Live updates: Follow the latest on Syria
In many places, Aleppo feels alive two weeks after it was overrun by Syria's now-victorious rebels, marking the start of a campaign that took them all the way to Damascus and brought down the Assad regime.
In the Al Sabil district, fruit and vegetable stalls are bursting with fresh produce – ripe bananas, plump strawberries, and bulbous oranges. People throng the streets, and cars sit in traffic jams despite the fuel shortage – on the road to the Turkish border, petrol stations are either out of supplies or charging over a dollar per litre.
A fast-food restaurant pulses with the sounds of Spanish and English music, including a dance remix of Ruelle's Carry You. The old city souqs have been partially restored after years of destruction and damage caused by conflict and fires.
In his shop selling roasted mixed nuts, Ahmed Alwan says some of Aleppo’s services remain unreliable – water cuts out frequently, and electricity runs for just a few hours each day. "The state is new; they are repairing things," he says.
When you saw the shabiha – pro-regime thugs – or the regime soldiers behaving badly, we couldn’t say to them that they were in the wrong
Mohammad Hallak,
53, Aleppo resident
He stayed in the city throughout Bashar Al Assad’s rule. "Everything was constricting us," he adds. When asked what he wants the world to know about the city where he was born and raised, he grimaces and replies, "the regime’s oppression".
For eight years, 53-year-old Mohammad Hallak couldn’t speak his mind. “When you saw the shabiha – pro-regime thugs – or the regime soldiers behaving badly, we couldn’t say to them that they were in the wrong. We were under psychological pressure.”
He sympathised with the rebels, but stayed in Aleppo in December 2016, when the former Syrian president’s forces, with support from Iran-backed militias and Russian air power – took back Syria’s industrial capital from the opposition forces who had previously wrested the city from the government in Damascus.
“Where was I supposed to go? I had my work here, my wife and children, and my mother,” he told The National on a cold afternoon 10 days after Mr Al Assad fled the country he had ruled with an iron fist for over two decades. “I couldn’t leave.”
Significant physical destruction remains across the city from years of conflict. Mosques, heritage buildings and houses lie in ruins. More recent damage came from an air strike that hit outside a hospital as regime forces tried and failed to repel the rebel offensive.
'Overcome the tragedy'
Aleppo fell to the rebels led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) at the end of November. The campaign continued until Damascus was overrun and Mr Al Assad fled, ending more than five decades of dynastic, dictatorial rule in Syria.
HTS is made up mainly of groups from the extremist organisation Jabhat Al Nusra, which was linked to Al Qaeda. It cut ties with Al Qaeda in 2016 and rebranded itself as Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, after a purge undertaken by the group's leader Ahmad Al Shara, formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed Al Jawlani.
Two weeks after the fierce battles in the north-western city, reminders of the old regime remain. Posters of Mr Al Assad and his father that once lined the city streets have been ripped down, strewn across the ground and defaced, with their faces torn out.
In the morgue at Aleppo’s abandoned military hospital, a bag of bloody organs lies discarded to one side, while bandages and military uniforms are scattered across the floor, the air heavy with the smell of death. A bloodstained plastic sheet still covers the stand where bodies were once washed before burial.
The traces of the past seem so fresh, the stench of decay so strong, it feels as though the building’s former staff and patients fled in a hurry. Two workers carry a small mountain of thousands of documents and patient records inside a wooden coffin en route to the hospital’s storage archive.
According to Amer, a member of HTS's medical services directorate currently guarding the hospital, regime soldiers were treated here – and many died here too, as is evidenced by the thick “martyrs’ record” book containing handwritten details of fallen soldiers. Members of Iran-backed militias were also treated at the hospital, Amer explains, referring to them as “intruders”. They were not identified by name in the hospital logbooks but recorded under the code “Sadiq”, the Arabic word for “friend”, signifying their alliance with the regime.
When opposition fighters arrived at the site in late November, they found no bodies, according to Amer. He estimates there was about half a day between the pro-Assad forces fleeing and the rebels taking control. “There was a period of chaos,” he says, pointing to the rooms where chairs lie overturned, piles of clothes are crumpled on the floor and an abandoned narghile pipe sits nearby.
At the back of one of the hospital buildings, a torn poster of Mr Al Assad and the former first lady Asma, smiling and greeting a mother and baby in a hospital bed, lies in a pile of rubbish. Around it are discarded military coats and half-eaten plates of food. The message on the poster reads: “Hand in hand, we will overcome the tragedy".
MATCH INFO
Sheffield United 3
Fleck 19, Mousset 52, McBurnie 90
Manchester United 3
Williams 72, Greenwood 77, Rashford 79
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3 (Sterling 46', De Bruyne 65', Gundogan 70')
Aston Villa 0
Red card: Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Man of the Match: Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
RACE SCHEDULE
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday, September 29
First practice: 7am - 8.30am
Second practice: 11am - 12.30pm
Saturday, September 30
Qualifying: 1pm - 2pm
Sunday, October 1
Race: 11am - 1pm
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
SHAITTAN
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVikas%20Bahl%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAjay%20Devgn%2C%20R.%20Madhavan%2C%20Jyothika%2C%20Janaki%20Bodiwala%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
Company%20profile
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ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
RESULT
RS Leipzig 3
Marcel Sabitzer 10', 21'
Emil Forsberg 87'
Tottenham 0
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Profile of Udrive
Date started: March 2016
Founder: Hasib Khan
Based: Dubai
Employees: 40
Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.
A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
UAE rugby season
FIXTURES
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers v Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Division 1
Dubai Sharks v Dubai Hurricanes II
Al Ain Amblers v Dubai Knights Eagles II
Dubai Tigers II v Abu Dhabi Saracens
Jebel Ali Dragons II v Abu Dhabi Harlequins II
Sharjah Wanderers v Dubai Exiles II
LAST SEASON
West Asia Premiership
Winners – Bahrain
Runners-up – Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership
Winners – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners-up – Jebel Ali Dragons
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners – Dubai Hurricanes
Runners-up – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Conference
Winners – Dubai Tigers
Runners-up – Al Ain Amblers
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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
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
