ABU DHABI // A law allowing the anti-terror centre Hedayah to become an independent organisation has been passed by the FNC.
The facility, which means guidance in Arabic, will investigate terrorism and its roots and find ways to support victims of terrorism by working with academics and religious and community leaders.
Although the law is still to receive final approval from the President, Sheikh Khalifa, before enactment, the centre has been running for the past year.
Members were unsure why there was a need for the law if the centre was already in operation.
"There is a need for the centre - but does it need a law to work?" asked Marwan bin Ghalita (Dubai). He said similar centres were already set up in Saudi Arabia, Somalia and the United States and none was governed by a law.
Dr Anwar Gargash, the Minister of State for FNC Affairs and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said the UAE committed to establishing the centre at the Global Counterterrorism Forum held in New York in 2011 and the centre was meant to be international, not Emirati. "The country studied options to open such a centre," he said. "We saw there was little legal possibility for this, so needed a law to establish this centre."
He said until the law is passed the UAE has to finance the centre. Afterwards, it will be financed by the 30 member countries of the Global Counterterrorism Forum.
"The centre will be independent, not national," he said. "Without a law giving it independency, we are paying."
Mr bin Ghalita insisted there was no need for the law.
Dr Gargash disagreed. "Right now we are paying for this, it is still under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," he said. He said the best option was to give the centre - the executive director of which must be Emirati - operational independence via federal law.
The bill makes clear that the UAE will not be responsible for illegal practices committed by its staff or activists in the course of their work, but states the centre will still "fall under the jurisdiction of UAE laws and is not allowed to perform any acts that breach laws of the UAE or contradict its interests".
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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GROUPS AND FIXTURES
Group A
UAE, Italy, Japan, Spain
Group B
Egypt, Iran, Mexico, Russia
Tuesday
4.15pm: Italy v Japan
5.30pm: Spain v UAE
6.45pm: Egypt v Russia
8pm: Iran v Mexico
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
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FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Saint-Etienne v Montpellier (10.45pm)
Saturday
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Amiens v Bordeaux (10pm)
Angers v Toulouse (10pm)
Metz v Dijon (10pm)
Nantes v Guingamp (10pm)
Rennes v Lille (10pm)
Sunday
Nice v Strasbourg (5pm)
Troyes v Lyon (7pm)
Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain (11pm)
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Top speed: 232kph
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
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Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.
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Her most famous song
Aghadan Alqak (Would I Ever Find You Again)?
Would I ever find you again
You, the heaven of my love, my yearning and madness;
You, the kiss to my soul, my cheer and
sadness?
Would your lights ever break the night of my eyes again?
Would I ever find you again?
This world is volume and you're the notion,
This world is night and you're the lifetime,
This world is eyes and you're the vision,
This world is sky and you're the moon time,
Have mercy on the heart that belongs to you.
Lyrics: Al Hadi Adam; Composer: Mohammed Abdel Wahab
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SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammed Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Saeed Ahmed, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Muhammed Jumah, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
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