The Syrian civil war is arguably the most important conflict of the moment. Russian Defence Ministry Press Service photo via AP Photo
The Syrian civil war is arguably the most important conflict of the moment. Russian Defence Ministry Press Service photo via AP Photo

Who decides the Syrian narrative?



Journalism is an imperfect craft. Reporting, especially in conflict zones, involves bias. It is the responsibility of media organisations to maintain a commitment to fact-based reporting, regardless of any bias. As readers empowered by the wealth of information available on the internet, we must maintain a critical approach to how media organisations shape our understanding of conflicts and critical issues. The Syrian civil war, arguably the most important conflict of the moment, is a perfect example – and yet we fundamentally know very little of what happens on the ground.

There is no single Syrian perspective on the conflict or the future of the country. Some Syrians hate Bashar Al Assad but are fearful of the rebels. Others believe the rebels are freedom fighters. No country has a uniformity of opinion and, in a conflict situation, people arrive at their personal opinions because of a complex set of calculations.

But, as Brian Kappler argued in The National yesterday, “in the fight for public opinion, the new theatre of war is the internet, especially social media”. He outlined the contours of the battle by exploring the fiery debate over the White Helmets, a civil defence organisation in Syria that has been at the centre of debate about who are the “good guys” in Syria and who are the bad.

In the West, the White Helmets have been portrayed as heroes with no political allegiance, but some journalists have recently uncovered information that has cast a different light on the group. Namely, that they are being used as pawns to stoke anti-Assad and anti-Russia rhetoric. Regardless of the truth, the White Helmets controversy highlights just how skewed the media narrative of Syria has become. But what is lost as a result?

The majority of western reporting on the conflict is based on activist or human rights groups that collect information from unverified sources and “citizen journalists” on the ground. The “reporting” is then collated by correspondents based in Istanbul or Beirut. Make no mistake, reporting inside Syria is extraordinarily difficult and often downright dangerous given the targeting of journalists by groups such as ISIL. That doesn’t excuse the gross lack of perspectives for a variety of Syrians.

As the battle for Syria’s future enters a new phase following the fall of Aleppo, the prevailing media narrative about the war will require extra scrutiny by news consumers and worried onlookers. We can’t afford to take any piece of news or analysis for granted because the conflict bears heavily on the region and the world.

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Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

Stage 3 results

1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 4:42:33

2 Tadej Pocagar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:03

3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana 0:01:30

4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ

5 Rafal Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe         

6 Diego Ulissi (ITA) UAE Team Emirates  0:01:56

General Classification after Stage 3:

1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 12:30:02

2 Tadej Pocagar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:07

3  Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana 0:01:35

4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:40

5  Rafal Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe

6 Wilco Kelderman (NED) Team Sunweb)  0:02:06

Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

The nine articles of the 50-Year Charter

1. Dubai silk road

2.  A geo-economic map for Dubai

3. First virtual commercial city

4. A central education file for every citizen

5. A doctor to every citizen

6. Free economic and creative zones in universities

7. Self-sufficiency in Dubai homes

8. Co-operative companies in various sectors

­9: Annual growth in philanthropy

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Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
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Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

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The specs

Engine: 3.8-litre V6

Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm

Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km

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Squads

India (for first three ODIs) Kohli (capt), Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Jadhav, Rahane, Dhoni, Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Umesh, Shami.

Australia Smith (capt), Warner, Agar, Cartwright, Coulter-Nile, Cummins, Faulkner, Finch, Head, Maxwell, Richardson, Stoinis, Wade, Zampa.

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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

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Name: Qyubic
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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

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Rating: 4/5

SPECS

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Abramovich London

A Kensington Palace Gardens house with 15 bedrooms is valued at more than £150 million.

A three-storey penthouse at Chelsea Waterfront bought for £22 million.

Steel company Evraz drops more than 10 per cent in trading after UK officials said it was potentially supplying the Russian military.

Sale of Chelsea Football Club is now impossible.