Live updates: Follow the latest on Syria
It may already have been flown at the Syrian embassy in Moscow, but the opposition flag that has become prominent in the news since rebels seized power in Syria may not be available on cell phones as an emoji anytime soon.
Bashar Al Assad’s fall from power has sparked celebrations among millions of Syrians, with many taking to the streets with the opposition flag, which features three stars and green, white and black stripes.
This has led to calls for the flag, first used in the 1940s after independence from France, to officially replace the country's current banner, which was adopted in 1980 under Bashar Al Assad's father, Hafez.
Online, many Syrians around the world have also said they want the flag to be available as an emoji on their phones. Unicode Consortium is the authority tasked with standardising emoji codes and digital characters across billions of smartphones and mobile devices globally.
On social media platform X, Unicode's account has been flooded with calls to update the Syrian flag emoji. Many users have been replying even to non-Syria social media posts, asking the Consortium to make the changes quickly.
But Unicode has told The National that the design and colours of emojis are up to smartphone and mobile device manufacturers, not Unicode.
“All of the colourful emoji images found on various devices are supplied and distributed by vendors for their products. Any concerns or comments should be directed to the manufacturer of your device,” Unicode told The National in an email.
One of those device makers, Apple, has also seen requests regarding the Syrian flag on the company's community support message board.
"I hope Apple updates it to the correct version as soon as possible, the right one is attached in photo," wrote a user, showing the depiction of the three star flag requested.
The National has reached out to Apple for comment regarding the flag, but has not yet heard back.
Unicode referred The National to a blog post from 2022 titled The Past and Present of the Flag Emoji, in which the consortium announced that it would no longer be accepting flag emoji submissions.
“The inclusion of new flags will always continue to emphasise the exclusion of others,” the blog entry reads in part.
“And there isn’t much room for the fluid nature of politics – countries change but Unicode additions are forever – once a character is added it can never be removed.
“We realise closing this door may come as a disappointment – after all, flags often serve as a rallying cry to be seen, heard, recognised, and understood,” Unicode added, while also pointing out that “font designers can always update the designs as regimes change.”
Unicode also stated that despite being the largest emoji category, flags are some of the least used emojis, with a few exceptions such as the rainbow flag.
In turn, Unicode said that it can be cumbersome and time consuming to encode more flag standards across the board.
Several years before Unicode's 2022 flag emoji freeze announcement, Nato tried unsuccessfully to convince the consortium to lay the groundwork for the political and military alliance to have its own flag emoji.
A few years later, in connection with its 70th anniversary, the defence bloc promoted a petition effort that also failed to convince the Unicode to add a Nato flag.
The Unicode Consortium does occasionally add new emojis based on ideas submitted to its emoji subcommittee, but the onus is on the idea submitter to prove there's justification for the new design.
Those who submit are often required to prove that their emoji idea breaks new ground, isn't overly specific, and also provide data to help justify the need for a new emoji.
“More weight is given to emoji that convey concepts that are not simply variants of concepts conveyed by existing emoji or sequences of existing emoji,” reads one of the many guideline notes for submitting an proposal to Unicode.
Ultimately, how the emojis look is up to operating system, smartphone and device makers.
For example, emojis on iPhones look slightly different compared to how emojis appear on Android devices, although there's still parity in terms of recognition.
While Unicode's policy states that no new flag emojis will be accepted, in the case of the existing flag design for Syria, a new emoji submission may not be required in the first place if the manufacturers take matters into their own hands.
The current Syrian flag features horizontal stripes of red, white, and black from top to bottom, common colours to represent Arab unity. Two green stars adorn the middle white section, representing Egypt and Syria as the founding nations of the short-lived United Arab Republic formed after the end of European colonialism.
It was first designed in 1958, but the flag was modified several times before its adoption in the 1980s.
The flag used by Syria's rebels and considered likely to be adopted in the country's near future contains the same colours in a different order. Instead, it has a tricolour of horizontal stripes of green, white and black with three red stars in the middle and its origins are even older than that of two-star version. It was Syria's official flag in 1946 when the country gained independence from France and was once enshrined in the country's constitution.
It has been slung around the shoulders of Syrians celebrating their freedom and hung on the doors of embassies around the world.
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Sunday:
GP3 race: 12:10pm
Formula 2 race: 1:35pm
Formula 1 race: 5:10pm
Performance: Guns N' Roses
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
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
PROFILE BOX
Company name: Overwrite.ai
Founder: Ayman Alashkar
Started: Established in 2020
Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai
Sector: PropTech
Initial investment: Self-funded by founder
Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors
Company%20profile
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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
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Duminy's Test career in numbers
Tests 46; Runs 2,103; Best 166; Average 32.85; 100s 6; 50s 8; Wickets 42; Best 4-47
THE SPECS
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 523hp
Torque: 750Nm
Price: Dh469,000
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About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
If you go
The flights
The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings
The stay
Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.
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GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
DAY%20ONE%20RESULT
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations
Edited by Sarah Cleave, Comma Press
The specs
Engine: 2x201bhp AC Permanent-magnetic electric
Transmission: n/a
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 659Nm
Price estimate: Dh200,000
On sale: Q3 2022
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Habib El Qalb
Assi Al Hallani
(Rotana)
Fifa%20World%20Cup%20Qatar%202022%20
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F1 drivers' standings
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes 281
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 247
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes 222
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull 177
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 138
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull 93
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 86
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 56
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
