As has become tradition in Iraq's long fightback against the self-proclaimed Islamic State, the battle to retake the town of Tal Afar commenced on a Sunday.
A dusty town in the remote desert plains near the Syrian border, Tal Afar is one of the last strongholds of the terror group in Iraq. Its jihadist defenders had been sitting uncomfortably as Iraqi forces slowly ground down resistance in ISIL-held Mosul over the past year.
Between October 2016 and July this year, government forces gradually clawed back Mosul from the insurgents, routinely beginning each of the many stages in the massive operations on a Sunday, the first day of the week in Iraq.
As the Iraqi military was decimated in the brutal fighting in Mosul, the country's second largest city, others took care of business in Tal Afar - some 60 kilometres west of Mosul.
Shiite militia groups, known as the Hashed Al Shaabi or the Popular Mobilisation Forces, drove west in long columns of sand-coloured vintage pickup tricks and mounted anti-aircraft cannon on their flatbeds.
The Hashed initially insisted they would be taking part in the battle for Mosul, but were eventually dissuaded by the government.
They begrudgingly obliged, and instead trained their guns on Tal Afar, the most important town in the stretch of desert between Mosul and the Syrian border. Soon, the route between Syria and Mosul was cut, and Tal Afar surrounded by the Hashed.
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Read more:
Fight against ISIL: UN warns of new wave of displaced Iraqis
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Iraqi PM’s Mosul rhetoric does not square with reality
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The militia advance ensured that Mosul was surrounded from all sides, preventing ISIL from sending more men and material into the city.
It also meant the extremists defending Mosul were trapped. In a war in which surrender usually meant a bullet through the back of the head, they now had few options but to fight to the bitter end.
In private, battlefield commanders complained about the move, and the fierce resistance by thousands of trapped extremists took a heavy toll on the elite counter-terrorism troops leading the charge. It is not known why Iraq's top brass decided on cutting all escape routes from Mosul.
Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi, the commander-in-chief who does not enjoy a reputation as a competent strategist amongst the military, might be behind it.
But there is also speculation that the Hashed acted on their own accord, driven by strategic considerations of another kind.
Many of the disparate Shiite militia groups are not just trained and equipped by Iran, they are also beholden to Tehran - a regional actor that projects influence into Iraq and beyond.
Iran is heavily involved in propping up the Assad regime in Syria, and had little interest in ISIL fighters escaping Mosul to fight another day across the border. Could the Hashed have acted unilaterally against the interests of the Iraqi government?
In the run-up to the Tal Afar operation launched this week, the Hashed had been equally verbose about joining the fight. No doubt the rank and file are keen to get involved after besieging the town for almost a year.
Tal Afar has long been a hotbed of violent Sunni extremism, first harbouring Al Qaeda and then ISIL, and taking the town holds symbolic as well as practical value.
But there is as yet no clarity to what extent the militias will be involved, and which groups will be on the frontlines.
The Hashed are divided into units that existed prior to the rise of ISIL, and which have close ties to Tehran, and units that formed in response to the extremist threat in 2014, which are closer to Baghdad.
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Read more:
Iraqi militias close to establishing Iran-Syria corridor
Risks remain as Iraqi militias press ahead with Iran’s bridge to Syria
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For the militia groups aligned with Iran, Tal Afar has already lost some of its strategic value. One of the key aims of the Hashed has been the creation of a land corridor connecting Iran with Syria, and that goal was achieved when its fighters pushed ISIL out of the southern plains of the Sinjar area in May.
The Hashed do not need to hold Tal Afar for men and material to travel all the way through Iraq in areas under their control.
And, for all their bluster, there are good reasons to stay out of the fight.
Official estimates put the number of ISIL combatants at a thousand at a minimum. They are fighting from well-prepared positions and will inflict heavy losses with their tactics of deploying suicide car bombs, explosive booby traps and snipers.
Why lose militiamen when the Iraqi military could suffer instead? A further weakening of the elite counter-terrorism troops in particular would play into the hands of the Hashed, who are vying for control over Iraq at the expense of the government.
To the 10,000 to 50,000 Sunni civilians believed to be trapped in Tal Afar, an omission of the Hashed might sound like good news. The Shiite militias have committed war crimes in most - if not all - the battles they were involved in, killing civilians as well as ISIL prisoners.
It may well not matter. In the final weeks of the battle for Mosul, Iraqi forces executed scores of civilians, believing all those still left alive to be ISIL members. It is unlikely they will see the remaining inhabitants of Tal Afar in a different light.
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
Stoke City v Tottenham
Brentford v Newcastle United
Arsenal v Manchester City
Everton v Manchester United
All ties are to be played the week commencing December 21.
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Results
6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: Celtic Prince, David Liska (jockey), Rashed Bouresly (trainer).
7.05pm: Conditions Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Commanding, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
7.40pm: Handicap Dh190,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Grand Argentier, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.15pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 2,200m
Winner: Arch Gold, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed Dh265,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Military Law, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
9.25pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Ibn Malik, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
10pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder 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)
