Egypt will need friends when the dust settles


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By now it's clear that the anger boiling over on Egypt's streets will not be tempered by force alone. Mohammed ElBaradei appears to be rallying the opposition, telling crowds in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday: "Change is coming." But the full consequences remain to be seen and last night, as authorities erected concrete barriers around the square, it was still unknown what the costs will be.

More than 100 demonstrators, mostly in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez, have lost their lives, some killed by live ammunition fired by police. Throughout the Arab republic, residents are forming vigilante patrols to protect their homes in a security vacuum. Private citizens have also rallied to save the country's precious heritage, although as we report today some museums have been violated.

"The real problem now is the looting which is getting completely out of control," one Cairo resident told the BBC. In the midst of protests, many demonstrators have denounced violence, but the looting continues. There is speculation that the government has encouraged lawlessness to discredit demonstrators.

Headlines across the world have focused on the politics, but those caught in the crossfire also have other, more immediate concerns. A lack of basic security is one. Food shortages could be another.

President Hosni Mubarak appears both unwilling and unable to end this crisis, announcing a raft of new appointments and reforms that seem to have made little difference. He has also ordered a continuation of food subsidies, as 70 per cent of the population relies on government supported staples.

No matter how their demands are met - with an iron fist or capitulation - Egyptians face days, if not weeks, of upheaval. Empty cupboards and economic hardship compounded by a week of work stoppages and an absence of tourist dollars are all but certain. Economic ripples are already being felt beyond Egypt, with regional stocks plunging amid widespread investor fear.

It would be easy to forget that it was high food prices and unemployment, as well as political repression, that kicked off the calls for change in the first place. And protests continue to swell. A coalition of groups has called for one million people to take to the streets in Cairo today.

Egypt's political fate should be decided by Egyptians themselves, hopefully sooner rather than later. But the international community must be ready to assist once a resolution is reached.

Ibrahim's play list

Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute

Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc

Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar

His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach

Also enjoys listening to Mozart

Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz

Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica 

Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil

Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
AUSTRALIA SQUAD

Tim Paine (captain), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner

Brief scoreline:

Liverpool 2

Keita 5', Firmino 26'

Porto 0

The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

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How Voiss turns words to speech

The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen

The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser

This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen

A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB

The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free

Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards

Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser

Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages

At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness

More than 90 per cent live in developing countries

The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device

The biog

Name: Abeer Al Bah

Born: 1972

Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992

Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old

Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school

 

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MATCH INFO

Everton 2 (Tosun 9', Doucoure 93')

Rotherham United 1 (Olosunde 56')

Man of the Match Olosunde  (Rotherham)

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 

Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
​​​​​​​Penguin 

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs

Price: From Dh180,000 (estimate)

Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged and supercharged in-line four-cylinder

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 320hp @ 5,700rpm

Torque: 400Nm @ 2,200rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 9.7L / 100km

RACE SCHEDULE

All times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Friday, September 29
First practice: 7am - 8.30am
Second practice: 11am - 12.30pm

Saturday, September 30
Qualifying: 1pm - 2pm

Sunday, October 1
Race: 11am - 1pm

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
War and the virus