Iraqi president refuses to sign Aziz's death warrant


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The Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, said today he would never sign former deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz's execution order, saying it was time to turn the page on the country's history of capital punishment.

"No, I will not sign this kind of order because I am a socialist," Mr Talabani told France 24 television during an interview. "I feel for Tareq Aziz, because he's an Iraqi Christian, and he's also an elderly person over 70 years old. That's why I will never sign this execution order."

Aziz was given the death penalty on October 26 for a crackdown on Shiite religious parties in the 1980s, and is also on trial for a crackdown on Iraqi Kurds, of which Mr Talabani is one.
Iraq's supreme criminal court found the long-time international face of the Saddam Hussein regime guilty of "deliberate murder and crimes against humanity," sentencing him to death.
The verdict provoked a wave of appeals for clemency from around the world, including from rights groups, the European Union, Russia and the Vatican.

Aged 74, in poor health and among Saddam's few surviving top cohorts, Aziz has been in prison since surrendering in April 2003, a month after the US-led invasion of Iraq.
The court also sentenced Aziz to 15 years imprisonment for "committing torture" and 10 years for "participating in torture," and ordered that all of his known wealth be confiscated.

Two other men received the death sentence at the same time as Aziz – former interior minister Saadoun Shaker and Abid Hmoud, an aide to Saddam.
All three were sentenced for their role in the crackdown on Shiites, but the urbane Aziz was by far the most prominent figure.

Named foreign minister in 1983 and then deputy prime minister in 1991, Aziz exploited his mastery of English to put a gloss on Saddam's murderous regime for two decades.
Mr Talabani has previously said that he is generally against capital punishment, and declined to confirm some court execution orders but without preventing the hangings going ahead.
Aziz was the latest member of Saddam's fallen regime to be ordered to die, but Mr Talabani said it was time to turn the page on the punishment, barring for some sectarian crimes.
"I think that the page of executions needs to be turned, except concerning the crimes committed at the cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and crimes against Shiite pilgrims and holy sites," he said.

At least 46 hostages, including two priests, were killed during a hostage drama with al Qa'eda gunmen in Baghdad's Sayidat al Nejat Syriac Catholic cathedral during Sunday mass at the end of last month.

The Greek president, Carolos Papoulias, called in October on Talabani to intervene to prevent the execution going ahead. "Such a gesture would be greatly appreciated by Iraq's friends in the European Union and internationally, and highlight the difference between the country's democratic present and its past," Mr Papoulias said. Under Iraqi law, death sentences must be carried out within 30 days of being confirmed by the highest court in the land.

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Men from Barca's class of 99

Crystal Palace - Frank de Boer

Everton - Ronald Koeman

Manchester City - Pep Guardiola

Manchester United - Jose Mourinho

Southampton - Mauricio Pellegrino

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Fixtures (6pm UAE unless stated)

Saturday Bournemouth v Leicester City, Chelsea v Manchester City (8.30pm), Huddersfield v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm), Manchester United v Crystal Palace, Stoke City v Southampton, West Bromwich Albion v Watford, West Ham United v Swansea City

Sunday Arsenal v Brighton (3pm), Everton v Burnley (5.15pm), Newcastle United v Liverpool (6.30pm)

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UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

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Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Tips to stay safe during hot weather
  • Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
  • Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
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  • Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
  • Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
  • Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
  • Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
While you're here
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?

The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.

Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.

New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.

“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.

The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.

The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.

Bloomberg

'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'

Rating: 3/5

Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro

Writers: Walter Mosley

Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins

The%20specs
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Sly%20Cooper%20and%20the%20Thievius%20Raccoonus
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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THE CLOWN OF GAZA

Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah 

Starring: Alaa Meqdad

Rating: 4/5

Race card

4pm Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m

4.35pm Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m

5.10pm Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m

5.45pm Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m

6.20pm Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m

6.55pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m

7.30pm Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m

The National selections:

4pm Zabardast

4.35pm Ibn Malik

5.10pm Space Blues

5.45pm Kimbear

6.20pm Barney Roy

6.55pm Matterhorn

7.30pm Defoe

Where to Find Me by Alba Arikha
Alma Books 

RESULTS
%3Cp%3E3.30pm%3A%20Al%20Maktoum%20Challenge%20Round%203%20%E2%80%93%20Group%201%20(PA)%20%2475%2C000%20(Dirt)%202%2C000m%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Jugurtha%20De%20Monlau%2C%20Pat%20Dobbs%20(jockey)%2C%20Jean-Claude%20Pecout%20(trainer)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E4.05pm%3A%20Dubai%20City%20Of%20Gold%20%E2%80%93%20Group%202%20(TB)%20%24250%2C000%20(Turf)%202%2C410m%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Global%20Storm%2C%20William%20Buick%2C%20Charlie%20Appleby%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E4.40pm%3A%20Burj%20Nahaar%20%E2%80%93%20Group%203%20(TB)%20%24250%2C000%20(D)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Discovery%20Island%2C%20James%20Doyle%2C%20Bhupat%20Seemar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E5.15pm%3A%20Nad%20Al%20Sheba%20Turf%20Sprint%20%E2%80%93%20Group%203%20(TB)%20%24250%2C000%20(T)%201%2C200m%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Al%20Dasim%2C%20Mickael%20Barzalona%2C%20George%20Boughey%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E5.50pm%3A%20Al%20Bastakiya%20%E2%80%93%20Listed%20(TB)%20%24170%2C000%20(D)%201%2C900m%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Go%20Soldier%20Go%2C%20Adrie%20de%20Vries%2C%20Fawzi%20Nass%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E6.25pm%3A%20Al%20Maktoum%20Challenge%20Round%203%20%E2%80%93%20Group%201%20(TB)%20%24450%2C000%20(D)%202%2C000m%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Salute%20The%20Soldier%2C%20Adrie%20de%20Vries%2C%20Fawzi%20Nass%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E7.10pm%3A%20Ras%20Al%20Khor%20%E2%80%93%20Conditions%20(TB)%20%24300%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Al%20Suhail%2C%20William%20Buick%2C%20Charlie%20Appleby%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E7.45pm%3A%20Jebel%20Hatta%20%E2%80%93%20Group%201%20(TB)%20%24350%2C000%20(T)%201%2C800m%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Alfareeq%2C%20Dane%20O%E2%80%99Neill%2C%20Charlie%20Appleby%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E8.20pm%3A%20Mahab%20Al%20Shimaal%20%E2%80%93%20Group%203%20(TB)%20%24250%2C000%20(D)%201%2C200m%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Sound%20Money%2C%20Mickael%20Barzalona%2C%20Bhupat%20Seemar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.