An Emirati couple who were shot by a gunman in Prague are scheduled to be airlifted to Munich for further medical treatment by the end of this week.
Ahmed Ibrahim Obaid Ali Al Ali and his wife Rowdah Al Mehrezi were on holiday in the Czech capital with their two daughters when they were injured in the mass shooting nearly two weeks ago.
They were returning to a nearby hotel when a student opened fire in the city's Charles University campus at about 4pm on December 21, in an incident which left 14 dead and 25 injured.
After Mr Al Ali was shot in the shoulder and collarbone, Ms Al Mehrezi grabbed their daughters, 10-year-old Maryam and eight-year-old Latifa, in a bid to hide out of the gunman's sight.
After leaving the girls in a safe position, she ran back to Mr Al Ali, who was lying on the ground screaming for help. As she was running to him, she was shot twice – with two bullets puncturing her liver, intestine and lungs.
Although doctors initially considered her chances of survival low, Ms Al Mehrezi can now speak. Her and her husband are both in a stable condition but remain in intensive care as they prepare for a transfer to Munich later this week for further treatment.
Mr Al Ali is the director general of Umm Al Quwain municipality and Ms Al Mehrizi is the director of marketing and corporate communication at Dubai's Road and Transport Authority.
“The support we have received from the [UAE] leadership from the moment of this incident is overwhelming,” her elder brother, Khalifa Al Mehrezi, told The National.
The 50-year-old, who flew to be with his 37-year-old sister after the shooting, added: “There are no words to describe our gratitude – from the leadership’s daily calls, to the tremendous support and prayers my family have been receiving from UAE nationals. It's humbling.”
The children, Maryam and Latifa, were flown back to the UAE immediately after the shooting and representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been with the wounded couple to offer support.
There are no words to describe our gratitude
Khalifa Al Mehrezi,
brother of Rowdah Al Mehrezi
After the attack, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs, thanked the Czech Republic for their treatment of the Emirati couple.
He condemned the shooting and wished other injured victims a quick recovery.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, called the couple to check on them and issued directives to authorities to ensure the couple received the best care possible.
Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla, Ruler of Umm Al Quwain, also called Mr Al Ali to offer support.
The 24-year-old gunman, David Kozak, was a student with no criminal record and no known links to international terrorists or extreme ideologies. His motive for the shooting was unclear.
Police said they “eliminated” the gunman on the day of the attack, which was the worst mass shooting in Czech history.
Kozak was said to have an arsenal of weapons including long-barrel rifles and shotguns.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Men's football draw
Group A: UAE, Spain, South Africa, Jamaica
Group B: Bangladesh, Serbia, Korea
Group C: Bharat, Denmark, Kenya, USA
Group D: Oman, Austria, Rwanda
The years Ramadan fell in May
Jetour T1 specs
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Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
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Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The specs: 2019 BMW i8 Roadster
Price, base: Dh708,750
Engine: 1.5L three-cylinder petrol, plus 11.6 kWh lithium-ion battery
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Engine: 3.7-litre V6
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The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
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More on Quran memorisation:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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