KABUL // Afghan president Ashraf Ghani vowed on Saturday to crack down on corruption and ensure security in his nation, even as insurgent attacks in an eastern province killed at least 12 local troops.
Speaking after returning from a four-day visit to China, Mr Ghani said that those who embezzled almost $1 billion from the Kabul Bank in 2010 would face justice in the courts. The incident decimated investor confidence in the country’s already anaemic financial sector.
Mr Ghani has made the battle against endemic graft a key policy initiative. One of his first actions after taking office was to reopen the Kabul Bank case and begin proceedings against the high-profile figures who have been accused of using the bank as personal slush funds.
On security, the president said that Beijing was committed to helping bring peace to Afghanistan after more than 30 years of war and that Afghan territory never again would be used as a base for insurgents to launch attacks on other countries.
While in China, he invited the Taliban to join in a peace process backed by the international community, his first direct reference to the insurgents who have stepped up attacks aimed at bringing down his 1-month-old government.
“Peace is not easy, but it is compulsory,” he told a news conference broadcast live yesterday on national television. “If bringing peace was easy, we would have had peace earlier.”
Mr Ghani has made no specific proposals for peace talks with the Taliban. Meanwhile, violence Saturday killed at least 12 members of the country’s security forces in eastern Logar province.
Din Mohammad Darwesh, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said a suicide car bomber killed six police officers and three soldiers in Logar’s Azra district. He said the blast wounded some 20 civilians and destroyed buildings. The Taliban later claimed responsibility for the attack.
Soon after, a roadside bomb killed three police officers and wounded three in the province’s Baraki Barak district, Mr Darwesh said. No one immediately claimed that attack.
Insurgents have intensified attacks against both Afghan and Nato security forces across the country following a fierce summer of fighting. Most international security forces are preparing to withdraw by the end of the year.
* Associated Press
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Mainz 0
RB Leipzig 5 (Werner 11', 48', 75', Poulsen 23', Sabitzer 36')
Man of the Match: Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)
The specs: Rolls-Royce Cullinan
Price, base: Dh1 million (estimate)
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 563hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 850Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 15L / 100km
In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press
21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Yuval Noah Harari, Jonathan Cape
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Who is Tim-Berners Lee?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.
Which products are to be taxed?
To be taxed:
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Products excluded from the ‘sweetened drink’ category would contain at least 75 per cent milk in a ready-to-drink form or as a milk substitute, baby formula, follow-up formula or baby food, beverages consumed for medicinal use and special dietary needs determined as per GCC Standardisation Organisation rules
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Disposing of non-recycleable masks
Use your ‘black bag’ bin at home
Do not put them in a recycling bin
Take them home with you if there is no litter bin
- No need to bag the mask
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
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How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
