Live updates: Follow the latest on Syria
The mausoleum of late Syrian leader Hafez Al Assad, father of deposed president Bashar Al Assad, has become a site of celebration after rebels seized the town of Qardaha in the coastal Latakia region, with fighters parading through the area firing celebratory gunshots into the air.
“They made this mausoleum a symbol to honour Assad, but we refuse to honour an oppressive regime,” said a member of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), the Sunni Muslim group formerly affiliated with Al Qaeda that led rebels in toppling the president last weekend. Civilians joined the festivities, borrowing weapons from rebels to fire shots inside the tomb.
The once-revered marble monument, located in the elder Assad's hometown, was stormed and set ablaze by the rebels. Smoke blackened the walls while ashes and shattered glass littered the floor. “They spent millions on monuments while people are starving,” the rebel fighter said.
But some locals had mixed feelings. “Who is benefiting from all these fires?” asked Tamam, an Alawite resident of the town, looking at the scene.
The Assad regime was underpinned by his Alawite minority, which dominated Sunni-majority Syria after Alawite officers took power in a 1963 coup. In 2011, the younger Assad violently suppressed a peaceful uprising against his regime, sparking a civil war that killed more than 500,000 people and displaced 12 million.
But on Sunday, rebels led by HTS seized Damascus, ending more than five decades of the Assad family's autocratic rule.
The National saw the road to Qardaha strewn with Syrian army tanks abandoned by regime soldiers who fled without a fight as the rebels advanced. Pictures of Bashar Al Assad lining the road were destroyed.
At the mausoleum, Hafez Al Assad’s charred casket was dragged outside. Rebels took selfies with their feet on it. Graffiti on the outer wall read: “Let your soul be cursed, Hafez.”
Despite Qardaha being the elder Assad's hometown, residents said they had long ceased supporting the regime. The Alawite-majority village has been neglected, with empty streets, closed shops, and only two hours of electricity a day. Salaries for conscripts amount to just a few dozen US dollars.
But Alawites there kept their frustration hidden, fearing violent repression. “Assad prisons were full of all sects, and the repression of the Alawite minority was even more intense because it was considered inside the family, inside the house. One small word from the community was considered a crime,” said one Alawite, Mazen Kheir, while sitting with friends at home.
For the first time, Qardaha residents were speaking openly, discussing the revolution and the uncertainties facing the nation.
Oujoud Salah, a teacher in Qardaha, said she at first felt joy when the younger Assad fled the country at the weekend. But some minorities fear the rebels may impose another form of autocratic rule, despite reassurances from HTS leaders that they will be protected.
HTS has sought to moderate its rhetoric and distance itself from its extremist roots. On Thursday, Mohammed Al Bashir, the transitional head of government until March 1, said all rights would be respected.
“So far we haven’t seen anything worrying,” said Ms Salah. But she was uneasy about the armed men in the streets of Qardaha and celebratory gunfire at the mausoleum. “Why fire shots into the air? It scares the children,” she added.
“We need to surrender the weapons. It’s time to build a nation of peace and security.”
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
Major matches on Manic Monday
Andy Murray (GBR) v Benoit Paire (FRA)
Grigor Dimitrov (BGR) v Roger Federer (SUI)
Rafael Nadal (ESP) v Gilles Muller (LUX)
Adrian Mannarino (FRA) Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Fund-raising tips for start-ups
Develop an innovative business concept
Have the ability to differentiate yourself from competitors
Put in place a business continuity plan after Covid-19
Prepare for the worst-case scenario (further lockdowns, long wait for a vaccine, etc.)
Have enough cash to stay afloat for the next 12 to 18 months
Be creative and innovative to reduce expenses
Be prepared to use Covid-19 as an opportunity for your business
* Tips from Jassim Al Marzooqi and Walid Hanna
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDirect%20Debit%20System%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sept%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20with%20a%20subsidiary%20in%20the%20UK%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elaine%20Jones%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Bio
Favourite holiday destination: Either Kazakhstan or Montenegro. I’ve been involved in events in both countries and they are just stunning.
Favourite book: I am a huge of Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, which I suppose is quite apt right now. My mother introduced me to them back home in New Zealand.
Favourite film or television programme: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, that’s never been up for debate. I love watching repeats of Mash as well.
Inspiration: My late father moulded me into the man I am today. I would also say disappointment and sadness are great motivators. There are times when events have brought me to my knees but it has also made me determined not to let them get the better of me.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Brief scoreline:
Wolves 3
Neves 28', Doherty 37', Jota 45' 2
Arsenal 1
Papastathopoulos 80'
Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
THE SPECS
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