At least 28 Syrian soldiers and pro-government fighters were killed in two ISIS attacks in regime-held areas of the country on Friday, a war monitor said.
At least 22 army soldiers and members of pro-government forces died when militants opened fire on a military bus in the eastern countryside of Homs province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Most of those killed were members of the Quds Brigade, a group comprising Palestinian fighters who have received support from Damascus ally Moscow in recent years, the UK-based monitor said.
Six Syrian soldiers were killed in another ISIS attack on a base near Al Bukamal, in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, the observatory said. The attacks were not reported by Syrian state media.
ISIS overran large areas of Syria and Iraq in 2014, proclaiming a so-called caliphate. The group was defeated territorially in Syria in 2019, but its remnants continue to carry out deadly attacks, particularly against pro-government forces and Kurdish-led fighters in the Badia desert.
In March, ISIS militants killed eight Syrian soldiers in an ambush in the desert in eastern Syria, the observatory said.
The troops were travelling from the town of Sukhna in Homs province to the city of Deir Ezzor when they were attacked, it said. ISIS killed six soldiers after they were captured in an earlier ambush between Sukhna and Palmyra in Homs province.
More than 200 soldiers and pro-government fighters have been killed in ISIS attacks in the Deir Ezzor, Homs and Raqqa provinces this year, the observatory said.
Syria's war has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions more since it began in March 2011 with Damascus's repression of anti-government protests.
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
RESULT
West Brom 2 Liverpool 2
West Brom: Livermore (79'), Rondón (88' )
Liverpool: Ings (4'), Salah (72')
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
Where to apply
Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020.
Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.
The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020.
