Supporters of Iran-backed groups ransacked the Baghdad office of Saudi broadcaster MBC early on Saturday, a security source told The National, over a report that referred to commanders of Tehran-aligned militias as “terrorists”.
More than 400 people entered the channel's office in the Al Jamia neighbourhood of the Iraqi capital after midnight. They started a fire in the yard before breaking into the building where they damaged equipment and furniture, a security officer with the Interior Ministry said.
Iraqi security forces later sealed off the area, blocking all roads leading to the building, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. There has been no official statement from authorities.
Excerpts of the MBC report sparked anger and criticism on social media and Telegram channels belonging to the Iran-backed militias. The report focused on terrorism in the region, and referred to Yahya Sinwar as being the latest “terrorist” to be killed. The Hamas leader was killed by Israel on Wednesday.
Qassem Suleimani, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' elite Quds Force who was killed at Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020, was described as a “symbol of terrorism”. Other key figures such as Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, killed alongside Suleimani, and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, also recently killed in an Israeli strike, were mentioned.
Shiite MP Mustafa Sanad vowed to work to cancel the network's licence. “There is no place for you in Iraq,” Mr Sanad wrote on X. “You listen to the report as if you are listening to [Israeli] Channel 14, which is affiliated with the [Zionist] entity,” he said.
Hamas issued a statement condemning the report and demanding an apology from the broadcaster.
Several hours later, Iraq's media regulator announced it was revoking MBC's license.
“In view of the repeated violations of MBC satellite channel’s broadcasting regulations, as well as its attacks on the martyrs... we affirm that all necessary legal measures will be taken, including its suspension from operating in Iraq,” read a statement from the Communications and Media Commission (CMC) published by state media.
Videos online showed the protesters waving flags of the Popular Mobilisation Forces and the Hezbollah Brigades – one of the most influential Iraqi Shiite militias. Others shouted “No, no to America” and “no, no to Israel”.
Tension and conflict has been escalating in the region as Iran-backed groups – Hamas and Hezbollah – as well as allies in Yemen, Syria and Iraq have been at war with Israel for more than a year. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a shadow group consisting of various militias, frequently claims responsibility for drone strikes launched at Israel.
MBC's Baghdad office was also attacked in 2020. A programme aired on MBC1 suggested that Iraqi militia leader Al Muhandis was involved in arranging an attack in Lebanon nearly 40 years ago. At the time the channel said it would place the matter in the hands of Iraqi authorities to protect MBC’s Iraq employees and the organisation.
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Company%20Profile
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Joy%20Ride%20
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The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Related
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
The five pillars of Islam
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
if you go
The flights
Flydubai flies to Podgorica or nearby Tivat via Sarajevo from Dh2,155 return including taxes. Turkish Airlines flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Podgorica via Istanbul; alternatively, fly with Flydubai from Dubai to Belgrade and take a short flight with Montenegro Air to Podgorica. Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Podgorica via Belgrade. Flights cost from about Dh3,000 return including taxes. There are buses from Podgorica to Plav.
The tour
While you can apply for a permit for the route yourself, it’s best to travel with an agency that will arrange it for you. These include Zbulo in Albania (www.zbulo.org) or Zalaz in Montenegro (www.zalaz.me).
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
FORSPOKEN
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Company%20of%20Heroes%203
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Marvel's%20Spider-Man%202
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Assassin's%20Creed%20Mirage
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Starfield
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Bethesda%20Game%20Studios%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Bethesda%20Softworks%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20PC%2C%20Xbox%0D%3Cbr%3ERelease%20date%3A%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
The%20Afghan%20connection
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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
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
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg
Real Madrid (2) v Bayern Munich (1)
Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
When: 10.45pm, Tuesday
Watch Live: beIN Sports HD
Bombshell
Director: Jay Roach
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie
Four out of five stars
Company%20Profile
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