'Disgraceful' - Rangers fans condemned after thousands flout lockdown to let off flares and celebrate Premiership - in pictures


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First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon condemned the "infuriating" and "disgraceful" gathering of Glasgow Rangers fans celebrating the club's Premiership triumph in breach of the Covid lockdown.

Rangers ended a decade-long wait to get their hands on the title on Sunday after Celtic failed to beat Dundee United, meaning the Hoops are 20 points behind their rivals with six games of the season to go.

Thousands of supporters congregated outside Ibrox Stadium and George Square to celebrate, flouting coronavirus restrictions that ban mass gatherings.

"I share folks' anger at this. Everyone has made so many sacrifices in the past year & seeing a minority risk our progress is infuriating & disgraceful," Sturgeon said on Twitter.

"It is deeply unfair to the entire country, and the police have a hard enough job already. Please ask fans to go home @RangersFC"

Sturgeon had earlier applauded Rangers after they were crowned champions of Scotland, denying Celtic a record-breaking 10th consecutive top-flight trophy.

In reaction to a story highlighting some fans breaking lockdown rules at George Square, she said: "I congratulate @RangersFC on the title win & recognise what a moment this is for fans.

"But gathering in crowds just now risks lives, and could delay exit from lockdown for everyone else. If those gathering care at all about the safety of others & the country, they will go home."

Scores

Oman 109-3 in 18.4 overs (Aqib Ilyas 45 not out, Aamir Kaleem 27) beat UAE 108-9 in 20 overs (Usman 27, Mustafa 24, Fayyaz 3-16, Bilal 3-23)

Gender pay parity on track in the UAE

The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.

"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."

Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.

"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.

As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.