The Yazidi village of Kocho, the site of one of the worst atrocities committed by ISIS in Iraq, is to be rebuilt after an order by Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani.
The village is to be reconstructed “in fairness to its honourable people and out of a sense of the government's responsibility”, Mr Al Sudani's office said on Tuesday, nine years after the “invasion and destruction” of the village in Iraq's north-western Sinjar district.
ISIS killed almost all the men in Kocho on August 15, 2014, almost two weeks after it had swept through the Yazidi-majority Sinjar district, committing what has been widely recognised as genocide.
Encircling the village, it ordered all inhabitants to assemble at the local school before shooting the men and adolescent boys, and putting women and girls, including Nobel laureate Nadia Murad, on a bus to be sold as slaves in Raqqa and Mosul.
In 2021, 104 residents of the village excavated from mass graves were finally laid to rest in a solemn ceremony attended by Ms Murad.
Many more remains have yet to be formally identified. Local authorities on Tuesday launched a blood drive campaign to help identify DNA matches.
USAID and Nadia's Initiative, headed by Ms Murad, have also pledged to bring life back to the devastated village.
A project announced in 2021 promised to create memorial sites for the victims and build housing for survivors at a nearby site.
“My community of Kocho has experienced some of the worst atrocities known to mankind,” Ms Murad said at the time.
“This project is a critical step toward enabling the dignified return of displaced Kocho community members and facilitating the rebuilding of a dignified life.”
August revives many painful memories for the long-persecuted community, which was singled out by ISIS for genocide.
Monday marked the 16th anniversary of Al Qaeda bombings that killed almost 800 Yazidis in the world's fourth-deadliest terror attack in history.
August 3 marked the ninth anniversary of the ISIS onslaught in 2014, when it the group marched across Sinjar and displaced hundreds of thousand in its attempt to wipe out the ethnoreligious group.
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In numbers
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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