DOHA // The Syrian rebels' political leader took the country's seat at the Arab League yesterday to a wave of applause, and immediately demanded its place at the United Nations too.
In a passionate speech that electrified the League summit in Doha, Moaz Al Khatib interspersed politics with vivid descriptions of the human toll of the conflict, and urged Nato to deploy Patriot missile systems to defend rebel-held areas.
"We on behalf of our people demand . the seat at the United Nations and also at international organisations," he said.
Mr Al Khatib said he had asked the US secretary of state John Kerry "to extend the umbrella of the Patriot missiles to cover the Syrian north and he promised to study the subject", although a Nato official in Brussels said it had "no intention to intervene militarily in Syria".
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, who is leading the UAE delegation at the summit, described Mr Al Khatib's speech as "touching", and an expression of Syria's aspirations.
"We consider the UAE a supporter of the Syrian people," Mr Al Khatib said after meeting Sheikh Mohammed, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Foreign Minister, and other UAE delegates.
Mr Al Khatib, whose resignation as president of the SNC on Sunday threw the opposition into turmoil, did not discuss his position in the coalition.
But delegates and opposition figures at the summit said his presence indicated that he would not immediately quit his post.
The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who lobbied for the opposition to take Syria's seat at the Arab League, referred to Mr Al Khatib as president of the opposition, as did the league secretary general Nabil ElAraby.
"Why isn't it clear who's leading the coalition? It's Moaz Al Khatib, unequivocally," said Yaser Tabbara, an adviser to the new Syrian National Coalition prime minister, Ghassan Hitto, who was also at the meeting. "He's the head of the delegation, he's the head of the coalition and from a legal standpoint, his resignation was not accepted by the opposition's general assembly."
The rebel flag replaced that of the Syrian regime, which prompted an angry reaction from media supportive of the Syrian president Bashar Al Assad.
"Shame on you, Arab brothers," the Tishreen newspaper said.
Syria's state television station said: "Qatar wants to bypass the rules of the Arab League by giving the seat of a founding member of the League to a coalition that obeys only the money and fuel of the Gulf and submits to American dictates."
Mr Al Khatib also called on countries that had frozen funds of the Bashar Al Assad regime to turn them over to the coalition "so that they can be redirected to the reconstruction of Syria".
He rejected concerns about Syria's minorities being marginalised as the conflict takes a sectarian turn.
"At the beginning of the revolution, some people tried to have a civil war on the coast where we have Sunni and Alawite, but we know we are the same people," he said. "The Syrians are Syrians and they will go on like that with dignity."
Mr Khatib's demand for Syria's UN seat is seen not merely as symbolic but addressing numerous legal issues that have plagued the opposition's attempts to build a provisional government in rebel-held areas.
Most immediately, recognition would allow the UN to coordinate humanitarian relief through the coalition rather than the regime, as international law currently requires. The government of Mr Assad has tightly regulated the humanitarian organisations working in the country and prevented transfers of supplies from Turkey.
Full recognition at the UN could also allow the opposition to procure arms, said Mr Tabbara, the advisor to the SNC's prime minister.
A summit draft resolution on Syria gives member states the right to offer Syrians all means of self-defence including arms. The resolution affirms "the right of every state to offer all forms of self-defence, including military, to support the resistance of the Syrian people and the Free Syrian Army".
Although Syria dominated discussions, Palestine also figured heavily.
Qatar's emir proposed creating a US$1 billion (Dh3.76bn) fund aimed at "preserving the Arab nature of Jerusalem". The fund, to which Qatar pledged an initial $250 million, should be administered by the Islamic Development Bank, Sheikh Hamad suggested.
Egypt's president told delegates that he will deal "firmly" and "decisively" with any foreign attempt to meddle in the affairs of his country, mired in turmoil for most of the two years since Hosni Mubarak stepped down. Mohammed Morsi said Egypt did not interfere in other countries' domestic affairs and expected to be treated similarly. Turkey's foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu discussed the rapprochement between his country and Israel, after an apology from the Israelis for casualties suffered when the Israeli defence forces boarded a Turkish flotilla attempting to break a blockade of the Gaza strip in May 2010.
Mr Davutoglu said the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had assured Turkey that he expected his government to offer compensation for Turkish victims.
After a public session, private discussions continued through the afternoon, during which delegates were expected to discuss proposals backed by Qatar to reform the Arab League.
Mr ElAraby said reform was overdue, calling for a "full review of Arab League charter", which was first drafted after the Second World War.
edickinson@thenational.ae
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
MATCH INFO
Schalke 0
Werder Bremen 1 (Bittencourt 32')
Man of the match Leonardo Bittencourt (Werder Bremen)
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Results
Final: Iran beat Spain 6-3.
Play-off 3rd: UAE beat Russia 2-1 (in extra time).
Play-off 5th: Japan beat Egypt 7-2.
Play-off 7th: Italy beat Mexico 3-2.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Results
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The%20specs
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How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
RACE CARD AND SELECTIONS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
5,30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,200m
6pm: The President’s Cup Listed (TB) Dh380,000 1,400m
6.30pm: The President’s Cup Group One (PA) Dh2,500,000 2,200m
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Listed (PA) Dh230,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
The National selections
5pm: RB Hot Spot
5.30pm: Dahess D’Arabie
6pm: Taamol
6.30pm: Rmmas
7pm: RB Seqondtonone
7.30pm: AF Mouthirah
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Isle of Dogs
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Liev Schreiber, Ed Norton, Greta Gerwig, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson
Three stars
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
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
