Politics is all about appeasement



With the marathon elections coming to a close, it is time for politicians to determine whether their policy of appeasement fared well with an electorate that some observers believe has attained maturity. A photograph on the website, anindianmuslim.com, shows Nafisa Ali, the Samajwadi Party candidate from Lucknow, offering puja at the Hanuman temple, while in another, Mohammed Salim, a senior CPI (M) leader in West Bengal, is seen paying obeisance at a Hindu shrine. There is also one of Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party chief, who the post says "keeps getting flak for being pro-Muslim and for appeasing Muslims", eating the iftar meal wearing a skullcap.

Hindu politicians are often seen emerging out of mosques and dargahs (Sufi Muslim shrines) during campaigns, while many of those from the Muslim community head towards Hindu shrines to seek divine blessing - a phenomenon typical of the election season. A blog on the website also mentioned Aslam Sher Khan, a former hockey player and a Congress candidate from a Madhya Pradesh constituency, who visited a temple to seek blessing for his victory in the election.

"Once Varun Gandhi used to wear skullcap among Muslims" reads the caption of a picture of the lesser known grandson of the former prime minister Indira Gandhi, whose venomous attack against Muslims during the election campaign in March pitched him in the centre of a national controversy. An article on the topix.com website, titled "Rush hour for netas [leaders] at Dargah", revealed the names of some Hindu politicians such as LK Advani, the BJP leader, Ram Vilas Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party, who represents the Hajipur constituency in Bihar, and Sachin Pilot, a member of Congress and representative of the Dausa constituency in Rajasthan, visiting the famous Ajmersharif Dargah, in Rajasthan.

This is what politics in India is all about, and it is sad to note that politicians' only religion is power and greed, as a respondent put it. As long as illiteracy and poverty prevail, however, such "gimmicks" could help parties and individuals garner religious votes. Thus, the apathy of the educated class might continue to be a boon for such leaders.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
New schools in Dubai
Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal 

Rating: 2/5

How green is the expo nursery?

Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery

An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo

Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery

Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape

The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides

All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality

Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country

Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow

Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site

Green waste is recycled as compost

Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs

Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers

About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer

Main themes of expo is  ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.

Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

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What drives subscription retailing?

Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.

The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.

The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.

The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.

UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.

That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.

Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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