Kuwaiti influencer Sondos Al Qattan
Kuwaiti influencer Sondos Al Qattan
Kuwaiti influencer Sondos Al Qattan
Kuwaiti influencer Sondos Al Qattan

MAC Cosmetics releases statement denouncing Kuwaiti influencer Sondos Al Qattan


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MAC Cosmetics has broken its silence on under-fire Kuwaiti influencer Sondos Al Qattan by denouncing her recent comments on her country's labour law. The company said it currently does not "have any partnerships with her and will no longer be working with her on any brand activities".

It also said that Al Qattan's "views are her own" and it wants to "make it clear that we do not support the beliefs recently expressed by her".

Al Qattan's negative comments over recent changes to Kuwait's labour law have caused a furore on social media. The new rules mean that Filipino workers are allowed to keep their own passports and have a day off a week.

Hair brand Phyto posted on its Instagram on Tuesday that it was "very surprised and troubled when hearing about the cruel comments made by @sondos_aq".

"We do not tolerate any kind of racism and abuse," the French brand wrote, calling her actions "dreadful". The brand said it has contacted its local distributor in Kuwait and requested that any partnerships were ended "effective immediately", saying that it will "not support such behaviour or have it associated with our products".

During this time, there had been no word from cosmetics giant MAC, although the brand had stopped following her on Instagram. The exact nature of the association between Al Qattan and MAC is unclear, however the make-up brand's products regularly featured in Al Qattan's social media posts.

MAC's latest Instagram posts featured a lot of comments from people inquiring about why the brand had not taken a stand against Al Qattan.

User inaangelo@maccosmetics posted: "How have you seriously not cut ties with @sondos_aq yet?? Is it because you support her statement?"

While edgarlen_23So said: "This brand really represents slavery and racism ok @maccosmetics maybe SONDOS AL QATTAN is much important than your Filipino consumer".

The comments on all recent pictures run on in the same vein. ugochi__: "YOU NEED TO CUT TIES WITH THE BIGOTED WOMAN @maccosmetics"

Max Factor quickly disassociated itself from Al Qattan, telling The National it was shocked by her comments and has suspended all collaboration with her. Shiseido gave a statement saying it did not support or align with the comments made.

On Monday, Al Qattan posted a statement on her Instagram account calling the backlash "rumours", and saying that she treated all her employees fairly, saying that she doesn't "impose long working hours". She also told news agency AFP that keeping an employee's passport was not a human-rights breach because "I did not deprive the employee of her salary or beat her".

Al Qattan's initial comments came after a months-long diplomatic row between Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Kuwait over the treatment of domestic workers, which resulted in changes in the law. The discord began in February when a murdered Filipina maid was found in her employer's freezer in Kuwait City.

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Read more:

Major beauty brand drops Kuwaiti influencer Sondos Al Qattan, who remains unapologetic over comments

Kuwaiti beauty blogger faces backlash over comments on Filipino overseas workers

Kuwait and Philippines strike domestic worker deal

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Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
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Short term

Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines


Intermediate term

Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations


Long term

A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness  

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Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)

Number in service: 6

Complement 191 (space for up to 285)

Top speed: over 32 knots

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Length 152.4 m

Displacement: 8,700 tonnes

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The Details

Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
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Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5 

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Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

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If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

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Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650

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Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

The specs: 2017 Maserati Quattroporte

Price, base / as tested Dh389,000 / Dh559,000

Engine 3.0L twin-turbo V8

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Power 530hp @ 6,800rpm

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West Ham United 2 (Antonio 73', Ogbonna 90 5')

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Friday, May 24:

  • Pakistan v Afghanistan (Bristol)
  • Sri Lanka v South Africa (Cardiff)

Saturday, May 25

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  • India v New Zealand (The Oval, London)

Sunday, May 26

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  • Pakistan v Bangladesh (Cardiff)

Monday, May 27

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  • England v Afghanistan (The Oval, London)

Tuesday, May 28

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  • Bangladesh v India (Cardiff)
T20 World Cup Qualifier A, Muscat

Friday, February 18: 10am - Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm - Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain

Saturday, February 19: 10am - Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm - UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain

Monday, February 21: 10am - Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm - Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines

Tuesday, February 22: 2pm – semi-finals

Thursday, February 24: 2pm – final

UAE squad: Ahmed Raza (captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia

All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv

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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
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Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.

Labour dispute

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