President Donald Trump declared mission accomplished last night after airstrikes destroyed three Syrian chemical weapons sites in the most significant US-led military operation against the regime of Bashar Al Assad of the seven-year civil war.
More than 100 missiles were fired at the targets near Damascus and Homs early Saturday in a ‘limited and targeted’ operation aimed at sending a potent message to the Assad regime but stopping short of securing regime change, according to western military and political leaders.
“A perfectly executed strike last night,” said Mr Trump in a Tweet following the joint operation by US, British and French forces. “Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!”
Syria and its allies condemned the attack and Russia called a meeting of the UN Security Council last night to discuss what it described as a blatant disregard for international law. Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, urged restraint to avoid escalation in the region.
The Pentagon described the attack as ‘precise, overwhelming and effective’ with two thirds of the missiles targeting and destroying the key research centre of the Syrian chemical weapons programme at Barzah near Damascus.
Syrian state TV broadcast images of the destruction at the site, including piles of rubble and a burnt vehicle. The Syrian military said it destroyed laboratories and an educational centre.
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Read more:
[ US starts air strikes in Syria in response to chemical weapons attack — live updates ]
[ Bashar Al Assad: Western strikes make Syria more determined ]
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Two other chemical weapons facilities near Homs were targeted, the Pentagon said. US officials said that none of the 105 missiles had been intercepted by Syrian air defences.
The Pentagon said it was unaware of civilian casualties but said the attack had sparked a 2,000 per cent increase in Russian trolling activity.
The scale of the strikes was less than expected in some quarters with Mr Assad saying the attacks would only make Syria more determined to continue its operations. In a calculated show of defiance, the presidency posted a video showing Mr Assad apparently turning up for work following the attacks.
Hundreds of pro-Assad supporters gathered in a Damascus square immediately after the attack to celebrate what they claimed was the successful shooting down of US missiles. Russia’s defence ministry claimed that 71 of the missiles were shot down, a claim denied by the US authorities.
"We are not scared of America's missiles. We humiliated their missiles," said Mahmoud Ibrahim, waving a Syrian flag and hanging out of a car window.
Russia, Iran and China all condemned the attacks. There was a mixed reaction from the Arab world to the US-led operation first mooted by Mr Trump a week ago following a suspected chemical weapons attack that left 75 people dead in the rebel-held town of Douma last weekend.
Russia’s defence ministry claimed that the strikes were designed to disrupt an investigation by a team from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) which was due to start work on Saturday in Douma. The inspectors said they would go ahead with their investigation despite the strikes.
Theresa May, the UK prime minister, faced questions over the legality of the operation and was expected to face a political backlash on Monday she faced MPs after ordering British aircraft to attack without the backing of parliament.
But European allies lined up to support the ‘limited’ operation as it emerged that the US had warned Moscow about the airstrikes in advance to avoid Russian casualties and avoid a broader conflict between the major powers.
The Pentagon on Saturday that the strikes had set back the Syrian chemical weapons programme back years, even as Mr Trump kept the option open for further attacks on the regime until it stopped its use of prohibited agents.
The US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Mr Trump had told her that "the United States is locked and loaded" to strike again if Mr Al Assad used chemical weapons again.
Relaying a message from Mr Trump at an emergency Security Council meeting on Syria, Ms Haley said: "When our president draws a red line, our president enforces the red line."
Mr Trump's position appeared at odds with Defence Secretary James Mattis who described the attack as a “one-time shot” amid reported differences between the two men in previous days over the extent of the response against Syria.
Mrs May said that the strikes delivered a broader message to Russia about the illegal use of chemical weapons following the poisoning of a former spy in the UK, an attack blamed on Russia. She called for a renewed diplomatic effort to strengthen the international laws against the use of such weapons.
Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the attacks in the “most serious way". Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called the airstrikes a "military crime”, according to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency.
EMIRATES'S REVISED A350 DEPLOYMENT SCHEDULE
Edinburgh: November 4 (unchanged)
Bahrain: November 15 (from September 15); second daily service from January 1
Kuwait: November 15 (from September 16)
Mumbai: January 1 (from October 27)
Ahmedabad: January 1 (from October 27)
Colombo: January 2 (from January 1)
Muscat: March 1 (from December 1)
Lyon: March 1 (from December 1)
Bologna: March 1 (from December 1)
Source: Emirates
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The Roundup : No Way Out
Director: Lee Sang-yong
Stars: Don Lee, Lee Jun-hyuk, Munetaka Aoki
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
TWISTERS
Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Starring: Glenn Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos
Rating: 2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
A QUIET PLACE
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: Single front-axle electric motor
Power: 218hp
Torque: 330Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 402km (claimed)
Price: From Dh215,000 (estimate)
On sale: September
IF YOU GO
The flights: FlyDubai offers direct flights to Catania Airport from Dubai International Terminal 2 daily with return fares starting from Dh1,895.
The details: Access to the 2,900-metre elevation point at Mount Etna by cable car and 4x4 transport vehicle cost around €57.50 (Dh248) per adult. Entry into Teatro Greco costs €10 (Dh43). For more go to www.visitsicily.info
Where to stay: Hilton Giardini Naxos offers beachfront access and accessible to Taormina and Mount Etna. Rooms start from around €130 (Dh561) per night, including taxes.
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,100,000 (est)
Engine 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch
Power 630bhp @ 8,000rpm
Torque 600Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 15.7L / 100km (est)
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Turning waste into fuel
Average amount of biofuel produced at DIC factory every month: Approximately 106,000 litres
Amount of biofuel produced from 1 litre of used cooking oil: 920ml (92%)
Time required for one full cycle of production from used cooking oil to biofuel: One day
Energy requirements for one cycle of production from 1,000 litres of used cooking oil:
▪ Electricity - 1.1904 units
▪ Water- 31 litres
▪ Diesel – 26.275 litres
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk