The family of Majd Kamalmaz, an American psychotherapist who disappeared during a trip to Syria in 2017, has filed a lawsuit in the US federal court against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
The lawsuit seeks at least $70 million in punitive and compensatory damages from the Assad regime for the “unlawful detention, torture, and killing” of Dr Kamalmaz, who was 59 when he disappeared.
For years, his wife Hassnaa Kamalmaz and their children called on the regime to release him and desperately tried to raise awareness of his case in the US and abroad.
In May, the family revealed that US intelligence services had told them that in all likelihood, Dr Kamalmaz had died years earlier in regime custody.
In June, the US State Department formally acknowledged his death.
“We support Majd’s family and the families of all those who are missing or unjustly detained in Syria in their quest for accountability,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the time.
According to the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, Dr Kamalmaz was kidnapped by the regime at a checkpoint in Mezzeh and then taken to the Mezzeh Military Airport, which the suit alleges is “known for the torture and murder of perceived enemies of the Syrian regime".
The suit states that the Kamalmaz family is “entitled to recover compensatory damages from Syria for economic losses resulting from the premature death of Mr Kamalmaz, including lost anticipated earnings.
“The amount of these compensatory damages shall be determined at trial,” the lawsuit states.
Dr Kamalmaz was an expert in post-traumatic stress disorder and spent much of his career helping people affected by conflict.
He had worked in countries including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Indonesia, as well as in the US, where in 2005 he travelled to Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina.
At the time of his disappearance, Dr Kamalmaz was working in Lebanon, where he was running a project researching mental trauma in young Syrian refugees who had fled the civil war.
He also ran a mental health and counselling centre in Abu Dhabi.
Dr Kamalmaz was one of at least two Americans believed to be in Syrian regime detention. The other is journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in 2012.
The family has made it their mission to hold the Syrian regime accountable.
“I know that if my father was with me right now, he would not rest until all men, women and children are released from the Assad regime's concentration camps,” Dr Kamalmaz's daughter Maryam Kamalmaz said.
“In his honour, we plan to hold the regime fully accountable for its crimes against Americans and Syrians alike, and we call on the US Senate to urgently pass the Assad Anti-Normalisation Act for the sake of Americans still held by this criminal regime.”
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
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The chef's advice
Troy Payne, head chef at Abu Dhabi’s newest healthy eatery Sanderson’s in Al Seef Resort & Spa, says singles need to change their mindset about how they approach the supermarket.
“They feel like they can’t buy one cucumber,” he says. “But I can walk into a shop – I feed two people at home – and I’ll walk into a shop and I buy one cucumber, I’ll buy one onion.”
Mr Payne asks for the sticker to be placed directly on each item, rather than face the temptation of filling one of the two-kilogram capacity plastic bags on offer.
The chef also advises singletons not get too hung up on “organic”, particularly high-priced varieties that have been flown in from far-flung locales. Local produce is often grown sustainably, and far cheaper, he says.
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre V6
Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
Price: Dh179,999-plus
On sale: now
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The Specs
Engine 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp (542bhp in GTS model)
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000 (Dh549,000 for GTS)
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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)
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
Asian Cup 2019
Quarter-final
UAE v Australia, Friday, 8pm, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
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The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group B
Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Eriksen 80')
Inter Milan 0
more from Janine di Giovanni
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
As it stands in Pool A
1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14
2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11
3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5
Remaining fixtures
Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am
Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm
Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm
