Protesters in Idlib carry placards expressing their opposition to regime ally Russia's attempt to reduce cross-border aid to millions in the enclave. AFP
Protesters in Idlib carry placards expressing their opposition to regime ally Russia's attempt to reduce cross-border aid to millions in the enclave. AFP
Protesters in Idlib carry placards expressing their opposition to regime ally Russia's attempt to reduce cross-border aid to millions in the enclave. AFP
Protesters in Idlib carry placards expressing their opposition to regime ally Russia's attempt to reduce cross-border aid to millions in the enclave. AFP

Withholding aid to Idlib is akin to a death sentence


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Since Friday, three million people living in an isolated and impoverished stretch of land in north-western Syria have indefinitely lost access to vital aid.

The UN's six-year-long mandate for aid deliveries, which allowed it to deliver essential goods across Syria's borders to Idlib, with the government's intervention, has expired, after Russia and China vetoed both a six-month extension and a one-year extension to aid coming in from Turkey.

The decision has cut off a “lifeline” for Syrians living in Idlib, according to the UN, jeopardising the well-being of millions. Alarmingly, the Sino-Russian vetoes came one day after Idlib announced its first case of the coronavirus. The first Covid-19 patient in the enclave is a doctor who came in contact with patients at a hospital on the Syrian-Turkish border, potentially infecting scores of others.

Idlib is woefully unprepared for a full-blown Covid-19 outbreak. More than one third of the region’s inhabitants are internally displaced people living in squalid camps, where it is impossible to practise physical distancing and protect one’s self from infection. The region has also been relentlessly bombed, with hospitals and other medical facilities specifically targeted by the Syrian regime and its Russian ally, before a truce was signed earlier this year.

Less than 400 coronavirus cases have been officially recorded in Syria. But the true number of infections, both in rebel and regime-held areas, is likely many times higher than the official toll. Much like the rest of the country, Idlib has little access to testing equipment. With its healthcare infrastructure in tatters, and the hospital where the region's first patient operated in, forced to shut down, the enclave is on the verge of a major public health catastrophe.

Idlib is, unfortunately, not the only area suffering from the politicisation of humanitarian relief. For instance, the Rukban refugee camp, along the Syrian-Jordanian border, is cut off from its regime-held surroundings and from Jordan. Vital aid is only has not been delivered in nearly a year because of pressure from the regime and its allies.

Withholding aid from Syria’s most vulnerable populations amounts to a death sentence. A Russian proposal that would have allowed for just one Turkish crossing for six months was also rejected at the UN Security Council. This counter-proposal offered no real solution to the predicament of Syrians. Moscow seeks to channel the deliveries through Damascus, but there is no guarantee that Bashar Al Assad’s corrupt and cash-strapped regime will refrain from withholding or diverting humanitarian relief. While foreign powers bicker at the UN, ordinary Syrians pay the price of these divisions.

Idlib is woefully unprepared for a full-blown Covid-19 outbreak

Politicising aid amounts to denying Syrians their basic human rights. Food, medicine and other necessities are channelled through the UN’s relief agencies, but their operations have now come to a grinding halt.

The Security Council must not be used as an arena for foreign powers to settle their differences. If nothing is done in the coming days, millions will incur the risk of dying from Covid-19 or hunger. The international community must come together and ensure civilian lives do not become bargaining chips used by the Syria regime to advance its cynical political goals.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Big%20Ape%20Productions%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20LucasArts%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsoles%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PC%2C%20PlayStation%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Innotech Profile

Date started: 2013

Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari

Based: Muscat, Oman

Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies

Size: 15 full-time employees

Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing 

Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now. 

While you're here
Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Etwo%20permanent%20magnet%20synchronous%20motors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Etwo-speed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E625hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E850Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E456km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh737%2C480%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance

Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.

Stat of the day - 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.

The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227 for four at the close.

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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants

 

 

Jiu-jitsu calendar of events for 2017-2018:

August 5:

Round-1 of the President’s Cup in Al Ain.

August 11-13:

Asian Championship in Vietnam.

September 8-9:

Ajman International.

September 16-17

Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, Ashgabat.

September 22-24:

IJJF Balkan Junior Open, Montenegro.

September 23-24:

Grand Slam Los Angeles.

September 29:

Round-1 Mother of The Nation Cup.

October 13-14:

Al Ain U18 International.

September 20-21:

Al Ain International.

November 3:

Round-2 Mother of The National Cup.

November 4:

Round-2 President’s Cup.

November 10-12:

Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro.

November 24-26:

World Championship, Columbia.

November 30:

World Beach Championship, Columbia.

December 8-9:

Dubai International.

December 23:

Round-3 President’s Cup, Sharjah.

January 12-13:

Grand Slam Abu Dhabi.

January 26-27:

Fujairah International.

February 3:

Round-4 President’s Cup, Al Dhafra.

February 16-17:

Ras Al Khaimah International.

February 23-24:

The Challenge Championship.

March 10-11:

Grand Slam London.

March 16:

Final Round – Mother of The Nation.

March 17:

Final Round – President’s Cup.

Five famous companies founded by teens

There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:

  1. Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate. 
  2. Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc. 
  3. Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway. 
  4. Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
  5. Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
LILO & STITCH

Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Rating: 4.5/5

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Five expert hiking tips
    Always check the weather forecast before setting off Make sure you have plenty of water Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon Wear appropriate clothing and footwear Take your litter home with you
WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

It Was Just an Accident

Director: Jafar Panahi

Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr

Rating: 4/5

Company Profile:

Name: The Protein Bakeshop

Date of start: 2013

Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani

Based: Dubai

Size, number of employees: 12

Funding/investors:  $400,000 (2018) 

The finalists

Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho

Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson

Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)

Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid

Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)

Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola

Apple%20Mac%20through%20the%20years
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RESULT

Manchester United 1 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Man United: Dunk (66' og)

Man of the Match: Shane Duffy (Brighton)

Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures

Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)

Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy

Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy

Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy

Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium

UAE squad

Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia

Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
​​​​​​​Bloomsbury Academic