Injury-plagued Australia begin their quest for the only major title missing from their overflowing cupboard when they clash with shaky Pakistan in the World Twenty20 in Dhaka on Sunday.
Pakistan’s seven-wicket drubbing at India’s hands on Friday night should give Australia added confidence for the Group 2 Super-10 game at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
But skipper George Bailey refused to take victory for granted, insisting instead that it was spin-heavy Pakistan that held the advantage.
“I don’t think we have any advantage,” Bailey said. “If anything, they have probably got the advantage in terms of having played here and got used to the conditions.
“We have not played at this ground yet. It is going to be fresh for us. We have to adjust pretty quickly.”
Australia, already missing premier fast bowler Mitchell Johnson due to a toe infection, will also be without all-rounder James Faulkner for the opening match.
Bailey said Faulkner, a hard-hitting right-hand batsman and left-arm seamer, had still not recovered from the knee injury that forced him to miss the recent tour of South Africa.
“We will just monitor him,” the captain said. “He is an important player. He has certainly played a huge role for Australian sides in the T20 and one-day formats.”
Australia, who have won the 50-over World Cup four times and are a leading Test side, have made the final of the World Twenty20 just once in four attempts, losing the title to England in 2010.
Bailey said the current squad was different from previous ones, but needed to be consistent to win a maiden T20 title.
“We have got more versatility just in terms of what we can do with the ball,” he said. “And we are probably a little bit more powerful with the bat, and bat a little deeper.
“You just have to to play some good, consistent cricket to get to the semi-finals. And then you hope that you have carried some momentum there.
“Consistency is probably the key. There’s are a whole different range of ways that a game can be won and lost in T20s and it can happen quickly – it can be one catch, might be one over, might be one wicket that’s taken.
“But the better team is probably going to win their game. Every team that plays at their worst is going to lose. The challenge is to make sure that the gap is not too big.”
Bailey conceded it would be a challenge to tackle Pakistan’s spinners, led by the prolific Saeed Ajmal, but was hopeful his batsmen will stand up to the task.
“They are a very, very strong spinning side, but I think we have got a strong batting line-up that hopefully can overcome them,” the Australian captain said.
“Spin plays a huge role in T20, wherever it is played in the world. But in these conditions, it tends to be match-winning. We know we are going to face lots of spin.”
Bailey said it was important to start with a win in the group which also includes defending champions the West Indies, India and hosts Bangladesh.
“In a tournament like this, momentum is really important,” he said. “Starting with a win gets you off and running and I don’t think you can afford to drop many games. The more wins the better.”
Two teams from the group will advance to the semi-finals.
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Forced Deportations
While the Lebanese government has deported a number of refugees back to Syria since 2011, the latest round is the first en-mass campaign of its kind, say the Access Center for Human Rights, a non-governmental organization which monitors the conditions of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
“In the past, the Lebanese General Security was responsible for the forced deportation operations of refugees, after forcing them to sign papers stating that they wished to return to Syria of their own free will. Now, the Lebanese army, specifically military intelligence, is responsible for the security operation,” said Mohammad Hasan, head of ACHR.
In just the first four months of 2023 the number of forced deportations is nearly double that of the entirety of 2022.
Since the beginning of 2023, ACHR has reported 407 forced deportations – 200 of which occurred in April alone.
In comparison, just 154 people were forcfully deported in 2022.
Violence
Instances of violence against Syrian refugees are not uncommon.
Just last month, security camera footage of men violently attacking and stabbing an employee at a mini-market went viral. The store’s employees had engaged in a verbal altercation with the men who had come to enforce an order to shutter shops, following the announcement of a municipal curfew for Syrian refugees.
“They thought they were Syrian,” said the mayor of the Nahr el Bared municipality, Charbel Bou Raad, of the attackers.
It later emerged the beaten employees were Lebanese. But the video was an exemplary instance of violence at a time when anti-Syrian rhetoric is particularly heated as Lebanese politicians call for the return of Syrian refugees to Syria.
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Company Profile
Company name: EduPloyment
Date started: March 2020
Co-Founders: Mazen Omair and Rana Batterjee
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Company profile
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Founders: Omar Almheiri, Hamza Khan
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BACK TO ALEXANDRIA
Director: Tamer Ruggli
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Rating: 3.5/5
Other key dates
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Finals draw: December 2
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Finals (including semi-finals and third-placed game): June 5–9, 2019
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Euro 2020 play-off draw: November 22, 2019
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Euro 2020 play-offs: March 26–31, 2020
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Ways to control drones
Countries have been coming up with ways to restrict and monitor the use of non-commercial drones to keep them from trespassing on controlled areas such as airports.
"Drones vary in size and some can be as big as a small city car - so imagine the impact of one hitting an airplane. It's a huge risk, especially when commercial airliners are not designed to make or take sudden evasive manoeuvres like drones can" says Saj Ahmed, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research.
New measures have now been taken to monitor drone activity, Geo-fencing technology is one.
It's a method designed to prevent drones from drifting into banned areas. The technology uses GPS location signals to stop its machines flying close to airports and other restricted zones.
The European commission has recently announced a blueprint to make drone use in low-level airspace safe, secure and environmentally friendly. This process is called “U-Space” – it covers altitudes of up to 150 metres. It is also noteworthy that that UK Civil Aviation Authority recommends drones to be flown at no higher than 400ft. “U-Space” technology will be governed by a system similar to air traffic control management, which will be automated using tools like geo-fencing.
The UAE has drawn serious measures to ensure users register their devices under strict new laws. Authorities have urged that users must obtain approval in advance before flying the drones, non registered drone use in Dubai will result in a fine of up to twenty thousand dirhams under a new resolution approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Mr Ahmad suggest that "Hefty fines running into hundreds of thousands of dollars need to compensate for the cost of airport disruption and flight diversions to lengthy jail spells, confiscation of travel rights and use of drones for a lengthy period" must be enforced in order to reduce airport intrusion.
Kandahar
Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Stars: Gerard Butler, Navid Negahban, Ali Fazal
Rating: 2.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Company Profile
Company name: Cargoz
Date started: January 2022
Founders: Premlal Pullisserry and Lijo Antony
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 30
Investment stage: Seed
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
The trip
The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
The hotel
There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.