rumour was perhaps false, but there is a lot on the ground to justify it."
The rumour mill started spinning right after a court repealed a major decision that had been made by the former Pakistani president Gen Pervez Musharraf to pardon a host of politicians, businessmen and high-ranking officials involved in corruption cases, including Asif Ali Zardari, the current Pakistani president.
Mr Zardari is a key US ally in Pakistan, and this may lead the US administration to try and convince prominent figures in the military to conduct a coup in order to save a valuable partner, the writer argued. This makes sense because a number of top military officials would directly benefit from a major disruption in the country as their names appear on the long list of those accused of corruption.
"Indeed, Pakistan is at the crossroads again. The court ruling, which was issued by 16 of the most eminent Pakistani jurists, seems to reflect an increasing trend in popular frustration with the US intelligence and military presence in the country," the writer said.
It looks as if it would be far easier for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to divide Jerusalem or bomb Beirut than release Palestinian detainees. That is how the Israeli newspaper Haaretz ironically described Tel Aviv's inability to reach a compromise with Hamas to bring back the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, according to Mazen Hammad, a commentator at the Qatari daily Al Watan.
Gilad Shalit has preoccupied the Israeli government and public since June 25, 2006, the day he was held hostage by Hamas after a skirmish in the Gaza Strip.
The prisoner exchange deal has been stalled for too long now by heated disagreements within the Israeli government over its terms and conditions, pushing the German mediator who has been appointed to facilitate the prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas to set two to three weeks as a deadline for reaching a compromise.
Mainly, the deal is bogged down by Israel's determination to separate 100 to 130 leading Palestinian prisoners from the several hundred who are part of the deal, and deport them to Gaza or elsewhere and bar them from entry to the West Bank.
* Digest compiled by Achraf ElBahi
@Email:aelbahi@thenational.ae
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
TALE OF THE TAPE
Manny Pacquiao
Record: 59-6-2 (38 KOs)
Age: 38
Weight: 146lbs
Height: 166cm
Reach: 170cm
Jeff Horn
Record: 16-0-1 (11 KOs)
Age: 29
Weight: 146.2lbs
Height: 175cm
Reach: 173cm
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
Indika
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2011%20Bit%20Studios%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Odd%20Meter%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%205%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20series%20X%2FS%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
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)
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
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
RACECARD%20
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3E9pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(Dirt)%202%2C000m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E9.30pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh70%2C000%20(D)%202%2C000m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E10pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Al%20Ain%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Prestige%20(PA)%20Dh100%2C000%20(D)%202%2C000m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E10.30pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(D)%201%2C800m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E11pm%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWathba%20Stallions%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(D)%201%2C600m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E11.30pm%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(D)%201%2C400m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E12am%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(D)%201%2C400m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
