Bahrain claims Hizbollah trained plotters in Lebanon and Iran
The Bahraini government reportedly tells the United Nations that the Lebanese Shiite movement Hizbollah has been directly involved in a plot to overthrow the country's ruling family.
BEIRUT // The Bahraini government has reportedly appealed to the United Nations over accusations that the Lebanese Shiite movement Hizbollah has been directly involved in a plot to overthrow the country's ruling family.
A report published yesterday in the Wall Street Journal claims the Bahraini government sent a letter to the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon last week, detailing allegations that Hizbollah provided training in Lebanon and Iran for members of Bahrain's opposition movement.
"Several terrorist acts carried out in Bahrain have revealed that many Bahraini Shiites received military training from Lebanon's Hizbollah," the letter reads. "Evidence confirms that Bahraini elements are being trained in Hizbollah camps specifically established to train assets from the Gulf."
This is not the first time the Bahraini government has made such claims. Late last month, Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al Khalifa, the country's foreign minister, also alleged that Hizbollah had provided military training to groups taking part in pro-reform protests.
Hizbollah previously denied the allegations, describing the claims as "false accusations" aimed at misleading "the public about the peaceful movement of the oppressed Bahraini people".
Since pro-democracy protests began on February 14, about 30 people have been killed and 500 detained, according to opposition groups.
State media announced on Sunday that the military prosecutor would pursue the death penalty for seven men arrested on charges of killing two policemen during the recent anti-government protests.
According to the Bahrain News Agency (BNA), the prosecutor claimed that the accused had attacked the policemen for "terrorist reasons", and called "for inflicting the capital punishment on them".
Lawyers representing the seven men said they denied the charges.
Security forces have also been accused of demolishing 30 mosques. Matar Ibrahim, a member of Bahrain's main opposition group Al Wefaq, said 10 mosques were demolished in the village of Nuwaidrat in one night alone last week.
"This is about inflaming sectarian tensions and they want the message to go out that they are protecting Sunnis against the Shia," Mr Ibrahim said yesterday.
While he did not confirm the number of buildings destroyed, Sheikh Khalid bin Ali al Khalifa, the minister of justice, said late last week that structures had been torn down because they were "unlicensed buildings".
While the pro-democracy demonstrations have been largely quelled in the last month, the government's crackdown on the opposition continues. An estimated 500 people have been detained, including leading members of the opposition, lawyers, human rights activists and doctors.
Even athletes have been caught up in the mass arrests, with the Bahrain Football Association confirming yesterday that three players from the national team have been detained. The association said six clubs in the island kingdom's domestic league have withdrawn from the competition.
In addition to arrests, there have been reports of 900 people who are believed to have been part of the protest movement being fired from their jobs in recent weeks.
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Venom
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed
Rating: 1.5/5
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
Scotland 371-5, 50 overs (C MacLeod 140 no, K Coetzer 58, G Munsey 55)
England 365 all out, 48.5 overs (J Bairstow 105, A Hales 52; M Watt 3-55)
Result: Scotland won by six runs
The chef's advice
Troy Payne, head chef at Abu Dhabi’s newest healthy eatery Sanderson’s in Al Seef Resort & Spa, says singles need to change their mindset about how they approach the supermarket.
“They feel like they can’t buy one cucumber,” he says. “But I can walk into a shop – I feed two people at home – and I’ll walk into a shop and I buy one cucumber, I’ll buy one onion.”
Mr Payne asks for the sticker to be placed directly on each item, rather than face the temptation of filling one of the two-kilogram capacity plastic bags on offer.
The chef also advises singletons not get too hung up on “organic”, particularly high-priced varieties that have been flown in from far-flung locales. Local produce is often grown sustainably, and far cheaper, he says.