The virus of extremism fuels the spread of polio in Pakistan


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Pakistan remains one of the few countries in the world where polio persists, a highly infectious disease transmitted via contaminated food and water. New cases have recently surfaced in tribal areas. Unfortunately, the Taliban has imposed a vaccination ban in Waziristan, the so-called global headquarters of Al Qaeda and Taliban-linked militants.

This year, the total number of polio cases in the country has reached 54, compared to 58 cases reported last year. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the tribal region a major obstacle standing in the way of efforts to eradicate polio. The Taliban has called the polio vaccine un-Islamic and linked the lifting of a ban on vaccinations with the halting of drone attacks.

The extremists describe vaccination efforts as an “infidel” campaign and have attacked relief workers who’ve attempted to administer the vaccine. The Taliban believes that western powers are using polio vaccination programmes as a cover for espionage. The extremists also suggest the vaccine contains pig fat and leads to infertility.

The situation in Pakistan bears comparison with Syria where polio recently broke out among young children. Like Pakistan, Syria’s poor security situation is a major cause of the outbreak. A significant number of children went unvaccinated due to the civil war in Syria. The Syrian outbreak, which poses a threat to millions of children across the Middle East, is linked to the virus that originated in Pakistan.

The virus has travelled over land to Syria, according to Bruce Aylward, assistant director-general for polio, emergencies and country collaboration at the WHO.

Mr Aylward reportedly said, “We know a polio virus from Pakistan was found in the sewage of Cairo in December. The same virus was found in Israel in April, also in the West Bank and Gaza. It ... is putting the whole Middle East at risk quite frankly.”

Separately, the stubbornness of parents has also played a part.

Around 65,000 families refused to vaccinate their children during the last polio campaign in the country, according to Per Engebak, the chief of Unicef’s anti-polio programme in Pakistan.

But the biggest obstacle to the eradication of polio is the lack of consistent access to children in tribal areas.

The attacks on polio vaccination volunteers also expose the Taliban’s toxic brew of obscurantism, radicalism, ignorance and intolerance.

Since July last year, 24 health workers and policemen protecting them have been killed and 14 others injured in 24 targeted attacks on vaccinators in different parts of the country. The central government, which is poised to hold peace talks with the Pakistan Taliban, has included polio vaccination programme on the agenda for dialogue.

Polio cannot be defeated in Pakistan without defeating the virus of extremism.

Efforts need to be directed at addressing the root causes of growing extremism.

The prevalence of poverty, unemployment, backwardness and illiteracy all provide favourable conditions for the growth of the virus of extremism. War-torn Afghanistan and Pakistan’s tribal areas with the worst socio-economic conditions serve as breeding places for it.

Pakistan’s dream of becoming a polio-free nation cannot come true until crucial steps are taken to ensure the accessibility of polio workers to children in restive areas.

The government, religious scholars, health experts, youth and media should also play their role in polio eradication campaigns in Pakistan and they must come forward to save the children from becoming a socioeconomic burden on the country.

Syed Fazl-e-Haider is a development analyst in Pakistan

BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES

Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)

Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm) 
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm) 
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm) 
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn  (4.30pm) 
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm) 
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)

Sunday, May 17

Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)

Monday, May 18

Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)

Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten

Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a  month before Reaching the Last Mile.

Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

 

The five stages of early child’s play

From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:

1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.

2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.

3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.

4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.

5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.

Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi

From: Dara

To: Team@

Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT

Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East

Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.

Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.

I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.

This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.

It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.

Uber on,

Dara

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Gulf Under 19s final

Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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MATCH INFO

Norwich City 0 Southampton 3 (Ings 49', Armstrong 54', Redmond 79')

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Company Fact Box

Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019

Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO

Based: Amman, Jordan

Sector: Education Technology

Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed

Stage: early-stage startup 

Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES

SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities

Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails

Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies

Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments

'Munich: The Edge of War'

Director: Christian Schwochow

Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons

Rating: 3/5

The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cyl

Transmission: eight-speed auto

Power: 190bhp

Torque: 300Nm

Price: Dh169,900

On sale: now