A rebel fighter during clashes with forces loyal to Syria’s president Bashar Al Assad on the frontline of Aleppo’s Sheikh Saeed neighbourhood on May 23, 2015. Regime forces are fighting the Free Syrian Army as well as ISIL in Syria’s civil war. Hosam Katan/Reuters
A rebel fighter during clashes with forces loyal to Syria’s president Bashar Al Assad on the frontline of Aleppo’s Sheikh Saeed neighbourhood on May 23, 2015. Regime forces are fighting the Free SyriaShow more

ISIL militants firm up control of Iraq-Syria border



BAGHDAD // ISIL took full control of a border crossing between Iraq and Syria on Sunday, tightening its grip on the heart of its self-proclaimed caliphate.

The move gave the militants control of the two main roads between Syria and Iraq’s province of Anbar, and comes a week after the group captured the Iraqi city of Ramadi and days after it seized the historic Syrian city of Palmyra – two of its most significant military victories in almost a year.

Also on Sunday, US defence secretary Ash Carter said the takeover of Ramadi showed that Iraqi forces “showed no will to fight”. It was the harshest assessment yet from a high-ranking Obama administration official.

Speaking to CNN's State of the Union TV show, Mr Carter said, "They were not outnumbered ... In fact, they vastly outnumbered the opposing force. "

ISIL’s recent successes have raised further questions about the efficiency of the US-led coalition’s eight-month air campaign.

Coalition warplanes have conducted more than 3,000 strikes in Iraq and Syria since August 2014 and dozens more were carried out in recent days in a bid to contain the extremists.

Mr Carter defended the use of US airstrikes as an effective part of the fight against ISIL but said they were not a replacement for Iraqi forces defending their country.

“We can participate in the defeat of ISIL,” he said. “But we can’t make Iraq ... a decent place for people to live – we can’t sustain the victory, only the Iraqis can do that.”

ISIL fighters seized Al Walid border post on Sunday when Iraqi government forces pulled back to a nearby crossing with Jordan. The group had taken the Syrian side of the crossing on Thursday.

“There was no military support for the security forces and there weren’t enough of them to protect the crossing,” Suad Jassem, the head of Anbar’s border commission, said.

“Daesh [ISIL] now controls both sides of both crossings,” she said, referring to another crossing between Anbar and Syria further north that the extremists seized last year.

There were seven in Anbar alone in a period of 24 hours straddling May 22-23 as Iraqi government and allied forces began to claw back territory from ISIL east of Ramadi.

Swift action was seen as essential to prevent ISIL from laying booby traps across Ramadi, which would make any advance in the city more risky and complicated.

In Syria, ISIL supporters and a monitoring group said the militants shot down a government helicopter near the Kweyris air base in Aleppo province on Sunday, but state media said the aircraft had suffered technical problems.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman said at least one crew member had been killed but “the fate of the rest is unknown”.

However, militant accounts on Twitter said ISIL had shot down the helicopter using anti-aircraft missiles. “A helicopter crashed after takeoff from Kweyris airport in Aleppo province because of technical faults and the crew were killed,” reported Syrian state TV.

Meanwhile, a Syrian official said the army was deploying troops in areas near the ancient town of Palmyra in preparation for a counterattack to retake the city from ISIL.

Governor Talal Barazi of the central province of Homs, which includes Palmyra, said on Sunday “there is planning, God willing, for a military action in the surroundings of Palmyra” adding it was not yet clear when the attack will be launched.

He also said ISIL members have “committed mass massacres in the city of Palmyra” since they captured it on Wednesday.

Syria’s state media reported on Sunday that ISIL fighters have executed at least 400 people in Palmyra since the fall of Palmyra.

It was not immediately possible to verify the account, but it was consistent with reports by activists that the extremists had carried out executions in the ancient city.

“The terrorists have killed more than 400 people .. and mutilated their bodies, under the pretext that they cooperated with the government and did not follow orders,” Syria’s state news agency said, citing residents inside the city.

* Agence France-Presse, Associated Press and Reuters

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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

Rating: 5/5

How to invest in gold

Investors can tap into the gold price by purchasing physical jewellery, coins and even gold bars, but these need to be stored safely and possibly insured.

A cheaper and more straightforward way to benefit from gold price growth is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Most advisers suggest sticking to “physical” ETFs. These hold actual gold bullion, bars and coins in a vault on investors’ behalf. Others do not hold gold but use derivatives to track the price instead, adding an extra layer of risk. The two biggest physical gold ETFs are SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust.

Another way to invest in gold’s success is to buy gold mining stocks, but Mr Gravier says this brings added risks and can be more volatile. “They have a serious downside potential should the price consolidate.”

Mr Kyprianou says gold and gold miners are two different asset classes. “One is a commodity and the other is a company stock, which means they behave differently.”

Mining companies are a business, susceptible to other market forces, such as worker availability, health and safety, strikes, debt levels, and so on. “These have nothing to do with gold at all. It means that some companies will survive, others won’t.”

By contrast, when gold is mined, it just sits in a vault. “It doesn’t even rust, which means it retains its value,” Mr Kyprianou says.

You may already have exposure to gold miners in your portfolio, say, through an international ETF or actively managed mutual fund.

You could spread this risk with an actively managed fund that invests in a spread of gold miners, with the best known being BlackRock Gold & General. It is up an incredible 55 per cent over the past year, and 240 per cent over five years. As always, past performance is no guide to the future.

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg

Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).

Second leg

Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm

Games on BeIN Sports

Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars

The bio:

Favourite film:

Declan: It was The Commitments but now it’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

Heidi: The Long Kiss Goodnight.

Favourite holiday destination:

Declan: Las Vegas but I also love getting home to Ireland and seeing everyone back home.

Heidi: Australia but my dream destination would be to go to Cuba.

Favourite pastime:

Declan: I love brunching and socializing. Just basically having the craic.

Heidi: Paddleboarding and swimming.

Personal motto:

Declan: Take chances.

Heidi: Live, love, laugh and have no regrets.

 

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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega

Director: Tim Burton

Rating: 3/5

MATCH INFO

What: Brazil v South Korea
When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae

The Perfect Couple

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor

Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5

TOUCH RULES

Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.

Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.

Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.

A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.

After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.

At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.

A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.

Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Director: Venkat Prabhu
Rating: 2/5
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