Hundreds of aid workers of the ‘White Helmet’ civil defence group and their families were evacuated from Syria early Sunday in an international operation that transported them through Israel and into Jordan as the forces of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad closed in.
The operation to remove the rescue workers from the province of Quneitra took place at the request of Britain, Germany and Canada with a view to resettling the evacuees in the West on humanitarian grounds.
Jordan said 422 people were brought from southwestern Syria, over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights frontier and into Jordan, down from a figure of 800 announced earlier by the foreign ministry in Amman.
The rescue workers have been lauded in the West for their heroism but the Syrian regime accuses the group of being a propaganda tool for the West and aligned with militant groups, an accusation lacking in evidence.
The evacuees will be kept in a “closed” location in Jordan and resettled in Britain, Germany and Canada within three months
Around 800 people were expected to leave in the operation but it was hampered by Syrian government checkpoints and the activity of ISIS-affiliated militants in the area.
Muhannad, a member of the White Helmets in southwestern Syria who was unable to reach Quneitra as part of the evacuation, told The National that around 260 civil defence workers left in the evacuation, alongside relatives that brought the number to around 500 in total. He said the prospect of regime retaliation has forced the group's members to retreat to safer areas or flee.
“When the negotiations took place with the Russians, the negotiators could not give us clear answers about our fate. There were no guarantees about our safety,” he said.
The organisation has been told that it was a one-time evacuation, but its members are lobbying for more to be allowed to escape the regime advances.
“We are making pleas for humanitarian reasons to evacuate the rest in Deraa,” he continued, referencing the neighbouring province to Quneitra.
The Syrian government is now accusing those remaining of collaborating with Israel and threatening that they “will be executed” for their dealings with the country that Syria has long warred with.
“We want to leave to any safe place and we want to be evacuated quickly,” Muhannad said of the dozens of rescue workers who remain trapped in southwestern Syria.
White Helmets head Raed Saleh said the evacuated workers had arrived in Jordan after being "surrounded in a dangerous region".
He told The National that the relocated people had been encircled in the provinces of Deraa and Quneitra, but did not elaborate on the exact numbers of those moved.
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Read more:
The fall of Deraa: Syrian revolt folding under weight of Assad onslaught
Syrian regime forces close in on area near Israeli-annexed Golan Heights
Turkey’s Erdogan says Syrian regime forces targeting Idlib could destroy accord
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He wrote on Twitter that the White Helmets will release an official statement on the matter on Monday.
German weekly magazine Bild, the first to break the news of the evacuation, quoted German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas as saying: "Humanity dictates that many of these brave first-aiders should now find protection and refuge, some of them in Germany."
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said she “called for global leadership to support and help these heroes” during a meeting of foreign ministers at the Nato leaders' summit in Brussels a week ago.
The White Helmets, founded in 2013 amid Syria’s bloody civil war, have rescued thousands of civilians trapped under the rubble or caught up in fighting in opposition-held zones along the fronts of Syria's seven-year conflict.
Since its formation, when Syria's conflict was nearing its third year, more than 200 of its volunteers have died and another 500 have been wounded.
The group's motto – "To save one life is to save all of humanity" – is drawn from a verse in the Quran, although the White Helmets insist they treat all victims, regardless of religion.
Some members have received training abroad, including in Turkey, returning to instruct colleagues on search-and-rescue techniques.
The group receives funding from a number of governments, including Britain, Germany and the United States, but also solicits individual donations to purchase equipment such as its signature hard hats.
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt confirmed the operation in a joint statement that praised the “brave and selfless work” of the group.
“We judged that, in these particular circumstances, the volunteers required immediate protection,” they said.
Last year, a Netflix production called The White Helmets won an Academy Award for the best short documentary.
A second film on the group, named Last Men in Aleppo, was this year nominated for an Oscar.
This story contains additional reporting from Reuters
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.
Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.
Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.
When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety
AIR
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Results
2pm: Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (Dirt) 1,200m, Winner: Mouheeb, Tom Marquand (jockey), Nicholas Bachalard (trainer)
2.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Honourable Justice, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Dahawi, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
3.30pm: Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Dark Silver, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash
4pm: Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Dark Of Night. Antonio Fresu, Al Muhairi.
4.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Habah, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
What should do investors do now?
What does the S&P 500's new all-time high mean for the average investor?
Should I be euphoric?
No. It's fine to be pleased about hearty returns on your investments. But it's not a good idea to tie your emotions closely to the ups and downs of the stock market. You'll get tired fast. This market moment comes on the heels of last year's nosedive. And it's not the first or last time the stock market will make a dramatic move.
So what happened?
It's more about what happened last year. Many of the concerns that triggered that plunge towards the end of last have largely been quelled. The US and China are slowly moving toward a trade agreement. The Federal Reserve has indicated it likely will not raise rates at all in 2019 after seven recent increases. And those changes, along with some strong earnings reports and broader healthy economic indicators, have fueled some optimism in stock markets.
"The panic in the fourth quarter was based mostly on fears," says Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist for Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company. "The fundamentals have mostly held up, while the fears have gone away and the fears were based mostly on emotion."
Should I buy? Should I sell?
Maybe. It depends on what your long-term investment plan is. The best advice is usually the same no matter the day — determine your financial goals, make a plan to reach them and stick to it.
"I would encourage (investors) not to overreact to highs, just as I would encourage them not to overreact to the lows of December," Mr Schutte says.
All the same, there are some situations in which you should consider taking action. If you think you can't live through another low like last year, the time to get out is now. If the balance of assets in your portfolio is out of whack thanks to the rise of the stock market, make adjustments. And if you need your money in the next five to 10 years, it shouldn't be in stocks anyhow. But for most people, it's also a good time to just leave things be.
Resist the urge to abandon the diversification of your portfolio, Mr Schutte cautions. It may be tempting to shed other investments that aren't performing as well, such as some international stocks, but diversification is designed to help steady your performance over time.
Will the rally last?
No one knows for sure. But David Bailin, chief investment officer at Citi Private Bank, expects the US market could move up 5 per cent to 7 per cent more over the next nine to 12 months, provided the Fed doesn't raise rates and earnings growth exceeds current expectations. We are in a late cycle market, a period when US equities have historically done very well, but volatility also rises, he says.
"This phase can last six months to several years, but it's important clients remain invested and not try to prematurely position for a contraction of the market," Mr Bailin says. "Doing so would risk missing out on important portfolio returns."
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
Company%20Profile
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DUBAI%20BLING%3A%20EPISODE%201
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SPECS%3A%20Polestar%203
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Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
Islamic%20Architecture%3A%20A%20World%20History
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eric%20Broug%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Thames%20%26amp%3B%20Hudson%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20336%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20September%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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