Afghan soldiers attend a graduation ceremony of Afghan National Army soldiers in Shorabak district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, 26 April 2018. The Afghan army has been plagued by desertions in recent times as militants continue to inflict high casualties. Watan Yar / EPA
Afghan soldiers attend a graduation ceremony of Afghan National Army soldiers in Shorabak district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, 26 April 2018. The Afghan army has been plagued by desertions in recent times as militants continue to inflict high casualties. Watan Yar / EPA
Afghan soldiers attend a graduation ceremony of Afghan National Army soldiers in Shorabak district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, 26 April 2018. The Afghan army has been plagued by desertions in recent times as militants continue to inflict high casualties. Watan Yar / EPA
Afghan soldiers attend a graduation ceremony of Afghan National Army soldiers in Shorabak district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, 26 April 2018. The Afghan army has been plagued by desertions in re

Afghan security forces shrink as insurgent groups gain control


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The number of security forces in Afghanistan shrunk by nearly 11 per cent in the past year, a US government watchdog said on Tuesday, paving the way towards an increasingly precarious situation.

There are just under 30,000 forces in war-torn Afghanistan as of January 31, a meager number for a country that witnessed eight terrorist attacks in the capital alone this year.

According to Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the Taliban and other insurgent groups exert control over 14.5 per cent of Afghanistan. This, says the watchdog, is the highest level since SIGAR began recording this type of data three years ago.

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Read more:

ISIS killed 10 of my colleagues today: Afghanistan reporter recounts bombing in Kabul

Taliban suicide bomber kills six in Helmand as spring offensive begins

Afghanistan launches leaflet drop to boost lacklustre voter registration

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The Taliban and ISIS have both stepped up their attacks on Afghan troops and police, as well as civilians. SIGAR figures provided by US forces showed that more than 5,000 local troops were killed each year. This information was recently rendered classified by the Afghan government.

The government, meanwhile, controls 56.3 per cent of the districts, with the remainder considered "contested."

Last week the Taliban announced the start of their annual spring offensive, in a move that reiterated their rejection of an offer for peace talks by President Ashraf Ghani.

The announcement of the Al Khandaq campaign, named after the so-called Battle of the Trench, fought by the Prophet Mohammed to defend the city of Medina in the early days of Islam, marks the start of the fighting season.

Hundreds of people have died recently in a series of high-profile attacks in Kabul, while heavy fighting has been ongoing in different parts of the country, despite Mr Ghani's offer in February of peace talks "without preconditions".

The most recent attack in Kabul claimed the life of 25 people, including ten journalists, in the deadliest day for the country's media since 2001.

Fighters are targeting journalists in Afghanistan because they are weakened and want more news coverage in order to undermine the country's electoral process ahead of an expected vote in October, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis  said on Monday.

"We anticipated that they would do their best to try to bring bombs right into Kabul," he said in reference to insurgent groups.

Since responsibility for security began transitioning to the Afghan government in 2014, green on green attacks, in which ANDSF personnel are attacked from within their own ranks, often by an insurgent infiltrator, have been a consistently severe problem.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) attributed the majority of civilian casualties in 2017 (65 per cent) to anti-government groups which included civilian casualties caused by the Taliban (42 per cent), ISIS in Afghanistan (10 per cent), and unspecified anti-government groups (13 per cent).

Last week SIGAR faulted the World Bank and Afghanistan’s government for failing to shield billions of dollars in aid from potential waste or misuse, saying that long-identified weaknesses remain in a programme that provides 40 per cent of non-military expenditures in the country.

Billions of dollars of reconstruction cash are flowing into Afghanistan with limited accounting of where and how the funds are being spent. This is another sign of the troubles the US, its allies and President Ashraf Ghani’s government are having in improving governance while staving off advances by the Taliban and ISIS.

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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25%20Days%20to%20Aden
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Results

Stage 7:

1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29

2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time

3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious

4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep

5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM

General Classification:

1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28

2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35

3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02

4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42

5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45

Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETwig%20Solutions%20(with%20trade%20name%20Twig)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChafic%20Idriss%2C%20Karam%20El%20Dik%20and%20Rayan%20Antonios%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Ebootstrapped%20(undisclosed)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E13%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-seed%20%E2%80%94%20closing%20the%20round%20as%20we%20speak%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20senior%20executives%20from%20the%20GCC%20financial%20services%20industry%20and%20global%20family%20offices%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RIDE%20ON
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Larry%20Yang%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Jackie%20Chan%2C%20Liu%20Haocun%2C%20Kevin%20Guo%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

Who has been sanctioned?

Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.

Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.

Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.

Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.

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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

Biog

Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara

He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada

Father of two sons, grandfather of six

Plays golf once a week

Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family

Walks for an hour every morning

Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India

2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business

 

Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

MATCH INFO

Euro 2020 qualifier

Norway v Spain, Saturday, 10.45pm, UAE

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega

Director: Tim Burton

Rating: 3/5

OPTA'S PREDICTED TABLE

1. Liverpool 101 points

2. Manchester City 80 

3. Leicester 67

4. Chelsea 63

5. Manchester United 61

6. Tottenham 58

7. Wolves 56

8. Arsenal 56

9. Sheffield United 55

10. Everton 50

11. Burnley 49

12. Crystal Palace 49

13. Newcastle 46

14. Southampton 44

15. West Ham 39

16. Brighton 37

17. Watford 36

18. Bournemouth 36

19. Aston Villa 32

20. Norwich City 29

 

 

 

 

 

 

Western Clubs Champions League:

  • Friday, Sep 8 - Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Bahrain
  • Friday, Sep 15 – Kandy v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
  • Friday, Sep 22 – Kandy v Bahrain
Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press

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The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm

Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km

Price: from Dh94,900

On sale: now

Roll of honour 2019-2020

Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain

West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership

UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes

UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II

UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby

Company%20Profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Napoleon
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Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law