Last night was the winter solstice – the longest night of the year, an occasion celebrated in Afghanistan and other Persian-speaking countries, where it is known as “shab-e-Yalda”.
It isn’t the prolonged darkness that is celebrated during Yalda. Rather, it is the rebirth of the daylight. Until the next solstice, the days progressively get brighter.
But will Afghanistan's days really get any brighter?
Longer, perhaps. To Afghans who have witnessed ever more monstrous displays of violence on their streets this week, the days certainly feel long.
But brighter? That depends upon the country’s leadership – both within the national government that resides in Kabul and the senior command of the Taliban militant group whose forces occupy much of the nation’s rural areas.
The two were, until 10 days ago, in negotiations known as “intra-Afghan dialogue” in Doha, Qatar, attempting to wade through the morass of their decades-long conflict to find peace on the other side. Now, despite the unrelenting escalation of crisis in Afghanistan, which is caught between the coronavirus pandemic and the civil war, the two sides’ negotiating teams are in the middle of a three-week recess.
More from Sulaiman Hakemy
The recess is a holiday from the stressful negotiating environment of Doha’s luxury hotels, so that both teams can go back to their respective leaders and update them on their progress, which they and others have referred to as a “breakthrough”.
There has been no breakthrough, at least not one that will matter to historians who may one day reflect on the negotiations. The two achievements of the talks between September and now are, first, an agreement by both sides about the procedural rules they will follow during the negotiations and, second, the articulation of the distinct lists of topics they would like to discuss. They have decided – after 20 years of war, multiple years of back-channel communications and three months of the latest rounds of official talks – in what manner they wish to talk to each other and what each side wants to talk about.
The latter is hardly an achievement, as neither side approves of the other’s list of topics, nor the order in which to discuss the topics that overlap. Both sides want to discuss women’s rights, for example, but the Taliban only wants to discuss them within the context of its interpretation of Islamic principles. The Afghan government wants to discuss a ceasefire first. The Taliban wants to discuss it last.
The talks are due to resume on January 5. If that happens, then that may be the real breakthrough. In the history of talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, no deadline has ever been adhered to.
Honouring this deadline is made less likely by the fact that the two sides now disagree about even the venue. The Afghan government wants it to be Afghanistan, but the Taliban fears that this means holding them in territory where the national government’s authority is recognised. Kabul’s response has been that the Taliban can choose any area of the country they like, but the distrust on both sides is so deep that they are now accusing one another of playing tricks.
“Afghans can negotiate under a tent, too, and in cold weather,” Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has said. “This is not the time for luxury hotels to be considered as preconditions.”
At this point, forcing negotiators to huddle together in a cold tent until they find a solution sounds like a constructive idea. The chasm between them is so vast otherwise. The quibbles over procedure and terminology (the Afghan government and Taliban were each insistent they be referred to by titles the other side doesn’t recognise) that have taken three months to hash out are utterly insignificant compared to the fundamental questions remaining, such as what kind of government and constitution Afghanistan should have. They are an absurdity compared to the overwhelming importance of securing an immediate and total ceasefire.
When the Doha talks began in September, the civilian death toll in Afghanistan’s war for 2020 stood at 2,100. The numbers continue to grow, and the attacks are so regular and ubiquitous that it begins to look like every Afghan life is under personal siege. Last week alone, 31 Afghan civilians were killed in the war. Several journalists have been killed this month. This morning, five people, including four doctors, were killed in a car bomb in Kabul. Last Friday, 15 children were killed when unexploded ordnance they were attempting to sell went off. Over the past 14 years, 26,000 Afghan children have been killed or maimed.
I have always found the phrase “intra-Afghan dialogue” to be curious. After all, why not “inter-Afghan dialogue”, which would more accurately reflect dialogue “between” Afghans? On reflection, however, “intra”, meaning “within”, is far more appropriate. Whoever coined it to describe these negotiations really knew the nature of the task.
The dialogue that has taken place thus far wasn’t really between Afghans at all. It has been within each side, as they struggle to continue pushing narrow strategies, pettiness and pride in the face of mounting casualties and a widening divide. They struggle to open their minds, and so delay any frank discussion of what an Afghanistan that really, practically works will look like.
Until that changes, the long night continues.
Sulaiman Hakemy is opinion editor at The National
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Company%20Profile
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KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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More on Quran memorisation:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Youth YouTuber Programme
The programme will be presented over two weeks and will cover the following topics:
- Learning, scripting, storytelling and basic shots
- Master on-camera presence and advanced script writing
- Beating the algorithm and reaching your core audience
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Results
5.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m
Winner Spirit Of Light, Clement Lecoeuvre (jockey), Erwan Charpy (trainer)
6.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner Bright Start, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor
6.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 2,000m
Winner Twelfthofneverland, Nathan Crosse, Satish Seemar
7.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh85,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Imperial Empire, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
7.50pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 2,000m
Winner Record Man, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
8.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 1,600m
Winner Celtic Prince, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly
Race card
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sour%20Grapes
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
The%20specs
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
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.
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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