epa08319353 A policeman wearing face mask walks in Damascus, Syria, 24 March 2020. Syrian government introduced measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after Syria announced the first case of covid19 on 21 March. Syria imposed a curfew from 6pm to 6am local time as of 24 March, suspended work in the ministries and its affiliated entities until further notice and closed markets and suspend all commercial, service, cultural and social activities. EPA/YOUSSEF BADAWI
epa08319353 A policeman wearing face mask walks in Damascus, Syria, 24 March 2020. Syrian government introduced measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after Syria announced the first case of covid19 on 21 March. Syria imposed a curfew from 6pm to 6am local time as of 24 March, suspended work in the ministries and its affiliated entities until further notice and closed markets and suspend all commercial, service, cultural and social activities. EPA/YOUSSEF BADAWI
epa08319353 A policeman wearing face mask walks in Damascus, Syria, 24 March 2020. Syrian government introduced measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after Syria announced the first case of covid19 on 21 March. Syria imposed a curfew from 6pm to 6am local time as of 24 March, suspended work in the ministries and its affiliated entities until further notice and closed markets and suspend all commercial, service, cultural and social activities. EPA/YOUSSEF BADAWI
epa08319353 A policeman wearing face mask walks in Damascus, Syria, 24 March 2020. Syrian government introduced measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after Syria announced the first case o

In Syria, doctors say regime is hiding scores of coronavirus deaths


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Monday was a day like any other in Damascus.

Shops were open, the streets fully crowded with people, public transport working and military checkpoints blocked roads everywhere.

“People lost everything and faced death for the last nine years. Should we be scared of a virus?” asked Jumana, 38, a mother of three.

She was waiting in the line with dozens of people in front of a bakery. A massive lockdown appears difficult to set up in Syria after years of war.

“We don't have any infrastructure, people queue to buy food and gas, and there is more medicine on the black market than at a pharmacy,” Jumana said.

After weeks of denial, Syria has confirmed its first case of Covid-19.

She was a 20-year-old woman who had travelled to a foreign country, Health Minister Nizar Yazigi told the official Sana state news agency on Sunday.

Mr Yazigi said the number of cases had since risen to five.

The Damascus regime had claimed that Syria was spared from the virus, despite warnings and the obvious risks of a rapid spread.

But the figures are probably much higher, said a doctor in regime-held territory.

"Dr Haya", who works at Damascus Hospital, one of 22 hospitals working in the capital city, said she had to deal with many more cases.

“Many people had Covid-19 disease symptoms," she said in a worried voice.

"The hospitals are only able to deliver basic treatments, so I asked them to stay at home.

"We don't have medicines available. The only ones on the market come from Iran or India.

“We don't have a place for quarantined people. The government just started to build two dedicated buildings in Damascus.

"Many people die. Most of them are registered as victims of pneumonia. In my hospital alone, we had around 50 deaths."

After nine years of war, half a million deaths and 7 million people internally displaced, the population of Syria is particularly exposed.

In Idlib, Syria’s last opposition stronghold, 900,000 inhabitants survive in very precarious conditions.  No border crossing remains open with Turkey.

In the Syrian regime areas, the situation is not any better. Idlib and its countryside are completely isolated.

But after a ceasefire was declared by Russia and Turkey last month, calm reigns and bombings from all sides stopped.

Streets are crowded, markets are full and alive.

“I want to breathe,” says Mahmoud Taha, 40, who lives in Idlib city with his family.

“Life here is back to normal, unlike the whole world. We cannot be confined in our houses right after the bombing has stopped."

On Sunday, the Health Directorate and a few aid organisations started to prepare for an increase of Covid-19 cases.

A campaign of public awareness and disinfection was launched in schools, universities and mosques. Plastic tents were set up for 200 quarantined people beside the hospitals in Idlib.

Some mosques even called people to pray at home to avoid gatherings but former Al Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, which is dominant in Idlib, arrested an imam for the call, witnesses said.

Mustafa Al Eid, assistant director of health for the rebel administration in the Idlib region, said a lack of equipment made it increasingly difficult to administer tests to detect the virus.

Syrian municipality workers disinfect the area around the Damascus'old market on March 24, 2020 as protective a measure against the spread of the coronavirus Covid-19. AFP
Syrian municipality workers disinfect the area around the Damascus'old market on March 24, 2020 as protective a measure against the spread of the coronavirus Covid-19. AFP

O 18 hospitals working in the region, there is only one epidemiological device and it does not work at the moment, Mr Al Eid said.

Dr Ahmed, who works in an Idlib hospital, said: “Hundreds of civilians come with coronavirus symptoms but we don't know whether they are negative or positive.

"We advise patients to go home and quarantine themselves. We don’t even have oxygen."

A laboratory in Idlib started to perform tests on blood samples on Wednesday.

The fight against the global pandemic requires flawless organisation, good information and the population obeying instructions from the health authorities.

So many conditions to fight the coronavirus are impossible to meet in Syria.

Half a dozen political authorities share control of the territory, each applying its own rules and setting its own health standards.

They are the regime in Damascus and in areas it reconquered, rebels and extremists in the Idlib region, the Syrian Democratic Forces in the north-east, Turkey and its auxiliaries in the north-west,  Iranian militias, Russia, Lebanese Hezbollah, and the rest of the forces of the international coalition against ISIS.

Borders with Turkey and Iraq are closed but Damascus keeps its frontier with Lebanon open and flights continue to connect Damascus, Aleppo and Qamishli to foreign destinations.

Flights have been maintained with the holy Iranian city of Qom, the centre of the epidemic in Iran.

The country is very badly affected with at least 2,600 deaths but remains a strategic ally of the Damascus regime.

Pilgrims or Iranian militiamen who fight alongside loyalist forces may have brought the virus into Syria several weeks ago.

In the regions occupied by Turkey and its Syrian militias, Ankara has applied the same standards that it does on its own territory since March 20. People over the age of 65 have to stay at home.

Information brochures in Arabic on the coronavirus have been distributed to 500,000 Syrian households.

After days of hesitation, Turkey has closed its borders, deserted public places and suspended collective prayer.

In the areas controlled by Kurdish forces and their allies, in north-eastern Syria, a curfew was declared on Sunday.

Travel is no longer allowed between the cities and non-essential shops, cafes and restaurants were ordered to close on Monday.

Schools and public places had already been closed and all gatherings had been banned for several days.

“The virus is probably spreading very quickly throughout the area,” says a doctor from the town of Qamishli, which is shared by the Kurds and loyalist forces.

There are two cases at the city hospital run by the Assad regime but there are no means to test the population at large; even less to treat the weakest patients.

The Shebha hospital run by the Kurdish Red Crescent for the 200,000 displaced by the 2019 Turkish invasion of the Afrin region has only three respirators.

The Hassakeh hospital has about 150 respirators and will be the main place of confinement for patients in case of a sudden influx.

It is likely a matter of days before that influx arrives, says the doctor, asking the World Health Organisation to act quickly to prevent yet another disaster in Syria.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
if you go

The flights

Air France offer flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to Cayenne, connecting in Paris from Dh7,300.

The tour

Cox & Kings (coxandkings.com) has a 14-night Hidden Guianas tour of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. It includes accommodation, domestic flights, transfers, a local tour manager and guided sightseeing. Contact for price.

SRI LANKA SQUAD

Upul Tharanga (captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella
Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana
Chamara Kapugedara, Thisara Perera, Seekuge Prasanna
Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera
Vishwa Fernando, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

Jiu-jitsu calendar of events for 2017-2018:

August 5:

Round-1 of the President’s Cup in Al Ain.

August 11-13:

Asian Championship in Vietnam.

September 8-9:

Ajman International.

September 16-17

Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, Ashgabat.

September 22-24:

IJJF Balkan Junior Open, Montenegro.

September 23-24:

Grand Slam Los Angeles.

September 29:

Round-1 Mother of The Nation Cup.

October 13-14:

Al Ain U18 International.

September 20-21:

Al Ain International.

November 3:

Round-2 Mother of The National Cup.

November 4:

Round-2 President’s Cup.

November 10-12:

Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro.

November 24-26:

World Championship, Columbia.

November 30:

World Beach Championship, Columbia.

December 8-9:

Dubai International.

December 23:

Round-3 President’s Cup, Sharjah.

January 12-13:

Grand Slam Abu Dhabi.

January 26-27:

Fujairah International.

February 3:

Round-4 President’s Cup, Al Dhafra.

February 16-17:

Ras Al Khaimah International.

February 23-24:

The Challenge Championship.

March 10-11:

Grand Slam London.

March 16:

Final Round – Mother of The Nation.

March 17:

Final Round – President’s Cup.

Sui Dhaaga: Made in India

Director: Sharat Katariya

Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav

3.5/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont

Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950

Engine 3.6-litre V6

Gearbox Eight-speed automatic

Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm

Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm

Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km

'C'mon C'mon'

Director:Mike Mills

Stars:Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Woody Norman

Rating: 4/5

It Was Just an Accident

Director: Jafar Panahi

Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr

Rating: 4/5

Things Heard & Seen

Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton

2/5

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.
How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

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What is a credit score?

In the UAE your credit score is a number generated by the Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), which represents your credit worthiness – in other words, your risk of defaulting on any debt repayments. In this country, the number is between 300 and 900. A low score indicates a higher risk of default, while a high score indicates you are a lower risk.

Why is it important?

Financial institutions will use it to decide whether or not you are a credit risk. Those with better scores may also receive preferential interest rates or terms on products such as loans, credit cards and mortgages.

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The AECB collects information on your payment behaviour from banks as well as utilitiy and telecoms providers.

How can I improve my score?

By paying your bills on time and not missing any repayments, particularly your loan, credit card and mortgage payments. It is also wise to limit the number of credit card and loan applications you make and to reduce your outstanding balances.

How do I know if my score is low or high?

By checking it. Visit one of AECB’s Customer Happiness Centres with an original and valid Emirates ID, passport copy and valid email address. Liv. customers can also access the score directly from the banking app.

How much does it cost?

A credit report costs Dh100 while a report with the score included costs Dh150. Those only wanting the credit score pay Dh60. VAT is payable on top.