Underneath a ceiling mosaic painted by Peter Paul Rubens in Whitehall’s Banqueting House, Qatar sponsored a prestigious counter-terrorism conference in London on Thursday that served to whitewash the country’s role in supporting extremists.
Using a platform provided by the Qatar-linked think tank Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), the country’s foreign minister and national security adviser gave speeches to leading experts, including leading British and European security officials.
Some speakers hinted at discomfort with Qatar’s role in the event. “One element not mentioned is the consequences of state sponsorship of terrorism,” said Franz-Michael Mellbin, EU’s Special Representative to Afghanistan. “This needs to be addressed a lot more and is a more general comment on what is happening here.
“We know which states we are talking about. I would like to skirt the question because I still want to be an ambassador tomorrow. I don’t have to sit here and point fingers.”
The expanded list of terror-linked individuals based in Qatar was not addressed in the sessions. Several speakers, including Shiraz Maher, deputy director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR) at King’s College London identified the growing threat of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), the leading Al Qaeda affiliate in northern Syria. Yet there was no mention that Qatar has provided support and funding for the group.
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Read more
When will the UK stop turning a blind eye to Doha's meddling?
UAE, Saudi Arabia add 13 Qatar-linked individuals and entities to terror list
Tillerson and Saudi crown prince discuss combating terrorism
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Kyle Orton, a researcher at the Henry Jackson Society in London, has found evidence that Qatar provided tens of millions of dollars to HTS, including one large payment made earlier this year. “Qatar has provided operationally significant amounts money to HTS both through ransom payments or donor money directly facilitated by the state,” he said. “Qatar has also been involved in transfer of weapons to Ahrar Al Sham, which was a deniable channel to Jabhat Al Nusra and Hayat Al Tahrir.”
A former senior official in British security services criticised the attendance of leading figures including two junior ministers, diplomats, intelligence officials and Mark Rowley, the assistant commissioner for specialist operations in the Metropolitan Police. "They know how implicated Qatar is. They know how the Qatari's relativise everything to serve their own purpose," he told The National.
Alistair Burt, the Foreign Office's Middle East minister, stressed a collaborative approach on counter-terrorism across the Gulf. “Your security is our security,” he said. "Even as we see [ISIL] pushed back on the physical battlefield, we know that they will continue to pose a threat in the region. We also know that the battle of ideas is far from won, Daesh is still capable of inspiring people to carry out attacks in its name and, as such, it remains a serious global threat.”
Separate panels considered the different elements of counter-terrorism, examining the use of law-enforcement, military and intelligence assets to degrade the capability of terrorist organisations to conduct attacks.
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the foreign minister of Qatar, highlighted Rusi’s role in training Qatari diplomats and said the institute, which traces its roots to the 19th-century 1st Duke of Wellington, would prepare a “white paper” for the country on terrorism.
Delegates were also asked to support a declaration of counter-terrorism principles.
The foreign minister was not asked to field questions from the floor.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
The specs: 2018 Peugeot 5008
Price, base / as tested: Dh99,900 / Dh134,900
Engine: 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 165hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 240Nm @ 1,400rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.8L / 100km
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
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How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
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FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')
Watford 0
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
MATCH INFO
Europa League semi-final, second leg
Atletico Madrid (1) v Arsenal (1)
Where: Wanda Metropolitano
When: Thursday, May 3
Live: On BeIN Sports HD
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Healthcare spending to double to $2.2 trillion rupees
Launched a 641billion-rupee federal health scheme
Allotted 200 billion rupees for the recapitalisation of state-run banks
Around 1.75 trillion rupees allotted for privatisation and stake sales in state-owned assets
UAE%20medallists%20at%20Asian%20Games%202023
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Joe Root (captain), Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Dan Lawrence, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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