KABUL // The suicide bomber who killed Afghanistan's former president gained access to him by presenting officials with a recording of a purported Taliban peace offer.
Hamid Karzai, the new president, said yesterday that the CD allowed the assassin to get an appointment with Burhanuddin Rabbani, who led the High Peace Council.
His death was a devastating blow to efforts of negotiating a peace settlement with the Taliban to end the decade-long war. The assassin, who hid a bomb in his turban, killed 70-year-old Rabbani on Tuesday at his home in Kabul.
Mr Karzai said that before he left for New York last weekend, one of his advisers, Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, told him that the Taliban had a message for the Afghan peace council.
Mr Stanekzai, a peace council official, was wounded in the attack that killed Rabbani.
"Stanekzai brought me a message that someone had come from the Taliban movement and brought with them an audio CD in which there was a message from a Taliban representative," Mr Karzai said.
The president listened to the disc before leaving to attend the UN General Assembly.
He said the voice on the recording spoke respectfully about Rabbani, adding: "There were a couple of questions and suggestions mentioned regarding peace."
Mr Karzai then talked with Rabbani, who rushed home from a trip to Iran to listen to the recording.
But "it was not a peace message, it was a trick," said Mr Karzai. "The messenger was the killer."
Shafiqullah Tahiri, a spokesman for the Afghan intelligence service, said officials believe that Rabbani's killing had been planned for four months and that the Taliban's governing council, the Quetta Shura, was behind the assassination.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said they were investigating the killing.
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Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
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Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)