ARSAL, Lebanon // The two sisters squeezed the hands of their blind grandfather for nearly seven hours as they made the perilous night-time trek by foot along rugged mountain roads subjected to sporadic shelling before finally crossing the Syrian border to safety in Lebanon.
Mehrez Humeidan and his granddaughters Ikram and Inaam were among at least 6,000 Syrians that the United Nations says have poured into Lebanon over the past three days. The refugees are escaping a government offensive that began on Friday and aims to dislodge rebels from the mountainous Qalamoun region, which runs north from Damascus along the frontier.
Qalamoun holds strategic value for both sides in Syria’s civil war. It serves as a key supply route from Lebanon to opposition forces around Damascus, and it is home to the main north-south motorway that links the capital to government strongholds along the Mediterranean coast.
The offensive is part of a broader government push in which Syria president Bashar Al Assad’s forces seize the momentum in the civil war, capturing a string of opposition-held suburbs south of Damascus as well as two towns and a military base around the northern city of Aleppo.
The battlefield gains have strengthened the government’s hand as the world community pushes for peace talks in Geneva.
The town of Qara, 100 kilometres north of Damascus along the motorway in Qalamoun, has borne the brunt of the government offensive so far. On Monday, government warplanes and artillery pounded the town and surrounding countryside, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which uses a network of activists to monitor the conflict.
Mehrez Humeidan, 70, recounted his family’s escape as he rested in a restaurant-turned-shelter for some 200 refugees in the Lebanese frontier town of Arsal.
“We walked at night and it was a very difficult road. Look how my feet were injured by thorns” he said, his head wrapped in a white cloth as he shivered under a blanket.
He said he and his relatives set out from Qara around 6pm on Friday and walked for nearly seven hours under shellfire until a man passing in a vehicle gave them a ride to Arsal.
“Don’t ask me about the shelling,” he said. “It was beyond explanation.”
His granddaughters, Ikram, 8, and Inaam, 10, nestled up next to him as they talked about their journey.
“I was holding grandfather’s hand all the way and telling him how to walk and whether there is a step,” said Inaam, who like her sister was bundled up against the first winter chill.
The opposition was dealt another blow on Monday when the leader of one of the most prominent rebel brigades, Abdul Qadir Saleh, died of wounds sustained in a government air raid last week. Saleh founded the Tawhid Brigade, which boasts an estimated 10,000 fighters and spearheaded fighting that seized large sections of the northern city of Aleppo last year.
The brigade was once part of the mainstream Free Syrian Army, considered to be the military wing of Syria’s exiled western-backed opposition. But in September, the brigade broke away and later formed the Islamic Authority, a coalition of Islamist rebel groups, including one linked to Al Qaeda.
On Thursday last week, a government air raid hit the brigade’s command post in Aleppo province, according to local activists and the Observatory. Saleh, 34, was wounded and later died in a hospital in Turkey, said a brigade spokesmen.
The strike also killed a senior brigade officer, Abu Tayeb, and wounded another spokesman.
Saleh was buried in his hometown of Marea in Aleppo province and the brigade’s political chief, Abdul-Aziz Salameh, who was lightly wounded in the shelling, was appointed to succeed Saleh.
Mr Salameh himself announced Saleh’s death in a video the group uploaded to YouTube. Flanked by sombre looking men, some in military fatigues and others in robes typical of conservative scholars, he urged fighters to close ranks.
“Our martyrs are in heaven and yours are in hell,” he said.
Saleh’s trajectory reflected that of many ordinary Syrians who joined the armed uprising against Mr Al Assad’s rule. He was a married merchant who took part in peaceful demonstrations that began in March 2011. After a violent crackdown by security forces, Syria’s conflict became an armed uprising and Saleh turned to guns.
Associated Press
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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
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What is 'Soft Power'?
Soft power was first mentioned in 1990 by former US Defence Secretary Joseph Nye.
He believed that there were alternative ways of cultivating support from other countries, instead of achieving goals using military strength.
Soft power is, at its root, the ability to convince other states to do what you want without force.
This is traditionally achieved by proving that you share morals and values.
What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHenry%20Cavill%2C%20Freya%20Allan%2C%20Anya%20Chalotra%3Cstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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
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)
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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%3Cp%3E%E2%97%8F%20Estijaba%20helpline%3A%208001717%3Cbr%3E%E2%97%8F%20UAE%20Ministry%20of%20Health%20and%20Prevention%20hotline%3A%20045192519%3Cbr%3E%E2%97%8F%20UAE%20Mental%20health%20support%20line%3A%20800%204673%20(Hope)%3Cbr%3EMore%20information%20at%20hope.hw.gov.ae%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
