After a six-year lull in major incidents, Somali pirates struck twice last week with the seizure of two boats in the Red Sea, adding to the turmoil in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes after missile and drone attacks from Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The attacks increase pressure on international shipping companies to follow the lead of Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd and abandon the route to the Suez Canal and reroute vessels around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. If oil companies do likewise, the price of oil could increase as Europe enters the cold winter months.
On Friday night, Somali pirates hijacked a commercial dhow in the waters off the Yemeni island of Socotra – once a haven for pirates. It is believed to be en route to Eyl, a coastal town in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region where militants from Al Shabab, Al Qaeda’s wealthiest affiliate, are in control. They dislodged a small group of rival ISIS backers from the town in a recent battle, creating speculation they are involved in the hijackings and will offer the pirates protection in return for a cut of any loot.
A few days earlier, Somali pirates operating from speed boats off Puntland captured the MV Reun, a Malta-registered cargo vessel, and took 18 crew members hostage. Sources close to the hijackers and Al Shabab say ransom negotiations are under way with the ship's owners.
The sources confirmed one pirate was injured and 17 other pirates are still on board the vessel.
Several foreign warships, led by an Indian vessel taking part in a Red Sea protection squadron, are in pursuit of the pirates but have failed to prevent them from steering the vessel towards the coast of Somalia.
“The MV Reun is now being held in a remote coastal location between Qandala and Haabow. The pirates have agreed to a 70-30 ransom-sharing agreement with Al Shabab to provide them with extra protection on MV Reun,” said Ahmed Mohamed, a resident with links to the pirate gang.
“Negotiations have started between the pirates and ship owners,” he added.
The renewed hijackings come after Yemeni Houthi rebels targeted ships with links to Israel in retaliation to the ongoing military offensive by Israel on the Gaza Strip, leading the US to send warships to the area to protect shipping.
Political tensions in Puntland ahead of elections in January might have also encouraged the re-emergence of the pirates.
“This time, the pirates now hunting ships are mostly aggrieved fishermen. The Puntland administration has awarded around 300 licences to Iranian boats fishing in Puntland," security analyst Abdi Ali said by telephone from Mogadishu.
He said local fishermen complain that they are being harassed by the Iranian boats, which have much more sophisticated equipment and are making it difficult for them to make a living.
Egypt's Suez Canal provides the shortest link between the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic and is the favoured route for many ships sailing to Europe and North America from Asia and Australia. This makes the Gulf of Aden an attractive place for pirates.
“Another smaller dhow has also been hijacked by another group of pirates today and taken to Eyl along the Indian Ocean and there are also other pirates currently in the deep-sea hunting for more ships,” Mohamed, the Eyl resident, said on Sunday. “More will certainly come soon.”
Between 2008 and 2018, pirates freely prowled the waters off Somalia, hijacking ships along the longest coastline in Africa. It took the combined efforts of multinational antipiracy maritime missions to stop them. The leaders retired, many to new homes built with the proceeds of their business along the northern Somali coastline, while others moved into commercial fishing.
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Jawan
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White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
A Dog's Journey
Directed by: Gail Mancuso
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Josh Gad, Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin, Kathryn Prescott
3 out of 5 stars
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Match info
Arsenal 0
Manchester City 2
Sterling (14'), Bernardo Silva (64')
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Croatia v Hungary, Thursday, 10.45pm, UAE
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
SQUADS
UAE
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice-captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Nepal
Paras Khadka (captain), Gyanendra Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Pradeep Airee, Binod Bhandari, Avinash Bohara, Sundeep Jora, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Basant Regmi, Pawan Sarraf, Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Last-16
France 4
Griezmann (13' pen), Pavard (57'), Mbappe (64', 68')
Argentina 3
Di Maria (41'), Mercado (48'), Aguero (90 3')
Sweet%20Tooth
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The Specs:
The Specs:
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 444bhp
Torque: 600Nm
Price: AED 356,580 incl VAT
On sale: now.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Brief scores:
Newcastle United 1
Perez 23'
Wolverhampton Rovers 2
Jota 17', Doherty 90' 4
Red cards: Yedlin 57'
Man of the Match: Diogo Jota (Wolves)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last 16, first leg
Ajax v Real Madrid, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Pathaan
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SPEC%20SHEET
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Company info
Company name: Entrupy
Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
Based: New York, New York
Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
New schools in Dubai
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
