If India and Pakistan can lower ‘political temperature’ hopes for UAE series remain

Pakistan's cricket chief has expressed hope that next week's diplomatic talks between his country and India will help the revival of cricket between the two rivals after a seven-year hiatus.

A delegation from Islamabad led by Sartaj Aziz, adviser to prime minister Nawaz Sharif on foreign affairs and national security, will visit New Delhi to meet Indian officials on August 23 and 24.

Pakistan is awaiting a green light from New Delhi for a proposed series in the UAE starting in December 2015 – the first between the South Asian nuclear rivals since 2007.

Doubts were raised over the series in the wake of terrorist attacks in the Indian city of Gurdaspur last month – which India blamed on Pakistan – as well as continued ceasefire violations in disputed Kashmir.

But Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan said he hoped the talks would help.

“Mr Aziz is going and I had a meeting with him on Monday,” Khan told reporters Tuesday. “If his visit brings down the political temperature then I think the chances of Indo-Pak cricket series will increase.”

India halted bilateral sports with Pakistan in the wake of terrorist attacks on Mumbai in 2008, which New Delhi blamed on militants based across the border.

But last year both countries’ cricket boards signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which they were due to play six series in 2015-2023, conditional to the Indian government’s clearance.

“Indian board wants conducive political atmosphere for cricket but our view is that cricket and politics must be kept apart,” added Khan, a former foreign secretary who was also manager of the Pakistan team which toured India in 1999.

Cricket series between Pakistan and India were keenly followed both at home and abroad and regarded as on a par with – if not bigger than – the historic Ashes series between England and Australia.

But cricket has often been affected by political tensions, with no series between India and Pakistan from 1961-1978 and then 1989-1999.

All%20The%20Light%20We%20Cannot%20See%20

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESteven%20Knight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMark%20Ruffalo%2C%20Hugh%20Laurie%2C%20Aria%20Mia%20Loberti%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

How%20to%20avoid%20getting%20scammed

%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3ENever%20click%20on%20links%20provided%20via%20app%20or%20SMS%2C%20even%20if%20they%20seem%20to%20come%20from%20authorised%20senders%20at%20first%20glance%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EAlways%20double-check%20the%20authenticity%20of%20websites%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EEnable%20Two-Factor%20Authentication%20(2FA)%20for%20all%20your%20working%20and%20personal%20services%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EOnly%20use%20official%20links%20published%20by%20the%20respective%20entity%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EDouble-check%20the%20web%20addresses%20to%20reduce%20exposure%20to%20fake%20sites%20created%20with%20domain%20names%20containing%20spelling%20errors%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A

On Women's Day

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

Sinopharm vaccine explained

The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.

“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.

"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."

This is then injected into the body.

"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.

"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."

The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.

Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.

“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.

Company info

Company name: Entrupy

Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist

Based: New York, New York

Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.

Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.

Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.