A members of Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) walks past a poster of PMF members outside one of the group's offices in Baghdad. Reuters
A members of Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) walks past a poster of PMF members outside one of the group's offices in Baghdad. Reuters
A members of Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) walks past a poster of PMF members outside one of the group's offices in Baghdad. Reuters
A members of Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) walks past a poster of PMF members outside one of the group's offices in Baghdad. Reuters

How Iraq’s militias and corrupt politicians steal billions in customs fees


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Along Iraq's borders, a corrupt customs-evasion cartel is diverting billions of dollars away from state coffers to line the pockets of armed groups, political parties and crooked officials.

The prime beneficiaries are Iran-linked Shiite paramilitaries that intimidate federal officials who dare to obstruct them, sometimes through chillingly specific death threats, a six-month AFP investigation found.

I have had to wave through cargo I didn't actually inspect because the shipment was linked to a powerful party

The network is so well oiled and entrenched that revenue is parcelled out among rival groups with remarkably little friction, part of a parallel system that Iraq's finance minister described as "state plunder".

"It's indescribable," said one Iraqi customs worker. "Worse than a jungle. In a jungle, at least animals eat and get full. These guys are never satisfied."

Like most of the government officials, port workers and importers interviewed for this story, this worker cited threats to his life and asked to speak anonymously.

The network they described arises from Iraq's glacially slow bureaucracy, fractious politics, limited non-oil industry and endemic corruption that is itself largely a product of years of chaos after the 2003 US invasion to topple dictator Saddam Hussein.

This picture taken on March 14, 2021 shows a view of the Hong Kong-flagged cargo vessel Zea Servant while moored at the port of Umm Qasr, south of Iraq's southern city of Basra. AFP
This picture taken on March 14, 2021 shows a view of the Hong Kong-flagged cargo vessel Zea Servant while moored at the port of Umm Qasr, south of Iraq's southern city of Basra. AFP

Customs provide one of the few sources of state revenue, and to keep disparate groups and tribes happy, many of them close to Iran, entry points are divided up among them and federal duties largely supplanted by bribes.

"There's a kind of collusion between officials, political parties, gangs and corrupt businessmen," Iraq's Finance Minister Ali Allawi told AFP.

Iraq imports a vast majority of its goods – from food and electronics to natural gas – mostly from neighbours Iran and Turkey and from China.

Officially, the country of 40 million brought in non-oil goods worth $21 billion in 2019, the latest year for which full government data is available.

Iraq has five official crossings along its 1,600-kilometre border with Iran and one on the nearly 370km frontier with Turkey, while the single biggest and most lucrative gateway is the port of Umm Qasr in the southern province of Basra.

Duties on imports at these points of entry are meant to supplement state revenue from Iraq's huge oil sector – but that does not happen.

Iraq's import system is infamously outdated and cumbersome, with a 2020 World Bank report citing frustrating delays, high compliance fees and frequent exploitation.

"If you want to do it the right way, you end up paying sums in four figures for demurrage [docking fees] for a single month" in dollar terms, said an importer in the region.

"It's designed to fail," he said.

A worker's face and body are covered in dust as he fills bags with imported corn at the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr near Basra, on March 14, 2021. AFP
A worker's face and body are covered in dust as he fills bags with imported corn at the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr near Basra, on March 14, 2021. AFP

An informal parallel system rose in its stead, in which parties and paramilitary groups divided up Iraq's land and sea crossings, said officials, port workers, importers and analysts.

Many of Iraq's entry points are informally controlled by groups within the Hashed Al Shaabi or Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a powerful state-sponsored armed network close to Iran, as well as other armed factions, officials told AFP.

The PMF members, their allies or their relatives work as border agents, inspectors or police and are paid by importers who want to skip the official process entirely or get discounts.

"If you want a shortcut, you go to the militias or parties," said an Iraqi intelligence agent who has investigated customs evasion.

He said importers effectively tell themselves: "I'd rather lose $100,000 [on a bribe] than lose my goods altogether."

The PMF publicly denies the claims.

But sources close to its hardline member groups Asaib Ahl Al Haq and Kataeb Hezbollah acknowledged that customs posts are indeed parcelled out in the manner alleged.

They cited specific harbour berths, land crossings and products that matched what customs officials and the intelligence agent told AFP.

Port workers, officials and analysts confirmed that the Mandali crossing on the Iranian border, for example, is run by the Badr Organisation, an Iraqi movement founded in Iran.

An official there boasted to AFP that a border operative can rake in $10,000 a day in bribes, the bulk of which is distributed to the overseeing armed group and complicit officials.

In other cases, an armed group controls a particular kind of trade.

This picture taken on March 14, 2021 shows pallets of imported wood being unloaded off a cargo ship on the pier at the port of Umm Qasr, south of Iraq's southern city of Basra. Iraq is ranked the 21st most corrupt country by Transparency International. In January, the advocacy group said public corruption had deprived Iraqis of basic rights and services, including water, health care, electricity and jobs. It said systemic graft was eating away at Iraqis' hopes for the future, pushing growing numbers to try to emigrate. In 2019, hundreds of thousands of protesters flooded Iraqi cities, first railing against poor public services, then explicitly accusing politicians of plundering resources meant for the people. / AFP / Hussein FALEH
This picture taken on March 14, 2021 shows pallets of imported wood being unloaded off a cargo ship on the pier at the port of Umm Qasr, south of Iraq's southern city of Basra. Iraq is ranked the 21st most corrupt country by Transparency International. In January, the advocacy group said public corruption had deprived Iraqis of basic rights and services, including water, health care, electricity and jobs. It said systemic graft was eating away at Iraqis' hopes for the future, pushing growing numbers to try to emigrate. In 2019, hundreds of thousands of protesters flooded Iraqi cities, first railing against poor public services, then explicitly accusing politicians of plundering resources meant for the people. / AFP / Hussein FALEH

"If I'm a cigarette trader," the official said, "I go to Kataeb Hezbollah's economic office in the Jadriyah neighbourhood [of Baghdad], knock on the door, and say: 'I want to co-ordinate with you'."

One key figure is always the "mukhalles" – the state customs agent assigned to an incoming shipment who often doubles as a middleman for an armed group.

"There's no such thing as a neutral mukhalles. They're all backed by parties," the intelligence agent said.

Once paid – in cash for smaller operations, and by bank wire for larger deals – the mukhalles tampers with paperwork.

By misrepresenting the type or amount of goods imported or their value, the customs fee is sharply reduced.

One importer told AFP that under-declaring quantities could score a trader discounts of up to 60 per cent.

For high-tariff goods, meanwhile, the favoured trick is to declare them as something else altogether.

Cigarette imports are taxed with a regular import tariff of 30 per cent, plus a further 100 per cent to encourage consumers to buy local brands.

To cut those fees, cigarettes are often recorded as tissues or plastic goods.

Facilitators also tamper with a shipment's estimated total value, which is first marked on the import licence but re-evaluated at the point of entry.

In one case described to AFP by an Umm Qasr official, metal reinforcements were valued by the customs agent so cheaply that the importer was charged $200,000 in duties, when he should have paid more than $1 million.

With the right connections, some cargo slips through with no inspection at all.

"I'm not corrupt, but even I have had to wave through cargo I didn't actually inspect because the shipment was linked to a powerful party," said the customs worker quoted earlier.

One importer told AFP he paid $30,000 to a customs agent at Umm Qasr to allow through prohibited refurbished electrical equipment.

A worker unloads imported corn at the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr near Basra, on March 14, 2021. AFP
A worker unloads imported corn at the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr near Basra, on March 14, 2021. AFP

He said he also regularly bribed port police to warn him of surprise inspections.

For an additional fee, the officer offered an extra service – to send patrols to hold up rival imports.

With points of entry seen as cash cows, public servants pay their superiors for postings, especially at Umm Qasr.

"Minor clerks' jobs in some outposts change hands for $50,000 to $100,000, and sometimes it goes up to multiples of that," Mr Allawi, the finance minister, said.

The subterfuge around the import system "contributes to state plunder", he told AFP.

To protect their pillaging, parties and armed groups use their political influence and threats of violence.

A worker at Mandali told AFP he once delayed a shipment from Iran because of missing paperwork, but then allowed it through, duty free, after the mukhalles handling the cargo brandished his credentials as a Hashed member.

The intelligence officer said an informant at Zerbatiya crossing, which likewise borders Iran and is managed by Asaib Ahl Al Haq, was repeatedly put on leave for blocking efforts to import Iranian produce customs-free. He eventually relented.

"We came back later to talk to him again and found he had joined Asaib," the intelligence officer said.

Trucks parked along ships on a pier at the port of Umm Qasr, south of Iraq's southern city of Basra. Iraq is ranked the 21st most corrupt country by Transparency International.AFP
Trucks parked along ships on a pier at the port of Umm Qasr, south of Iraq's southern city of Basra. Iraq is ranked the 21st most corrupt country by Transparency International.AFP

A senior member of Iraq's border commission told AFP he receives regular calls from private numbers threatening his relatives by name, in an effort to intimidate him into halting cargo inspections.

The customs worker was among others who also said they contended with death threats.

"We can't say anything because we'll be killed," he said. "People are afraid. This is a real mafia."

This parallel system has become the lifeblood of Iraqi parties and armed groups, including Iran-backed PMF factions, said Renad Mansour of the Chatham House think tank.

They professionalised this financing stream after Iraq's defeat of ISIS in 2017.

That victory ended the allocation of large defence budgets to the anti-ISIS military campaign, which included the PMF, sparking the need to find alternative funding sources.

They latched on tighter after Iran came under sanctions imposed by former US president Donald Trump.

In March 2020, the US blacklisted Al Khamael Maritime Services (AKMS), a shipping company in Umm Qasr, for using Shiite paramilitary groups to help the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps "evade Iraqi government inspection protocol".

It also sanctioned two Iraqis and two Iranians linked to AKMS for financing Kataeb and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.

The sharing of spoils is surprisingly smooth, given the rivalries among parties and armed groups.

"One border point can make up to $120,000 a day," Mr Mansour said. "This doesn't go only to one group, but is shared by many, which at times may even seem to be enemies when you zoom out."

Turf wars are rare, but do happen. In February, the separate killings of two members of Asaib Ahl Al Haq were described to AFP by two PMF sources as "economically motivated".

But usually, the cartel operates smoothly.

"There's no competition," said the Iraqi intelligence agent. "They know if one of them goes down, they all will."

The parallel system starves the state of a funding resource for schools, hospitals and other public services at a time when the poverty rate in Iraq has reached 40 per cent.

"We should get $7 billion dollars [a year] from customs," Mr Allawi told AFP. "In fact, just 10 per cent to 12 per cent of the customs resources reach the finance ministry."

The cost of bribes ultimately also trickles down to the consumer, an Iraqi official said. "As a consumer, you're the one who ends up paying for that corruption in the store."

Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhemi, within weeks of taking office in May 2020, prioritised border reform to shore up government revenue hit hard by depressed oil prices.

In highly publicised trips to Umm Qasr and Mandali, he vowed to send new troops to each entry point and regularly swap senior customs staff to break up corrupt circuits.

There were some modest victories. The border commission now reports daily seizures of cargo in cases where importers tried to evade customs fees.

Iraq collected $818 million in duties in 2020, the commission said, slightly higher than the previous year's $768 million, despite imports being hit by the coronavirus downturn.

But importers, facilitators and even officials laughed off the premier's measures.

They told AFP that while some importers were now paying government tariffs, they also still paid facilitators to stop goods being arbitrarily held up.

"In the end, we're paying double," said an Arab businessman, who has imported into Iraq for more than a decade.

The well connected, meanwhile, were not affected.

"Nothing changed," said an Iraqi importer, who admitted he brought in construction materials through Mandali without paying tariffs.

Security forces described chaos.

"The police there is all involved in the bribery," a soldier, whose unit was briefly stationed in Mandali, told AFP.

"The traders drop money like crazy. We arrested one guy but they got him out the next day."

The senior border commission official admitted some promised reinforcements never happened.

"Other times, it's a joke of a unit" consisting only of "about two dozen guys", he said.

But the main issue, importers and officials agreed, was that staff rotations did not extend to a crucial cog in the corruption machine: the mukhalles.

"The main facilitator of corruption is still there," the customs official said. "One rotten apple will spoil the rest."

An aerial view of containers being unloaded off a cargo ship moored at the port of Umm Qasr, south of Iraq's southern city of Basra. AFP
An aerial view of containers being unloaded off a cargo ship moored at the port of Umm Qasr, south of Iraq's southern city of Basra. AFP

A US defence official said Kataeb Hezbollah, accused recently of firing rockets at the US embassy, was ordered to close its office in Baghdad Airport's arrivals terminal to stop it from smuggling in high-value goods.

"Now they've got a position just outside the airport, but they can still drive up to the plane and do what they need to do," the official said. "Corruption still happens."

Instead of brazenly phoning each other, facilitators moved to WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging apps.

"Our work has actually become harder because they're taking more precautions," the intelligence agent said.

The cartel remains intact.

Officials said they expect traders to react by increasingly avoiding official border crossings, relying on smuggling instead, or importing goods unofficially through Iraq's northern Kurdish region.

Trying to dismantle the lucrative network completely, they said , would bring violence Mr Kadhemi may not be prepared for.

"A single berth at Umm Qasr is equivalent to a state budget," the intelligence agent said, using deliberate exaggeration to emphasise the point.

"They won't compromise easily."

US Industrial Market figures, Q1 2017

Vacancy Rate 5.4%

Markets With Positive Absorption 85.7 per cent

New Supply 55 million sq ft

New Supply to Inventory 0.4 per cent

Under Construction 198.2 million sq ft

(Source: Colliers)

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo 

 Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua

 Based: Dubai, UAE

 Number of employees: 28

 Sector: Financial services

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Crops that could be introduced to the UAE

1: Quinoa 

2. Bathua 

3. Amaranth 

4. Pearl and finger millet 

5. Sorghum

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Staying there

On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.

More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr

The Penguin

Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz

Creator: Lauren LeFranc

Rating: 4/5

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5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eamana%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Karim%20Farra%20and%20Ziad%20Aboujeb%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERegulator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDFSA%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinancial%20services%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E85%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESelf-funded%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo

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The biog

Name: Samar Frost

Born: Abu Dhabi

Hobbies: Singing, music and socialising with friends

Favourite singer: Adele

Racecard

7pm: Abu Dhabi - Conditions (PA) Dh 80,000 (Dirt) 1,600m

7.30pm: Dubai - Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,400m

8pm: Sharjah - Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,600m

8.30pm: Ajman - Handicap (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 2,200m

9pm: Umm Al Quwain - The Entisar - Listed (TB) Dh132,500 (D) 2,000m

9.30pm: Ras Al Khaimah - Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m

10pm: Fujairah - Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,200m

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
​​​​​​​Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km

RACE CARD

5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Turf) 2,200m
5.30pm: Khor Al Baghal – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
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6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m
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7.30pm: Khor Laffam – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m

How to register as a donor

1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention

2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants

3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register. 

4) The campaign uses the hashtag  #donate_hope

Results

2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m; Winner: AF Al Baher, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).

2.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m; Winner: Talento Puma, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.

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3.30pm: Jebel Ali Stakes Listed (TB) Dh500,000 1,950m; Winner: Mark Of Approval, Patrick Cosgrave, Mahmood Hussain.

4pm: Conditions (TB) Dh125,000 1,400m; Winner: Dead-heat Raakez, Jim Crowley, Nicholas Bachalard/Attribution, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.

4.30pm: Jebel Ali Sprint (TB) Dh500,000 1,000m; Winner: AlKaraama, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.

5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,400m; Winner: Cachao, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi

Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe

For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.

Golden Dallah

For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.

Al Mrzab Restaurant

For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.

Al Derwaza

For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup. 

Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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Quick facts on cancer
  • Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases 
  •  About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime 
  • By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million 
  • 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries 
  • This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030 
  • At least one third of common cancers are preventable 
  • Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers 
  • Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
    strategies 
  • The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion

   

PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE

1 Man City    26   20   3   3   63   17   63 

2 Liverpool   25   17   6   2   64   20    57 

3 Chelsea      25   14   8  3   49   18    50 

4 Man Utd    26   13   7  6   44   34    46 

----------------------------------------

5 West Ham   26   12   6   8   45   34    42 

----------------------------------------

6 Arsenal      23  13   3   7   36   26   42 

7 Wolves       24  12   4   8   23   18   40 

8 Tottenham  23  12   4   8   31   31   39  

Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

'Champions'

Director: Manuel Calvo
Stars: Yassir Al Saggaf and Fatima Al Banawi
Rating: 2/5
 

What is 'Soft Power'?

Soft power was first mentioned in 1990 by former US Defence Secretary Joseph Nye. 
He believed that there were alternative ways of cultivating support from other countries, instead of achieving goals using military strength. 
Soft power is, at its root, the ability to convince other states to do what you want without force. 
This is traditionally achieved by proving that you share morals and values.

Itcan profile

Founders: Mansour Althani and Abdullah Althani

Based: Business Bay, with offices in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India

Sector: Technology, digital marketing and e-commerce

Size: 70 employees 

Revenue: On track to make Dh100 million in revenue this year since its 2015 launch

Funding: Self-funded to date

 

England Test squad

Ben Stokes (captain), Joe Root, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts

 
What to watch out for:

Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways

The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof

The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history

Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure

Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used

Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.

MATCH INFO

Norwich City 0 Southampton 3 (Ings 49', Armstrong 54', Redmond 79')

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The biog

Hometown: Cairo

Age: 37

Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror

Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing

Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition

The specs

Engine: 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 715bhp

Torque: 900Nm

Price: Dh1,289,376

On sale: now

Top goalscorers in Europe

34 goals - Robert Lewandowski (68 points)

34 - Ciro Immobile (68)

31 - Cristiano Ronaldo (62)

28 - Timo Werner (56)

25 - Lionel Messi (50)

*29 - Erling Haaland (50)

23 - Romelu Lukaku (46)

23 - Jamie Vardy (46)

*NOTE: Haaland's goals for Salzburg count for 1.5 points per goal. Goals for Dortmund count for two points per goal.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Groom and Two Brides

Director: Elie Semaan

Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla

Rating: 3/5

In numbers

1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:

  • 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
  • 150 tonnes to landfill
  • 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal

800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal

Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year

25 staff on site

 

MO
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreators%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Ramy%20Youssef%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Amer%2C%20Teresa%20Ruiz%2C%20Omar%20Elba%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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

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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SupplyVan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2029%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20MRO%20and%20e-commerce%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULTS

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).

5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Sawt Assalam, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.

6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Foah, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.

6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Faiza, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: RB Dixie Honor, Antonio Fresu, Helal Al Alawi.

7.30pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Boerhan, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard.

SERIE A FIXTURES

Friday Sassuolo v Benevento (Kick-off 11.45pm)

Saturday Crotone v Spezia (6pm), Torino v Udinese (9pm), Lazio v Verona (11.45pm)

Sunday Cagliari v Inter Milan (3.30pm), Atalanta v Fiorentina (6pm), Napoli v Sampdoria (6pm), Bologna v Roma (6pm), Genoa v Juventus (9pm), AC Milan v Parma (11.45pm)

How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?

If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.

Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.

Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.

Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).

Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal. 

Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.

By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.

As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.

Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.

He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.” 

This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”

Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.

Company profile

Name: Oulo.com

Founder: Kamal Nazha

Based: Dubai

Founded: 2020

Number of employees: 5

Sector: Technology

Funding: $450,000

Jawab Iteiqal
Director: Mohamed Sammy
Starring: Mohamed Ramadan, Ayad Nasaar, Mohamed Adel and Sabry Fawaz
2 stars

Tentative schedule of 2017/18 Ashes series

1st Test November 23-27, The Gabba, Brisbane

2nd Test December 2-6, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide

3rd Test Dcember 14-18, Waca, Perth

4th Test December 26-30, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne

5th Test January 4-8, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney

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.

The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Transmission: seven-speed auto

Power: 420 bhp

Torque: 624Nm

Price: from Dh293,200

On sale: now

Calls

Directed by: Fede Alvarez

Starring: Pedro Pascal, Karen Gillian, Aaron Taylor-Johnson

4/5