Moria refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece, which has a capacity for 2,000 but is overflowing with 6,000 people / Georgios Makkas for The National
Moria refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece, which has a capacity for 2,000 but is overflowing with 6,000 people / Georgios Makkas for The National

The plight of Syrian refugees is a blot on the human race



I write in reference to your heartrending editorial Refugee camps hold forgotten thousands (April 2): I hope global leaders like US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping read your editorial, which seems to have been written with the tears and blood of the refugees in Greece and not with normal ink.

How can we be so indifferent to the plight of Syrian refugees? How is this callousness any different to the blind eye which the world turned to the plight of the victims of the Nazis during the Second World War?

Leaders of various countries are elected by their voters to look after the interests of their people. So Mr Trump is right to focus on reserving local jobs for Americans and Mr Xi is justified in expanding the Chinese economy.

But how can all world leaders ignore the screams of innocent Syrian refugees who face starvation, disease, deprivation, molestation and even death?

There are some causes which trump trade, jobs or elections. The issue of how war-impacted refugees are treated by the world is a humanitarian one and the United Nations should take charge.

If the UN does not act immediately on this issue, the very purpose for its creation and the basis of its existence will be undermined.

Syrian refugees cannot just be left to die in this day and age. This is a serious blot on the entire human race, which history will not forget or condone.

Rajendra Aneja, Dubai

Unemployment has beleaguered India for too long

I refer to the article India's jobs crisis: 25 million applicants for 90,000 vacancies (April 2): Samanth Subramanian's elaborate explanation of the current crisis of unemployment in India was meaningful and thought-provoking. Unemployment has plagued India for too long, no matter who was, or is, in power. Despite the fact that the current Narendra Modi-led government has created numerous policies to boost jobs growth, the number of unemployed continues to increase. Among the causes for this sad reality is the migration from rural to urban India. Another factor that defies all the strategising by governments is the growth of population. The crisis of unemployment will be mitigated somewhat if the government can figure out a way to slow down population growth.

K Ragavan, Bangalore

Book yourself on a Saudi road trip when tourist visas are introduced

I refer to your article Saudi Arabia says tourist visa rules 'complete' (April 1). At the moment, you don't have to wait if you have family to visit there and if you are feeling adventurous, you can drive all the way from the UAE to Jordan.

Mohammed Nawas, Abu Dhabi

Bahrainis deserve their bounty of black gold

In reference to your article Bahrain makes biggest oil discovery since 1932 (April 1), this is fantastic. The Bahrainis deserve such good news.

Angelika Lancsak, London

Why your domicile status is important

Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.

Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born. 

UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.

A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.

MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Match on BeIN Sports

The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
La Mer lowdown

La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
 

Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica

Best Agent: Jorge Mendes

Best Club : Liverpool   

 Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)  

 Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker

 Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo

 Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP

 Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart

Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)

Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)

Best Women's Player:  Lucy Bronze

Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi

 Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)

 Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)

 Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

THE BIO

Bio Box

Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul

Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader

Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Favorite food: seafood

Favorite place to travel: Lebanon

Favorite movie: Braveheart

RESULTS

Men
1 Marius Kipserem (KEN) 2:04:04
2 Abraham Kiptum (KEN) 2:04:16
3 Dejene Debela Gonfra (ETH) 2:07:06
4 Thomas Rono (KEN) 2:07:12
5 Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:09:18

Women
1 Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 2:20:16
2 Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:20:54
3 Gelete Burka (ETH) 2:24:07
4 Chaltu Tafa (ETH) 2:25:09
5 Caroline Kilel (KEN) 2:29:14

JAPAN SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

The biog

Name: Timothy Husband

Nationality: New Zealand

Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney

Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier

Favourite music: Billy Joel

Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia

Mica

Director: Ismael Ferroukhi

Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani

3 stars

Election pledges on migration

CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections" 

SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom" 

Glossary of a stock market revolution

Reddit

A discussion website

Redditor

The users of Reddit

Robinhood

A smartphone app for buying and selling shares

Short seller

Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future

Short squeeze

Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting 

Naked short

An illegal practice