European Union flags outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on July 16. Yves Herman / Reuters
European Union flags outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on July 16. Yves Herman / Reuters
European Union flags outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on July 16. Yves Herman / Reuters
European Union flags outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on July 16. Yves Herman / Reuters

The EU's green recovery is turning challenges into opportunities


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As the world fights the Covid-19 pandemic and gradually starts to prepare for dealing with its long-term impacts, governments and societies need to learn from this crisis and  build a better future.

The main lesson learned is how the deep interdependency between our countries results in vulnerability to unanticipated external shocks. With the virus spreading uncontrollably from continent to continent, the governments that have been more successful are those who have come out pro-actively with clear and honest plans based on science to respond to the virus.

European stocks rose last week thanks to the agreement reached by the leaders of the EU to launch an economic reconstruction plan after the coronavirus pandemic. EPA
European stocks rose last week thanks to the agreement reached by the leaders of the EU to launch an economic reconstruction plan after the coronavirus pandemic. EPA

The UAE has been at the vanguard. From the very start, the Emirates has developed large-scale capacity to carry out mass testing and deliver medical care. It has introduced clear rules on social distancing that have helped reign in contagion. It has responded promptly to the economic crisis by announcing a huge economic stimulus package.

While the European Union was hit hard, we have delivered a powerful and coherent response, successfully flattening the curve. On July 21, under the German presidency of the Council or the EU, European leaders reached a historic, landmark deal to bring the continent out of the Covid-19 crisis. The agreement on a recovery package, combined with a seven-year budget totalling more than €1.8 trillion, makes the EU stronger and more united than ever.

The EU has turned the Covid-19 challenge into an opportunity. Our recovery plan prepares the future by investing into the green and digital transitions. We will build a fairer and more resilient society. Climate objectives figure prominently in the package, which earmarks 30 per cent of the budget for climate investments.

The virus is a large-scale human tragedy. Science tells us that this is just a warning compared to the existential risks for our civilisation associated with global warming. Evidence shows  that new infectious disease outbreaks are increasingly triggered and spread by global warming, as well as ecosystem and biodiversity degradation.

A healthy natural environment is a prerequisite for resilience and prosperity. If the international community fails to bring increasing greenhouse gas emissions down and environmental destruction continues, we will face catastrophic consequences, including making large parts of our planet uninhabitable. It is happening now and will accelerate in the coming decades. Also, the growing number of extreme weather events will continue to destroy livelihoods, crops, homes and infrastructure. It will trigger massive wildfires and cause mass migration on an unprecedented scale.

Global warming is harder to tackle than the Covid-19 pandemic, and the risks are even greater. There is no vaccine against climate change and its devastating impacts. We have to flatten the emissions curve fast. This will only be possible if we take bold action. Therefore, we must use the economic rebound from Covid-19 to accelerate the transition to a safer, more resilient future. The good news is that we can do this!

The choices we make today will define our future. Over the next two years, governments around the world will seek to spend around €10tn. The massive investment needed to kick-start our economies must relieve the burden on our  shoulders, not make it heavier. This is why recovery plans should be designed as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build back better and invest in the green economy of the 21st century – and not in the  carbon economy of the past.

It is great that the UAE maintains – despite the economic challenges brought by the pandemic – its plans for diversification and investing in renewable energy, thus directing the country towards a sustainable future. This is leadership.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen leaves the main chamber of the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday, July 23, 2020. AP Photo
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen leaves the main chamber of the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday, July 23, 2020. AP Photo
Global warming is harder to tackle than the Covid-19 pandemic, and the risks are even greater

The EU will engage with the UAE and the world on ways to direct investment towards environmentally sustainable economic activities. We will share expertise, finance common projects, explain our regulations and build true and deep partnerships.

It is not idealistic to invest everything into winning this collective challenge. It is about allowing our children to enjoy a good life on a peaceful planet. It is about staying true to our values, listening to science, ensuring  our prosperity, and building a better, cleaner, healthier and safer future. There is no good alternative to green recovery.

Global solidarity, open and fair trade, rules-based order and multilateralism are crucial elements for the green recovery. We need to do this together. The European Union invites our UAE friends and all our international partners to put in place clear and robust low-carbon policies and green recovery strategies. This will give our societies a sense of direction and purpose, and guide investors, businesses, workers and consumers towards the sustainability that the next generation demands from us. Let’s advance together in this direction.

Andrea Matteo Fontana is the European Union Ambassador to the UAE

Peter Fischer is the German Ambassador to the UAE

Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

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Emirates exiles

Will Wilson is not the first player to have attained high-class representative honours after first learning to play rugby on the playing fields of UAE.

Jonny Macdonald
Abu Dhabi-born and raised, the current Jebel Ali Dragons assistant coach was selected to play for Scotland at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2011.

Jordan Onojaife
Having started rugby by chance when the Jumeirah College team were short of players, he later won the World Under 20 Championship with England.

Devante Onojaife
Followed older brother Jordan into England age-group rugby, as well as the pro game at Northampton Saints, but recently switched allegiance to Scotland.

While you're here
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Red flags
  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
  • Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
  • Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
  • Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
  • Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

UFC%20in%20Abu%20Dhabi
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Specs

Engine: 2-litre

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 255hp

Torque: 273Nm

Price: Dh240,000

What the law says

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.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

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.

'Project Power'

Stars: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback

Director: ​Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman

Rating: 3.5/5

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Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour Calendar 2018/19

July 29: OTA Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan

Sep 22-23: LA Convention Centre in Los Angeles, US

Nov 16-18: Carioca Arena Centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Feb 7-9: Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE

Mar 9-10: Copper Box Arena in London, UK

BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

Tonight's Chat on The National

Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.

Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.

Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.

Facebook | Our website | Instagram

AndhaDhun

Director: Sriram Raghavan

Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan

Rating: 3.5/5

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%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dhadak 2

Director: Shazia Iqbal

Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri 

Rating: 1/5

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League final:

Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports

Fireball

Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.

A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.

"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.

Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.

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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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer

Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000

Engine 3.6L V6

Transmission: Six-speed automatic

Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm

Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km