Dozens of humanitarian planes carrying crucial medical and aid supplies landed one after the other at Benina airport in Benghazi on Friday, days after devastating floods left thousands dead.
While the road from the airport to the centre of Benghazi was eerily quiet, activity at the airport was ceaseless, with soldiers from the Libyan National Army co-ordinating the distribution of aid arriving in the country.
The UAE, as of Friday, has sent five planes carrying three rescue teams as well as urgent relief and medical aid as part of the air bridge set up to bring relief to the Libyan people.
The humanitarian aid plane that The National travelled on from Abu Dhabi had among its cargo a large number of medical supplies, including cetirizine hydrochloride tablets, which are used to treat allergic conditions such as skin rashes.
Doctors have warned that there is an increased risk of these as well as waterborne diseases and illnesses spread by mosquitoes following the floods.
“It’s unfortunate that we are finally welcoming many different delegations here in Benghazi at a very difficult time,” a commander of the Libyan National Army told The National.
“We’ve been working non-stop to co-ordinate the relief works arriving almost non-stop daily since the beginning of the week.”
Two dams collapsed amid exceptionally heavy rains during Mediterranean storm Daniel early on Monday, sending a wall of water several metres high gushing down a valley that cuts through the city of Derna.
The unusual flooding and Libya’s political chaos contributed to the enormous toll.
“Some lucky people were able to make it out of the city in anticipation of the storm but many of us have to admit that they stood no chance at making it out of Derna and the other coastal cities in time,” said Amr Mohammed, a resident of Benghazi who has been helping people leave the area following the floods.
“What the world has to realise that it is easy to play the blame game and say all this destruction could have been mitigated but Libya would have needed years, not days, to give those residents a chance at survival.”
Oil-rich Libya has been split since 2014 between rival governments in the east and west backed by various militia forces and international supporters.
As rescuers continue to arrive in Benghazi and make their way to the affected communities, they say their mission is to locate the dead and give them the dignity of a burial.
“I’ve never seen this scale of destruction. Although we’re trained at the highest levels at disaster and emergency response, we’re bracing ourselves for a mission of a lifetime to dig out any remaining survivors,” a member of the UAE’s search and rescue team told The National.
Bodies “are littering the streets, washing back up on shore and buried under collapsed buildings and debris”, said Bilal Sablouh, regional forensics manager for Africa at the International Committee of the Red Cross.
“In just two hours, one of my colleagues counted over 200 bodies on the beach near Derna,” he said.
The recovery of bodies began to increase on Friday in the coastal city of Derna, the hardest hit by Storm Daniel.
“Rescue teams in the city of Derna were able to recover 47 people from under the rubble left by the devastating Storm,” Maj Omar Aguila, head of the rescue team at Libya’s civil defence – Umm Al Razm, said by phone from Derna.
Maj Aguila said that search and rescue teams were able to recover more than 100 bodies on Thursday.
In addition to the Libyan civil defence, rescue efforts across different cities continue, with teams from the UAE, Egypt, Turkey, Spain, Tunisia and Algeria operating in the country.
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
match info
Maratha Arabians 138-2
C Lynn 91*, A Lyth 20, B Laughlin 1-15
Team Abu Dhabi 114-3
L Wright 40*, L Malinga 0-13, M McClenaghan 1-17
Maratha Arabians won by 24 runs
Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
Five personal finance podcasts from The National
To help you get started, tune into these Pocketful of Dirham episodes
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Balance is essential to happiness, health and wealth
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What is a portfolio stress test?
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What are NFTs and why are auction houses interested?
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How gamers are getting rich by earning cryptocurrencies
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Should you buy or rent a home in the UAE?
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
