The UAE on Monday pushed for “redoubled” efforts against ISIS and Boko Haram across Africa’s Sahel belt before the terrorist groups establish footholds for launching future attacks.
UAE ambassador Lana Nusseibeh told the UN Security Council that the “fragile security situation in West Africa and the Sahel is worsening” and called for tougher counter-terror operations.
“It is necessary to redouble our efforts to combat terrorist groups in these areas, especially [ISIS] and Boko Haram, who may take advantage of the political vacuum and the deteriorating social and economic conditions to establish a foothold for their terrorist activities,” Ms Nusseibeh said.
She also warned of the “link between organised crime and terrorism” in the vast, turbulent region and the “persistent acts of piracy and armed robbery” carried out by maritime raiders in the Gulf of Guinea.
Mali has struggled to suppress a brutal insurgency that emerged in the north of the country in 2012 before spreading to central regions and to nearby Burkina Faso and Niger.
Large parts of Mali’s vast territory lie outside of government control, and the worsening insurgency and instability have claimed thousands of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Several military operations have been launched to counter the threat, including the French operation Barkhane and the G5 Sahel force, with units from Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania.
UN experts say Africa was the region hardest-hit region by terrorism in the first half of 2021 as ISIS and other extremist groups expanded operations, boasting of gains in supporters and territory and of inflicting the greatest casualties, including in the Sahel.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Monday said “large-scale attacks against military” targets and civilians continued in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Mr Dujarric described a “complex humanitarian crisis” aggravated by Covid-19 and drought.
Ms Nusseibeh said climate change was “one of the most staggering challenges facing West Africa and the Sahel”, and warned that lack of food and water were underlying problems affecting regional security.
The UAE and four other nations joined the UN Security Council for two-year membership terms on January 1.
The Emirates says it seeks to tackle climate change and terrorism, and get more women involved in UN peacekeeping missions.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.
She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.
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