A precise date is yet to be set for the swearing-in of Pakistan’s newly elected prime minister but the symbolic significance of the event is apparent anyway. Imran Khan will take his oath as Pakistan’s 21st prime minister either on, or close to, his country's 71st birthday next week, inextricably intertwined with the painful anniversary of Partition. This year's anniversary will no doubt be described as a new beginning for Pakistan.
Perhaps. It might not fulfil the glorious expectations or passionate hopes for wholesome change but nothing quite like this has happened before, not just in Pakistan but on the subcontinent as a whole.
Mr Khan, a bit like France’s president Emmanuel Macron, won his election with a party he founded himself relatively recently. He didn't inherit his status from his family nor did he get it by loyal service in a long-established political outfit.
The comparison is not exact, of course. Mr Macron accomplished the seemingly impossible – defeating France’s socialist and centre-right parties – in a matter of months, not the two decades it has taken Mr Khan to lead his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) to victory. Even so, Mr Khan, like Mr Macron, might justifiably be called a start-up leader.
But is he an entrepreneur for peace? Mr Khan is undoubtedly a new sort of South Asian leader – a high-functioning achiever from a sport that is very different from politics. But so far, it's unclear whether he will invest anything other than rhetoric in initiatives for peace with neighbouring India.
So goes the dirge from India, where mostly there seem to be few expectations of Prime Minister-elect Khan’s good neighbourliness and benign intentions. Consider this gloomy pronouncement from former Indian foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal: “Imran Khan’s victory not only holds no hope of improved understanding but will also make the handling of bilateral ties more difficult.”
It is not just the Indian foreign policy establishment that is wary. The favour he reportedly enjoys with Pakistan's powerful army and his austere public embrace of a religious idiom have made the man Indian cricket fans familiarly call "Imran" somewhat suspect.
And Indians, just as much as everyone else, have noted Mr Khan’s ranking of the countries and regions he considers important to Pakistan in his first speech after winning the election. India came in seventh, a dismissive – some might say almost contemptuous – placement for a giant, nuclear-armed neighbour with which Pakistan has a live territorial dispute.
All of this is dispiriting, especially because Mr Khan's incipient stewardship of his country could be a game-changer for South Asia. To understand why, consider the state of affairs in the region. Both India and Bangladesh are Pakistan's blood brothers and political and economic developments in all three countries should be roughly in tandem. But they're not.
Although Bangladesh is the youngest and smallest of the three, it has become an unlikely success story – at least in terms of socially progressive policies. From 2006, its GDP growth has been higher than Pakistan’s and its population growth lower. It also has the highest life expectancy and lowest child malnutrition of the three. Additionally, it has pioneered poverty cures that have the world paying admiring attention – microfinance in the late 1970s, hands-on training for poor women and cash for managed migration to cities this century.
But in its politics, Bangladesh offers no bold new template, just the ossification of control by two political dynasties that take turns in power. Its general election, due before December 31, is likely to have the same tired themes with the additional frisson of the threat posed by orthodox groups. There will be the battle of the begums – prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her jailed predecessor, Khaleda Zia. And there are the usual allegations of judicial interference by the government of the day and intimidation of the opposition.
As for India, its economic growth and diplomatic clout has been an ongoing news story for 25 years – not just for what has been achieved but for all that has not. India’s politics, however, is polarised and polarising. There are the now-establishment insurgents – Narendra Modi’s governing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party – and there is the dynastically led Congress and multiple regionally important parties. But Hindu fundamentalist groups, which discriminate against minorities and women, are trying to thwart scientific research, higher education and India’s inclusive brand identity.
One might have thought that regional strengths and weaknesses would be of interest to an unusual start-up leader such as Mr Khan. But even before he takes office, he has made clear he finds no South Asian role models and only China is the exemplar.
In fact, in that first address to the country and the world, Mr Khan spoke of India solely in the context of Kashmir and left out Bangladesh altogether. This is a missed opportunity, especially for a politician who sees himself as Pakistan’s man of destiny.
Chelsea 2 Burnley 3
Chelsea Morata (69'), Luiz (88')
Burnley Vokes (24', 43'), Ward (39')
Red cards Cahill, Fabregas (Chelsea)
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Score
Third Test, Day 2
New Zealand 274
Pakistan 139-3 (61 ov)
Pakistan trail by 135 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the innings
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
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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.
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Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Avatar%20(2009)
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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
ENGLAND%20SQUAD
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Points to remember
- Debate the issue, don't attack the person
- Build the relationship and dialogue by seeking to find common ground
- Express passion for the issue but be aware of when you're losing control or when there's anger. If there is, pause and take some time out.
- Listen actively without interrupting
- Avoid assumptions, seek understanding, ask questions
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
RESULTS
Women:
55kg brown-black belt: Amal Amjahid (BEL) bt Amanda Monteiro (BRA) via choke
62kg brown-black belt: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Ffion Davies (GBR) via referee’s decision (0-0, 2-2 adv)
70kg brown-black belt: Ana Carolina Vieira (BRA) bt Jessica Swanson (USA), 9-0
90kg brown-black belt: Angelica Galvao (USA) bt Marta Szarecka (POL) 8-2
Men:
62kg black belt: Joao Miyao (BRA) bt Wan Ki-chae (KOR), 7-2
69kg black belt: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Gianni Grippo (USA), 2-2 (1-0 adv)
77kg black belt: Espen Mathiesen (NOR) bt Jake Mackenzie (CAN)
85kg black belt: Isaque Braz (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE), 2-0
94kg black belt: Felipe Pena (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL), 4-0
110kg black belt final: Erberth Santos (BRA) bt Lucio Rodrigues (GBR) via rear naked choke
Tori Amos
Native Invader
Decca
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Favourite pet: cats. She has two: Eva and Bito
Favourite city: Cape Town, South Africa
Hobby: Running. "I like to think I’m artsy but I’m not".
Favourite move: Romantic comedies, specifically Return to me. "I cry every time".
Favourite spot in Abu Dhabi: Saadiyat beach
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 300Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Kathryn Hawkes of House of Hawkes on being a good guest (because we’ve all had bad ones)
- Arrive with a thank you gift, or make sure you have one for your host by the time you leave.
- Offer to buy groceries, cook them a meal or take your hosts out for dinner.
- Help out around the house.
- Entertain yourself so that your hosts don’t feel that they constantly need to.
- Leave no trace of your stay – if you’ve borrowed a book, return it to where you found it.
- Offer to strip the bed before you go.
The biog
Name: Salvador Toriano Jr
Age: 59
From: Laguna, The Philippines
Favourite dish: Seabass or Fish and Chips
Hobbies: When he’s not in the restaurant, he still likes to cook, along with walking and meeting up with friends.