Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of food supplies, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on February 13. Reuters
Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of food supplies, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on February 13. Reuters


Do human rights not apply to people in Gaza?



February 16, 2024

In reference to Adla Massoud's report 'No one has enough to eat' in Gaza, UN chief warns (February 13): Hunger is one of the most demeaning realities human beings are forced to endure daily when living through war. Who can help the people of Gaza and when will the killings stop? The UN chief has rightly pointed out "the deliberate policies of denial." Of the 700,000 hungriest people in the world, four in five inhabit that tiny strip of land, he said. The world has just been watching and now more than 28,500 people have been killed. It is astounding to me that there are supposed to be human rights in this world. But it seems like those are not for everyone.

Ahmed Abbi Agote, Kemise, Ethiopia

The world is so evidently failing the people of Gaza. Where is our humanity? I feel for all the Palestinian people living through the daily attacks being displaced repeatedly, and especially the children and the elderly. It is one world. These are our brothers and sisters. I keep waiting to hear about a political solution having been reached. The ceasefire and long-term peace is overdue. I hope and pray for this sorrow to end.

Hamisi Mugoya, Sironko, Uganda

The alternative to Biden

Regarding Jihan Abdalla's report Palestinian Americans in Dearborn say they 'will never forget' Biden's stance on Gaza (February 12): They have valid reason. I can understand why Arab Americans might feel that they "paid for the bullet or the bomb" with their taxes. But is not voting for Biden the right way? It's Hobson's choice unfortunately.

K McLaren, Gloucestershire, UK

Overseas students in the UK are good for the British economy

With regard to Soraya Ebrahimi's piece Rise in overseas students applying to study at UK universities (February 15): This is always a good thing. Students from all around the world have historically always wanted to come to the UK for higher studies. Even so, it's remarkable that the number of overseas applicants, nearly 96,000 students, from non-EU countries climbed to such a record figure.

This will be good for the UK economy – both money-wise, as foreign students pay higher tuition fees, and in providing fresh talent. When students graduate, many are able to get jobs in the country. Companies in the UK benefit from recruiting young talented people who are keen to work hard. This has a positive effect across so many sectors and the economy.

Mohammad Khalid, Manchester, UK

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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Rating: 2/5
 

Graduated from the American University of Sharjah

She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters

Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks

Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding

 

How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?

If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.

Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.

Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.

Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).

Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal. 

Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.

By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.

As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.

Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.

He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.” 

This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”

Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.

Queen

Nicki Minaj

(Young Money/Cash Money)

Business Insights
  • As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses. 
  • SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income. 
  • Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
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Disclaimer

Director: Alfonso Cuaron 

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville 

Rating: 4/5

Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode

Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: 4/5

Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt

Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure

Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers

Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised

Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels

From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

Scoreline

Chelsea 1
Azpilicueta (36')

West Ham United 1
Hernandez (73')

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Healthcare spending to double to $2.2 trillion rupees

Launched a 641billion-rupee federal health scheme

Allotted 200 billion rupees for the recapitalisation of state-run banks

Around 1.75 trillion rupees allotted for privatisation and stake sales in state-owned assets

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Updated: February 16, 2024, 7:15 AM