NEW YORK // UAE fighter jets launched airstrikes early yesterday on ISIL targets in Syria.
The US-led bombing campaign marked a dramatic opening salvo against the Islamist extremists’ bases in three Syrian provinces.
“The UAE Air Force launched its first strikes against ISIL targets last evening,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said
“The operation was conducted in coordination with other forces participating in the international effort against the ISIL.”
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain and Qatar all took part in the attacks, although some will have provided only logistical and other support.
Barack Obama said the US was “proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with these nations on behalf of our common security”, and their participation showed the US was not alone in the fight against ISIL.
“Above all, the people and governments in the Middle East are rejecting ISIL and standing up for the peace and security that the people and the region of the world deserve,” the US president said.
Later he flew to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, where he will try to persuade more countries to join his coalition against ISIL.
Last night the US secretary of state John Kerry had talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, after discussing efforts to defeat ISIL with other leading Gulf Arab figures attending the General Assembly.
Unlike the 194 airstrikes the US has carried out in the sparsely populated areas of Iraq in support of Iraqi and Kurdish ground operations against ISIL, the scale of the strikes in Syria was greater and they took place in urban and rural areas.
The attack came in three waves, beginning at 4.30am UAE time, according to US military officials, and lasted several hours. First, over forty Tomahawk cruise were launched from a US destroyer, which was followed by two waves of coalition airstrikes, first on targets in northern Syria and then in the east.
The coalition attacks targeted ISIL “fighters, training compounds, headquarters and command and control facilities, storage facilities, a finance centre, supply trucks and armed vehicles” near or in ISIL’s self-declared capital, Raqqa, in the north, Deir Ezzour and Abu Kamal in the east and Hasakah in the north-east, US Central Command said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group based in Britain, reported that at least 70 ISIL militants were killed and more than 300 wounded in Raqqa and other parts of eastern Syria.
Along with the attacks on ISIL, the US alone also carried out strikes near Aleppo against a faction of Al Qaeda made up of fighters previously based in Afghanistan and Pakistan thought to be plotting terrorist attacks on US targets. US officials call the faction the Khorosan Group, though analysts say Al Qaeda itself has never publicly disclosed the group’s existence.
“The group has established a safe haven in Syria to develop external attacks, construct and test improvised explosive devices and recruit westerners to conduct operations,” Central Command said.
Strikes targeting the Khorosan group were thought to have hit a village near Aleppo, Kfar Derian, which is a base for the Al Qaeda affiliate, Jabhat Al Nusra. Nearby activists told the AP that around 12 Al Nusra fighters were killed there along with 10 civilians.
Of the five Arab countries involved in the operation, the UAE, Bahrain and Jordan said their jets carried out strikes.
“A formation of Bahrain royal air force aircraft, joining brotherly air forces from the Gulf Cooperation Council and other friendly and allied forces … bombed and destroyed several positions and selected targets belonging to terrorist organisations,” a Bahraini defence official said.
A Jordanian government official said its air force took part, and accused ISIL of trying to infiltrate Jordan through its border with Syria.
White House officials denied that the strikes were timed to coincide with Mr Obama’s push for an expanded coalition at the UN this week, where he will also urge the Security Council to pass a binding resolution that would force countries to draft laws that would stem the flow of foreign fighters.
The Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday on Tuesday welcomed the airstrikes and said Ankara could provide military or logistical support for the campaign.
“I look at it in a positive way. It would be wrong if it stopped. This roadmap should be continued,” he said.
Asked how Turkey would contribute to the operation, Mr Erdogan said: “It involves all kinds of support, including military and political. It involves political or logistic support.”
Mr Obama announced the possibility of an expanded war against ISIL into Syria two weeks ago, after the extremists beheaded two western journalists, and the strikes capped weeks of fraught internal deliberations about going after the group in Syria, which is still wracked by a brutal civil war.
The expansion of the war against ISIL into Syria probably marks the start of a drawn-out fight that could last months or years. “The overall effort will take time,” Mr Obama said. Last week, the head of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Martin Dempsey, said the air campaign in Syria would consist of “persistent and sustainable” attacks aimed at destroying ISIL.
The strikes raise questions about the US strategy in Syria. In Iraq, the airstrikes have been carried out in coordination with the ground forces necessary to clear ISIL from territory and fill the power vacuum left in its wake. But in Syria, the US has no allied forces and lacks significant on-the-ground intelligence capabilities.
Congress last week agreed to a $500 million (Dh1.84bn) US military train-and-equip programme for vetted, more moderate rebel groups, but US officials have said it would take up to a year to train only 5,000 men to take on ISIL, who the CIA estimates has up to 30,000 fighters.
Mr Obama said yesterday the plan was moving ahead and the US would “ramp up our effort to train and equip the Syrian opposition, who are the best counterweight to ISIL and the Assad regime”.
The Syrian Opposition Coalition’s president, Hadi Al Bahra, said that while allied rebels will take part in an “accelerated” training programme, “we will also continue to battle the root cause of the extremism we face — the Assad regime”.
Some observers have said the strikes could benefit Bashar Al Assad’s regime by weakening a formidable foe, while former US officials have called on the US to work with Syrian army forces who they say are the only force capable of controlling territory after ISIL’s grip is weakened.
But the Syrian military has been badly weakened by three years of grinding conflict and recent massive losses to ISIL in Raqqa province, and US officials have said they would not coordinate with a ruler who must step down.
State department spokeswoman Jen Psaki denied Syrian claims that they were given advance notice of the strikes. “We informed the Syrian regime directly of our intent to take action” through its permanent representative to the UN, but “we did not provide advance notification to the Syrians at a military level, or five any indication of our timing”.
It is not known what effect the airstrikes will have on ISIL, whose leaders have been preparing for weeks. Reports from Raqqa suggest fighters have moved deeper into civilian areas and that the group has been transferring its sophisticated weapons and equipment.
* Additional reporting by the Associated Press
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
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.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cargoz%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Premlal%20Pullisserry%20and%20Lijo%20Antony%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2030%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
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
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
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Company%20Profile
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
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
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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.
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eco%20Way%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20December%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Kroshnyi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Electric%20vehicles%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bootstrapped%20with%20undisclosed%20funding.%20Looking%20to%20raise%20funds%20from%20outside%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Scoreline
Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan
Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
Company%20profile
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Credit Score explained
What is a credit score?
In the UAE your credit score is a number generated by the Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), which represents your credit worthiness – in other words, your risk of defaulting on any debt repayments. In this country, the number is between 300 and 900. A low score indicates a higher risk of default, while a high score indicates you are a lower risk.
Why is it important?
Financial institutions will use it to decide whether or not you are a credit risk. Those with better scores may also receive preferential interest rates or terms on products such as loans, credit cards and mortgages.
How is it calculated?
The AECB collects information on your payment behaviour from banks as well as utilitiy and telecoms providers.
How can I improve my score?
By paying your bills on time and not missing any repayments, particularly your loan, credit card and mortgage payments. It is also wise to limit the number of credit card and loan applications you make and to reduce your outstanding balances.
How do I know if my score is low or high?
By checking it. Visit one of AECB’s Customer Happiness Centres with an original and valid Emirates ID, passport copy and valid email address. Liv. customers can also access the score directly from the banking app.
How much does it cost?
A credit report costs Dh100 while a report with the score included costs Dh150. Those only wanting the credit score pay Dh60. VAT is payable on top.
Brief scores:
Toss: Rajputs, elected to field first
Sindhis 94-6 (10 ov)
Watson 42; Munaf 3-20
Rajputs 96-0 (4 ov)
Shahzad 74 not out
Who is Ramon Tribulietx?
Born in Spain, Tribulietx took sole charge of Auckland in 2010 and has gone on to lead the club to 14 trophies, including seven successive Oceania Champions League crowns. Has been tipped for the vacant New Zealand national team job following Anthony Hudson's resignation last month. Had previously been considered for the role.
Everton 1 Stoke City 0
Everton (Rooney 45 1')
Man of the Match Phil Jagielka (Everton)
Six tips to secure your smart home
Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The 12 breakaway clubs
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
ANATOMY%20OF%20A%20FALL
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJustine%20Triet%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESandra%20Huller%2C%20Swann%20Arlaud%2C%20Milo%20Machado-Graner%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Al Jazira's foreign quartet for 2017/18
Romarinho, Brazil
Lassana Diarra, France
Sardor Rashidov, Uzbekistan
Mbark Boussoufa, Morocco
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting 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 when 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 led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
The%20National%20selections
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Aggro%20Dr1ft
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The biog
Birthday: February 22, 1956
Born: Madahha near Chittagong, Bangladesh
Arrived in UAE: 1978
Exercise: At least one hour a day on the Corniche, from 5.30-6am and 7pm to 8pm.
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi? “Everywhere. Wherever you go, you can relax.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Grubtech
Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi
Launched: October 2019
Employees: 50
Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 1 Chelsea 0
De Bruyne (70')
Man of the Match: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
UAE v Zimbabwe A, 50 over series
Fixtures
Thursday, Nov 9 - 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 11 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Monday, Nov 13 – 2pm, Dubai International Stadium
Thursday, Nov 16 – 2pm, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 18 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
NATIONAL%20SELECTIONS
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
