Syrians inspect burned cars at the site of a blast in the Syrian capital Damascus.
Syrians inspect burned cars at the site of a blast in the Syrian capital Damascus.

Facade of calm fading fast in Damascus as rebels reach the capital



Damascus // A normal Wednesday morning in the southern suburbs of Damascus; the air still cool from the night before, the birds singing, the shadows cast by the cedar trees still long on the ground.

A burst of automatic gunfire and the sound of an engine racing, then the quiet is restored. A few more shots, then silence once more.

"That was closer than normal, probably an assassination," says Abu Tariq, quickly returning his attention to the progress of his rooftop expansion project, under construction without a licence or the once customary bribe to the local building inspector because the authorities are worrying about other things these days.

He urgently needs the extra space now that relatives fleeing violence in north-eastern Damascus have come to stay - a temporary living arrangement that increasingly seems permanent enough to justify building extra rooms.

And he was right, it was an assassination. At 7am, a security officer was gunned down as he drove through Sahniaya, one of the few neighbourhoods considered safe on the Syrian capital's southern outskirts.

Peppered with bullet holes and the back window shot out, the wrecked white 1970s Peugeot 504 was left for a couple hours in the road, loosely guarded by plain clothes security agents - some surprisingly young, in tight jeans and T-shirts, pistols stuck in belts.

The car had come to a halt about 100 metres from the nearest police station and a similar distance from one of the local schools, where teenagers were turning up for exams.

Given the vast bloodshed and upheaval taking place elsewhere in the country, it was a small incident, not even reported in the local news.

But it was another indicator that the facade of calm that in-denial residents and officials have so resolutely thrown over Damascus and some of its suburbs is fracturing after 16 months of revolt.

Dramatic anti-regime protests and clashes between rebel fighters and government security forces inside the capital, particularly last month in Kafa Susa, have had a profound psychological effect.

"If you had told me a year ago that armed rebels in Damascus would openly be in the street protecting demonstrators and fighting against regime forces, I would never have believed it possible," said an Islamic cleric based in the Syrian capital.

"Now I have seen it with my own eyes, the impossible is happening," he said.

Less visible but also important are the numerous small signs that the struggle for Syria is now present in the very fabric of Damascus

A security outpost on the main autoroute into the city centre, close to a popular shopping mall, was recently abandoned because it was attacked too frequently and too successfully by the rebel Free Syrian Army - in an area where, just weeks before, it had no real presence.

At least one Baath party official, fearing he has been added to a rebel hit list, now drives his wife's small, nondescript car, not his own distinctive SUV, hoping to avoid the kind of assassination that caught up with the officer in the battered old Peugeot.

Out of similar fears, other government employees have changed their car registration plates, preferring anonymity to the previously coveted army-endorsed plate. Where once an association with the army incurred privileges, it has now become a liability.

Such efforts may be futile - after switching his number plate, one military official had a note left on his windscreen mocking the effort to hide. "Do you think we don't know who you are now?" it said.

Other regime figures who used to wander around town freely have now been assigned bodyguards and drivers.

In central Damascus too, there are signs that the authorities no longer believe their own oft-repeated assurances that victory is close at hand. Initially, temporary sandbag fighting emplacements were thrown up around official buildings, and makeshift concrete barriers dragged in for protection. Now, permanent steel and bulletproof glass cabins are starting to appear, and the hurriedly established barricades at security offices are being replaced by bigger, permanent fortifications.

One activist described the new conditions as an emerging, violent, system of accountability.

"The security services used to be able to do whatever they wanted with total impunity but now they know there is at least some price to be paid by them for their actions," he said.

Government forces "are still stronger than the opposition but a big change is that we used to be afraid and they were not. Now everyone knows some kind of fear."

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When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi

  

 

 

 

Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.

 
If you go

The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.

The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).

When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding

Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars

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The specs
 
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Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
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Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Match info

Uefa Champions League Group H

Juventus v Valencia, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)

The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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On sale: Now
Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

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Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE

There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.

It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.

What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.

When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.

It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.

This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.

It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.

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THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

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TWISTERS

Director: Lee Isaac Chung

Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos

Rating: 2.5/5

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma

When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome

THE APPRENTICE

Director: Ali Abbasi

Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong

Rating: 3/5

Tenet

Director: Christopher Nolan

Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh 

Rating: 5/5

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
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
The Buckingham Murders

Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu

Director: Hansal Mehta

Rating: 4 / 5

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo

Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm

Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km

Price: from Dh285,000

On sale: from January 2022