We have no doubt in our mind that the tears of the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, during a speech to promote education and peace in his country were genuine, declared the pan-Arab daily Al Quds al Arabi in its editorial. During his address, Mr Karzai expressed the fear of seeing his son driven to emigrate one day due to poor security. He is well aware that a military solution for Afghanistan's crisis is now pointless. He realises that peaceful negotiations with the Taliban are the most logical, if not only, option at this point.
The flagrant lack of security in Afghanistan is driving thousands to leave, he admitted, while children are too frightened to go to school. Mr Karzai's mission to achieve peace through negotiations seems to be fraught with much difficulty. His repeated calls to the Taliban to participate in talks are to no avail. He has reasons to be pessimistic; he believes the Taliban resistance movement will win in the end and drive foreign forces out in defeat. His Afghan peace council will try to negotiate a power-sharing deal.
However, the Taliban are confident in a future victory. They can afford to refuse the president's advances or impose their own conditions to accept them. Experience has taught us that those who ride the tanks of occupation into power often leave with them.
Mysterious motives for Hizbollah's posturing
It could be the law of the bully. Israel preoccupies Hizbollah with aerial reconnaissance and threats of a new invasion and Hizbollah, in turn, preys on the March 14 group with constant attacks on the Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri and his ministers, commented Abdulraham al Rashed in the London-based newspaper Asharq al Awsat.
Hizbollah insists on abolishing the International Tribunal, but in return for what? It is clear that the party isn't prepared to prosecute any of its members or to relinquish its arms in exchange for halting the tribunal's proceedings. More importantly, Mr Hariri himself has no power to stop the tribunal even if he wished to do so. Why is Hizbollah waging this battle against the tribunal when no indictment has yet been issued? Even if one were to assume that members in the party would be named and accused, the accusations wouldn't touch the party's leadership.
Attempts to justify Hizbollah's preemptive strikes at the tribunal aren't plausible either. They claim the tribunal's decisions could lead to sectarian schisms, but that is exactly what the party is doing at the moment. Another explanation is that Hizbollah doesn't want to be depicted as a party that forsakes its own members. Others say the party is exploiting the situation to achieve political gains, which is a reasonable explanation for a heavily-armed party that has no respect for the law.
Arabs must counter Israeli media game
Anne Frank's tree was planted in Montreal, Canada, and it made headlines in the western media, observed Hayat Hwayek Attiya in an opinion article for Jordanian daily Addustour. The tree is a chestnut tree that was mentioned in The Diary of Ann Frank, a book depicting the struggles of a Jewish teenager in hiding from Nazi forces during the Second World War. She later died in a concentration camp, but the tree remained.
It finally fell last August. However, the Jewish community had anticipated the loss of the iconic tree and removed a few of its branches for replanting in several cities around the world. One of the "holy" branches will be planted in the White House garden amid world acclaim. This event comes as part of systematic measures to revive the holocaust in world consciousness. It aims at evoking the West's guilt complex that compels it time after time to make amends by giving every possible support to Israel. It succeeds in creating a justification for Israel's practices in Palestine.
It is time for Arabs to catch on to this media game and counter it in kind. How many trees should fall and how many Mariams and Leilas must die in Palestine before media coverage can be attained?
Nato's unity has become badly frayed
In an article for Emirati daily Al Khaleej, columnist Saad Mehio wrote: "This year's Nato summit will not be like any of its predecessors." The main question on its agenda will be: is Nato still vital and effective all over the world?
The question is evidently existential. It wouldn't have been raised if the alliance that was designed following the collapse of the Soviet Union to be the world's cop hadn't stumbled in Iraq and fallen prey to hesitation and chaos in Afghanistan. Currently, with every passing day, member countries race to be the first to turn their backs on Nato's mission, leaving the US alone as the sole sheriff in the current world non-order.
Of course, no one expects the collapse of Nato yet, but their economic and political interests can no longer be summed up in the saying "the West against the whole world". In fact, the centre of global economic weight has sailed away from the Atlantic and dropped anchor at the shores of the Pacific, which is now host to more than half the world's production in goods and services and will soon be responsible for approximately two thirds of world trade as exemplified in China, Japan and India.
* Digest compiled by Racha Makarem
rmakarem@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
SHAITTAN
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UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
Company%20Profile
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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.
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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Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
England squad
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Coady, Marc Guehi, Reece James, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Ben White
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Mason Mount, Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice, James Ward-Prowse
Forwards: Tammy Abraham, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Raheem Sterling
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Company%20Profile
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RESULTS
Main card
Bantamweight 56.4kg: Mehdi Eljamari (MAR) beat Abrorbek Madiminbekov (UZB), Split points decision
Super heavyweight 94 kg: Adnan Mohammad (IRN) beat Mohammed Ajaraam (MAR), Split points decision
Lightweight 60kg: Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) beat Faridoon Alik Zai (AFG), RSC round 3
Light heavyweight 81.4kg: Taha Marrouni (MAR) beat Mahmood Amin (EGY), Unanimous points decision
Light welterweight 64.5kg: Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK) beat Nouredine Samir (UAE), Unanimous points decision
Light heavyweight 81.4kg: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Haroun Baka (ALG), KO second round
What is double taxation?
- Americans living abroad file taxes with the Internal Revenue Service, which can cost hundreds of dollars to complete even though about 60 per cent do not owe taxes, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service
- Those obligations apply to millions of Americans residing overseas – estimates range from 3.9 million to 5.5 million – including so-called "accidental Americans" who are unaware they hold dual citizenship
- The double taxation policy has been a contentious issue for decades, with many overseas Americans feeling that it punishes them for pursuing opportunities abroad
- Unlike most countries, the US follows a citizenship-based taxation system, meaning that Americans must file taxes annually, even if they do not earn any income in the US.
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
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SPECS%3A%20Polestar%203
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