epa08759902 French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the end of a visit on the fight against separatism at the Seine Saint Denis prefecture headquarters in Bobigny, northeastern suburbs of Paris, France, 20 October 2020. EPA/LUDOVIC MARIN / POOL MAXPPP OUT
epa08759902 French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the end of a visit on the fight against separatism at the Seine Saint Denis prefecture headquarters in Bobigny, northeastern suburbs of Paris, France, 20 October 2020. EPA/LUDOVIC MARIN / POOL MAXPPP OUT
epa08759902 French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the end of a visit on the fight against separatism at the Seine Saint Denis prefecture headquarters in Bobigny, northeastern suburbs of Paris, France, 20 October 2020. EPA/LUDOVIC MARIN / POOL MAXPPP OUT
epa08759902 French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the end of a visit on the fight against separatism at the Seine Saint Denis prefecture headquarters in Bobigny, northeastern suburbs o

Macron bans pro-Hamas group after founder is implicated in beheading of Samuel Paty


Jamie Prentis
  • English
  • Arabic

France has banned a pro-Hamas group active in the country after it was accused of being directly implicated in the beheading of schoolteacher Samuel Paty in Paris last week, as French authorities intensified their actions against alleged extremists.

President Emmanuel Macron said the Cheikh Yassine Collective, named after the founder of Hamas, would be prohibited from Wednesday. A Paris mosque that shared a denunciation of Mr Paty will also be closed.

Mr Paty was murdered by 18-year-old Chechen refugee Abdulakh Anzorov after the schoolteacher showed caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in a class discussion about freedom of expression. Anzorov was later shot dead by police.

"This is not about making more statements," Mr Macron said during a visit to a Paris suburb. "Our fellow citizens expect actions. These actions will be stepped up."

He said he wanted to see “tangible results” to combat “an ideology of destruction of the (French) Republic”.

Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Tuesday that authorities were targeting “all associations whose complicity with radical Islamism has been established”.

French police believe that at least one pupil was paid by the killer to identify his target.

Anti-terrorism and intelligence investigators have reportedly discovered that Anzorov received hundreds of euros from an unidentified source to help him pay pupils to identify the teacher.

One boy of 15, among four pupils detained for questioning, has admitted receiving money for pointing Mr Paty out. It is not clear what, if anything, the killer told him about his intentions.

The Cheikh Yassine Collective was set up by Abdelhakim Sefrioui, who has been arrested as part of the investigation into the attack.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Sefrioui had helped spread a virulent message against Mr Paty before the beheading. The teacher had been subject to widespread hate online for showing the caricatures.

Hamas said it had no links to, or organisational relationship with, Sefrioui or his group.

A disgruntled parent who had stirred anger about Mr Paty's lesson through messages on social media had communicated on WhatsApp with Anzorov in the days leading up to the murder.

The material he uploaded was widely shared, including by a mosque in the northern Paris suburb of Pantin, which is being closed for six months from Wednesday night.

A sign posted by the regional prefecture at the mosque entrance said the place of worship would be shut, with a six-month prison sentence for violators.

  • French President Emmanuel Macron, flanked by French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, speaks to the press in front of a middle school in Conflans Saint-Honorine. AFP, Pool
    French President Emmanuel Macron, flanked by French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, speaks to the press in front of a middle school in Conflans Saint-Honorine. AFP, Pool
  • Teachers carrying a sign that reads 'I am a Teacher' lays flowers in front of Bois d'Aulne middle school to pay their respect after a teacher was assassinated in Conflans Sainte-Honorine. EPA
    Teachers carrying a sign that reads 'I am a Teacher' lays flowers in front of Bois d'Aulne middle school to pay their respect after a teacher was assassinated in Conflans Sainte-Honorine. EPA
  • French CRS police officers stand as adults and children gather in front of flowers displayed at the entrance of a middle school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, 30kms northwest of Paris, on October 17, 2020, after a teacher was decapitated by an attacker who has been shot dead by policemen. The man suspected of beheading on October 16 ,2020 a French teacher who had shown his students cartoons of the prophet Mohammed was an 18-year-old born in Moscow and originating from Russia's southern region of Chechnya, a judicial source said on October 17. Five more people have been detained over the murder on October 16 ,2020 outside Paris, including the parents of a child at the school where the teacher was working, bringing to nine the total number currently under arrest, said the source, who asked not to be named. The attack happened at around 5 pm (1500 GMT) near a school in Conflans Saint-Honorine, a western suburb of the French capital. The man who was decapitated was a history teacher who had recently shown caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in class. / AFP / Bertrand GUAY
    French CRS police officers stand as adults and children gather in front of flowers displayed at the entrance of a middle school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, 30kms northwest of Paris, on October 17, 2020, after a teacher was decapitated by an attacker who has been shot dead by policemen. The man suspected of beheading on October 16 ,2020 a French teacher who had shown his students cartoons of the prophet Mohammed was an 18-year-old born in Moscow and originating from Russia's southern region of Chechnya, a judicial source said on October 17. Five more people have been detained over the murder on October 16 ,2020 outside Paris, including the parents of a child at the school where the teacher was working, bringing to nine the total number currently under arrest, said the source, who asked not to be named. The attack happened at around 5 pm (1500 GMT) near a school in Conflans Saint-Honorine, a western suburb of the French capital. The man who was decapitated was a history teacher who had recently shown caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in class. / AFP / Bertrand GUAY
  • Teachers and the public lay flowers in front of Bois d'Aulne middle school to pay their respect after a teacher was assassinated in Conflans Sainte-Honorine. AP
    Teachers and the public lay flowers in front of Bois d'Aulne middle school to pay their respect after a teacher was assassinated in Conflans Sainte-Honorine. AP
  • Teachers and the public lay flowers in front of Bois d'Aulne middle school to pay their respect after a teacher was assassinated in Conflans Sainte-Honorine. AP
    Teachers and the public lay flowers in front of Bois d'Aulne middle school to pay their respect after a teacher was assassinated in Conflans Sainte-Honorine. AP
  • Teachers and the public lay flowers in front of Bois d'Aulne middle school to pay their respect after a teacher was assassinated in Conflans Sainte-Honorine. AP
    Teachers and the public lay flowers in front of Bois d'Aulne middle school to pay their respect after a teacher was assassinated in Conflans Sainte-Honorine. AP
  • French police officers stand outside a high school after a history teacher who opened a discussion with students on caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad was beheaded. AP
    French police officers stand outside a high school after a history teacher who opened a discussion with students on caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad was beheaded. AP
  • French police officers stand outside a high school after a history teacher who opened a discussion with students on caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad was beheaded. Getty Images
    French police officers stand outside a high school after a history teacher who opened a discussion with students on caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad was beheaded. Getty Images
  • French Education, Youth and Sports Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer speaks to medias in Paris after a teacher was decapitated by an attacker who has been shot dead by policemen. AFP
    French Education, Youth and Sports Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer speaks to medias in Paris after a teacher was decapitated by an attacker who has been shot dead by policemen. AFP
  • People hold a sign reading 'I am a teacher - Freedom of speech' in front of a middle school in Conflans Saint-Honorine, 30kms northwest of Paris, on October 17, 2020, after a teacher was decapitated by an attacker who has been shot dead by policemen. The man suspected of beheading on October 16 ,2020 a French teacher who had shown his students cartoons of the prophet Mohammed was an 18-year-old born in Moscow and originating from Russia's southern region of Chechnya, a judicial source said on October 17. Five more people have been detained over the murder on October 16 ,2020 outside Paris, including the parents of a child at the school where the teacher was working, bringing to nine the total number currently under arrest, said the source, who asked not to be named. The attack happened at around 5 pm (1500 GMT) near a school in Conflans Saint-Honorine, a western suburb of the French capital. The man who was decapitated was a history teacher who had recently shown caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in class. / AFP / Bertrand GUAY
    People hold a sign reading 'I am a teacher - Freedom of speech' in front of a middle school in Conflans Saint-Honorine, 30kms northwest of Paris, on October 17, 2020, after a teacher was decapitated by an attacker who has been shot dead by policemen. The man suspected of beheading on October 16 ,2020 a French teacher who had shown his students cartoons of the prophet Mohammed was an 18-year-old born in Moscow and originating from Russia's southern region of Chechnya, a judicial source said on October 17. Five more people have been detained over the murder on October 16 ,2020 outside Paris, including the parents of a child at the school where the teacher was working, bringing to nine the total number currently under arrest, said the source, who asked not to be named. The attack happened at around 5 pm (1500 GMT) near a school in Conflans Saint-Honorine, a western suburb of the French capital. The man who was decapitated was a history teacher who had recently shown caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in class. / AFP / Bertrand GUAY

Prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old are among seven people initially detained for questioning who appeared before an investigating magistrate today on accusations of "complicity in murder in relation with a terrorist undertaking" and "criminal conspiracy."

“The investigation has established that the perpetrator knew the name of the teacher, the name of the school and its address, yet he did not have the means to identify him,” the prosecutor said. “That identification has only been possible with the help of students from the same school.”

“That’s why the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office has decided to prosecute two under-18 minors whose implication in the identification of the victim for the killer has appeared to be conclusive,” he said.

The other suspects also include a student’s father who posted videos on social media that called for mobilisation against the teacher and an Islamist activist who helped the man disseminate the virulent messages, which named Paty and gave the school’s address, Mr Ricard said.

Two more men, aged 18 and 19, are accused of having helped the attacker by accompanying him when he bought the weapons, including a knife and an airsoft gun, that were found near the 18-year-old’s body, according to the prosecutor. One of them allegedly drove Anzorov 90 kilometres from the Normandy town of Evreux to near the school about three hours before the killing.

Another 18-year-old suspect had close contacts with the attacker and endorsed radical Islamism, Mr Ricard said.

Al three, who were friends of Anzorov, allegedly said that “he was ‘radicalising’ for several months, marked by a change of behaviour, physical appearance, isolation, an assiduous frequentation of the mosque and ambiguous remarks about Jihad and the Islamic State group”.

On Wednesday evening, Mr Macron will attend an official memorial with Mr Paty's family and some 400 guests at the Sorbonne university, posthumously giving the teacher France's highest award, the Legion d'Honneur.

More than a thousand people gathered on Tuesday at the place where Mr Paty was murdered as he left school in the northwest of Paris.

Mr Paty's beheading was the second knife attack claimed in the name of avenging Prophet Mohammed since a trial started last month over the Charlie Hebdo killings in 2015, when 12 people were gunned down for publishing cartoons of the Prophet.

Mr Macron has made sweeping proposals for combating extremism in French society, which will be presented to his cabinet in December.

With his presidential term ending in 2022, he sees a need to counter claims by his main rival, the far-right Marine le Pen, that his responses to terrorism and Islamism in society are inadequate.

Doubts had been expressed about his ability to win a parliamentary majority for his anti-Islamism measures.

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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

 

 

About Takalam

Date started: early 2020

Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: HealthTech and wellness

Number of staff: 4

Funding to date: Bootstrapped

If you go...

Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.

Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50

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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
  1. Join parent networks
  2. Look beyond school fees
  3. Keep an open mind
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.

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 

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Russia's Muslim Heartlands

Dominic Rubin, Oxford