This month marks the tenth anniversary of the takeover of the Syrian town of Palmyra by ISIS, where fighters destroyed and looted parts of Syria’s ancient heritage site. Staff from The Halo Trust, the landmine clearance charity I run, have just conducted reconnaissance work there, with a view to clearing the site of mines and explosives so it can be protected and one day welcome tourists again.
In similar vein, Halo has made safe Afghanistan’s historic Bala Hissar fort in Kabul and the 15th-century Musalla Minarets in Herat. We also removed hundreds of mines laid in 1967 around the baptism site of Jesus on the River Jordan, allowing the return of pilgrims and tourists. This work removing explosives not only saves lives but protects precious heritage, allowing people to rebuild their countries and develop their economies.
And it has never been in greater demand. From Myanmar to Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Sahel, the Middle East and Ukraine, war stalks the earth.
Analysis by the Peace Research Institute Oslo suggests that the number, intensity and length of conflicts worldwide is at its highest level since before the end of the Cold War. The study found that there were 55 active conflicts. In all, around two billion people live in areas affected by conflict.
At the same time, multilateral peace processes have stalled. Local actors are more powerful, and geopolitics more divided. And nothing drives people into poverty, danger and displacement more than endless cycles of armed violence.
In this insecure world, budgets for humanitarian aid are being slashed or repurposed for defence. This has happened first in the US and UK, with other western donor governments expected to follow suit.
As a former soldier and now chief executive of Halo, I am the only ex-general running a UK NGO. I do not come from a traditional humanitarian background, and I do not necessarily subscribe to humanitarian orthodoxies. My view of the world is necessarily rooted in my experience as a soldier. I certainly believe that Europe does need to defend itself. I therefore believe in rearmament as a means to protect democracy and sovereignty.
Organisations like Halo need to make the case that defence and aid are two sides of the same coin – both make donor nations safer, while alleviating suffering
Last month, I addressed the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development conference and called on the aid community to develop innovative thinking rather than simply bemoan reductions in foreign aid. Halo, like other organisations, needs to adjust to the new reality and set out a role for humanitarian organisations in a multipolar world.
Innovative thinking on aid must include the premise that defence spending and humanitarian intervention are linked. Defence is the projection of hard power. Aid is often portrayed as soft power. The mine-clearing and bomb disposal work of the Halo Trust sits somewhere between the two – helping clean up after the use of hard power. But both aid and defence help to make for a safer and more stable world.
It helps to think of the three elements of foreign affairs: defence, diplomacy and development. These might be defined as the coercive, the persuasive and the altruistic means by which governments can achieve their foreign policy objectives.
The theory of change that previously justified the money spent on overseas aid was that, in acting altruistically, donor countries could help address evident wrongs in beneficiary countries – reducing poverty and infant mortality, improving the lives of women, giving children access to education and a host of other outcomes with evident moral value enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals.
But with the consensus on aid fracturing, the question therefore arises whether donor countries should move altruistic aid expenditure closer to the coercive and persuasive branches of government. In essence, would aid money be better utilised if better integrated with defence and diplomacy, helping to stabilise the many countries of the world now subject to conflict?
Organisations like Halo need to make the case that defence and aid are two sides of the same coin – both make donor nations safer, while alleviating suffering. Halo’s work clearing mines and managing weapons stops them falling into the wrong hands, fuelling endless cycles of violence and instability.
We also need to think more creatively about the sources of funding for humanitarian action. One of the reasons I was in Dubai is because the reduction in funding from western donors is an opportunity for new players, with their own strategic priorities to wield more influence on the direction and delivery of aid.
The Gulf is increasingly the crossroads for partnerships and action in tackling the issues of our time. We can’t do more with less, but we can do things differently through innovation, new alliances and smart, compassionate action to help those in need while also fostering stability and prosperity.
Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
Federer's 19 grand slam titles
Australian Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Marat Safin; 2006 bt Marcos Baghdatis; 2007 bt Fernando Gonzalez; 2010 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Rafael Nadal
French Open (1 title) - 2009 bt Robin Soderling
Wimbledon (8 titles) - 2003 bt Mark Philippoussis; 2004 bt Andy Roddick; 2005 bt Andy Roddick; 2006 bt Rafael Nadal; 2007 bt Rafael Nadal; 2009 bt Andy Roddick; 2012 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Marin Cilic
US Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Lleyton Hewitt; 2005 bt Andre Agassi; 2006 bt Andy Roddick; 2007 bt Novak Djokovic; 2008 bt Andy Murray
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
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.
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
england euro squad
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Man Utd), Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Jordan Pickford (Everton)
Defenders: John Stones (Man City), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), Harry Maguire (Man Utd), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Man City), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Reece James (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid)
Midfielders: Mason Mount (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds)
Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Raheem Sterling (Man City), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Phil Foden (Man City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Honeymoonish
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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UNSC Elections 2022-23
Seats open:
- Two for Africa Group
- One for Asia-Pacific Group (traditionally Arab state or Tunisia)
- One for Latin America and Caribbean Group
- One for Eastern Europe Group
Countries so far running:
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
