Hundreds of Syrian refugees fled their homes in Lebanon's Bekaa valley and their movements were severely restricted after youth from their camp were involved in an incident that left a firefighter in intensive care.
The Lebanese civil defence member was attacked by “a number of Syrian youths” who threw stones at him and at his vehicle as he was trying to extinguish a fire near their camp at the entrance of the small Christian village of Deir Al Ahmar on Wednesday, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.
He suffered a serious head injury and was placed in intensive care, while two colleagues were slightly injured. The army immediately raided the camp and arrested 33 Syrians, NNA said.
The camp was the biggest in the area and housed between 2,000 and 3000 people, a local source who asked to remain anonymous told The National. However, local television network LBCI put the number of residents at 700.
All the residents left the camp after the incident and their whereabouts are unknown. “They probably moved to Baalbek, or somewhere near," the source said, referring to the region’s main city located 17 kilometres away.
The source said the reason for the attack was anger over the time it took for the civil defence to arrive. “They took 25 minutes to come and the Syrians didn’t accept that," he said.
In addition to this, the incident occurred on the second day of Eid Al Fitr holiday, which meant that the camp was crowded with people who had not gone out to work. “When one started throwing rocks, everybody followed," the source said.
No one from the civil defence’s media team was available for comment.
On Wednesday night, the heads of municipalities of Deir Al Ahmar and surrounding villages released a statement condemning the “blatant aggression by a group of displaced Syrians”.
“As a result of public anger and to preserve the security of the displaced, and to prevent the recurrence of such an incident", the municipalities banned Syrians from returning to the camp “under any pretext” and called for the local police to block its entrance.
The source confirmed that a few policemen were guarding the camp on Thursday. However, he expected that residents would be allowed to return to collect their belongings.
The local governor imposed a curfew on Syrians from Wednesday evening to Friday morning to “preserve the security of villagers and of our Syrian brothers”.
Elie Mahfoud, a Lebanese politician and head of the small Movement for Change political party, called on Twitter for the deportation of the Syrians involved in the incident. But no major politicians had commented on the incident on Thursday.
Lebanon is still in shock over an attack in the northern town of Tripoli on Monday night by a former ISIS fighter who killed four soldiers and policemen.
Lebanon hosts nearly a million Syrian refugees who are registered with the UN, and about 500,000 who are unregistered. This places a considerable burden on a small country that struggles to provide adequate services for its own citizens, estimated at between four million and five million.
More than half of the Syrian refugee households live on less than $2.90 (Dh11) per person per day and cannot meet their needs for food, health and shelter, according to a 2018 assessment by the UN refugee agency, the World Food Programme and Unicef.
Politicians have been outspoken about wanting to the Syrians to return home after eight years of war, calling them “displaced”, not “refugees”. Although Lebanon adheres to most other treaties linked to refugee protection, the country has not signed the 1951 convention defining the status and rights of refugees.
Mass retaliation measures against Syrians are rare but not unheard of. In late 2017, a Lebanese woman’s murder by her Syrian concierge in northern Lebanon prompted the eviction of hundreds of Syrians from the area.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
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Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Fixtures (all times UAE)
Saturday
Brescia v Atalanta (6pm)
Genoa v Torino (9pm)
Fiorentina v Lecce (11.45pm)
Sunday
Juventus v Sassuolo (3.30pm)
Inter Milan v SPAL (6pm)
Lazio v Udinese (6pm)
Parma v AC Milan (6pm)
Napoli v Bologna (9pm)
Verona v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Monday
Cagliari v Sampdoria (11.45pm)
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Healthy tips to remember
Here, Dr Mohamed El Abiary, paediatric consultant at Al Zahra Hospital Dubai, shares some advice for parents whose children are fasting during the holy month of Ramadan:
Gradual fasting and golden points - For children under the age of 10, follow a step-by-step approach to fasting and don't push them beyond their limits. Start with a few hours fasting a day and increase it to a half fast and full fast when the child is ready. Every individual's ability varies as per the age and personal readiness. You could introduce a points system that awards the child and offers them encouragement when they make progress with the amount of hours they fast
Why fast? - Explain to your child why they are fasting. By shedding light on the importance of abstaining from food and drink, children may feel more encouraged to give it there all during the observance period. It is also a good opportunity to teach children about controlling urges, doing good for others and instilling healthy food habits
Sleep and suhoor - A child needs adequate sleep every night - at least eight hours. Make sure to set a routine early bedtime so he/she has sufficient time to wake up for suhoor, which is an essential meal at the beginning of the day
Good diet - Nutritious food is crucial to ensuring a healthy Ramadan for children. They must refrain from eating too much junk food as well as canned goods and snacks and drinks high in sugar. Foods that are rich in nutrients, vitamins and proteins, like fruits, fresh meats and vegetables, make for a good balanced diet
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AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
FIGHT CARD
Fights start from 6pm Friday, January 31
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) v Ahmed Saeb (IRQ)
Women’s bantamweight
Cornelia Holm (SWE) v Corinne Laframboise (CAN)
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (JOR) v Vitalii Stoian (UKR)
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) v Ali Dyusenov (UZB)
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) v Delfin Nawen (PHI)
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) v Mohamed El Mokadem (EGY)
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) v Ramadan Noaman (EGY)
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) v Reydon Romero (PHI)
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Juho Valamaa (FIN)
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) v Austin Arnett (USA)
Super heavyweight
Roman Wehbe (LEB) v Maciej Sosnowski (POL)