In Looking at Iran, a report on Iran's precipitous decline in Arab public esteem, our polling found a deepening sectarian divide that threatens to unravel several states, posing a long-term challenge to the region's stability.
Several Arab states are already in turmoil, victims of this phenomenon. Sectarian tension in Lebanon, an old story, is growing again. Iraq has exploded anew into sectarian violence. The situation in Kuwait bears watching.
Our polling shows that most Arabs blame Iran for this division.
Indeed, from the early days of the Islamic Republic, Iran has worked hard to earn this reputation, agitating, provoking and meddling. When challenged, they fall back on time-tested claims to be leading "resistance against the West".
For a while, it worked. But in brutally crushing domestic opposition and in overt sectarianism in Iraq, Bahrain and now Syria, the Iranian government has, our polling shows, defined itself as a sectarian power determined to defend not the people's will, but their own self-interest.
Too many regional players have chosen to respond to this not by working to diffuse tensions but by pouring petrol on raging fires - most recently in Syria.
The Ba'ath regime is supported by Russia, Iran, Hizbollah and elements in the Iraqi government. Arrayed against them are a host of Syrians (including militias receiving arms and support from some Arab states and Turkey) and thousands of Sunni foreign fighters (some of them affiliated with Al Qaeda).
Using apocalyptic rhetoric, each side warns of calamities if it loses, while promising that with victory all will be well. But this deadly zero-sum game is fatally flawed: in reality this is a war no one can win.
For months now the regime and the opposition have both been predicting victory. At one point, Aleppo was soon to fall. Then Damascus was threatened. Now the regime is promising a "decisive" victory in Qusayr.
It is all illusion. There will be no decisive victory, only stalemate and the unravelling of Syria. The entire region could be in danger of descending into a sectarian hell.
A front-page photo in the New York Times caught my attention recently. It showed a bombed-out street scene in Aleppo. The destruction was horrific. In the foreground a young man with a semi-automatic weapon in his lap sat in a chair apparently salvaged from someone's living room. The caption read "Syria's Rebels Make Gains in Aleppo".
The question that occurred to me was "if this picture shows a 'gain', what will victory look like?"
Because so many have died and so many others have lost everything but their lives, and because so many Syrians, especially its vulnerable Christian minority, are living in fear, this madness must end. All sides and their sponsors must be made to realise that in continuing this conflict no one will win, and everyone will lose.
As the events of the last week have made clear, the necessary consensus is still far off.
The opposition coalition and its fighting forces remain hopelessly divided, with a fractured leadership and competing agendas. And the regime, as tone-deaf as ever, still believes that it can weather this storm. The two sides' sponsors and supporters, East and West, appear determined to continue to fuel the conflict, in the belief that they can secure some advantage.
My father-in-law, who possessed a delightfully sardonic wit, had an expression he would use in a situation like this. One day, while driving on the motorway, he realised that he had become lost. But the road ahead appeared to be clear of traffic (a rarity in his part of the world), and so he joked, "we don't know where we're going, but we're making good time".
When I hear US Senator John McCain calling for more arms, air strikes, no-fly zones and the like, and when I hear the dangerous pronouncements coming from apologists for the various sides, I want to ask them all "do you know where are you going, and where this is taking Syria's people and what it is doing to the region?"
In light of all this, it should be apparent to all that negotiations must take place, at once, to bring all the combatants and their supporters together to seek an end to this conflict.
Talks will not be pretty. But those who fear that Iran will emerge victorious if a negotiated solution is found are mistaken. That ship has sailed - Iran has exhausted its regional standing.
And those who fear that a failed state full of extremists would be the inevitable result of any compromise are also mistaken. In fact the best guarantee against these nightmare scenarios would be a negotiated solution endorsed by the international community.
It should be clear that at this point no resolution will be perfect. But even an imperfect peace would end the bloodletting, putting Syria on the long and difficult road to reconstruction and reconciliation.
Peace would spare millions of lives and may save the region from the scourge of an unending sectarian conflict. That is why the proposal for talks, from the US and Russia, should be embraced. It remains the last best hope for Syria and the Middle East.
James Zogby is the president of the Arab American Institute
On Twitter: @aaiusa
The 15 players selected
Muzzamil Afridi, Rahman Gul, Rizwan Haider (Dezo Devils); Shahbaz Ahmed, Suneth Sampath (Glory Gladiators); Waqas Gohar, Jamshaid Butt, Shadab Ahamed (Ganga Fighters); Ali Abid, Ayaz Butt, Ghulam Farid, JD Mahesh Kumara (Hiranni Heros); Inam Faried, Mausif Khan, Ashok Kumar (Texas Titans
The Lost Letters of William Woolf
Helen Cullen, Graydon House
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In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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Brief scores:
Kashima Antlers 0
River Plate 4
Zuculini 24', Martinez 73', 90 2', Borre 89' (pen)
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
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
Racecard
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Results
2pm Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,800m
Winner AF Al Baher, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner Alla Mahlak, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
3pm Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner Davy Lamp, Adrie de Vries, Rashed Bouresly.
3.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 1,400m
Winner Ode To Autumn, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
4pm Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 1,950m
Winner Arch Gold, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
4.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh75,000 1,800m
Winner Meqdam, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
5pm Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,800m
Winner Native Appeal, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.
5.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner Amani Pico, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
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Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099