Ukrainian Elina Svitolina is continuing her “mission” to use her platform as an international tennis star to highlight issues affecting her war-stricken home country.
Svitolina, who is currently ranked 23rd in the WTA world rankings but has been as high as No 3, has been an outspoken critic of Russia's invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022 and has led to hundreds of thousands of casualties on both sides and large swathes of eastern Ukraine annexed by Russia.
The 30-year-old is a global ambassador for 'Bring Kids Back UA', an initiative led by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to secure the safe return of Ukrainian children who were forcefully deported to Russia during the early stages of the conflict.
“I feel like I have a mission, I have a platform that I use to work,” Svitolina, who is married to French tennis player Gael Monfils, told The National.
“To bring attention, to bring people together, to unite, for the causes and for our future because hopefully the war will end soon and then we'll have a lot of work to rebuild our country and to build our future.
“This initiative is working really hard to bring back kids that have been stolen from Ukraine. There's still more than 20,000 kids that are missing. They are our future.”
Bring Kids Back’s main objective is "identifying, locating, and safely repatriating all illegally deported children to reunite them with their families and guardians in a secure environment".
Svitolina has heard first hand the stories of children who have successfully returned home including one girl, born in Kherson in 2008, who was forcibly taken out of Ukraine and moved to a Russian camp.
“She was told that Russia is the only country she should care about, and that Ukraine is not even a nation,” she said. “These kinds of stories are really, really tough to hear.”
On the court, Svitolina made a positive start to the new season when she reached the Australian Open quarter-finals, losing to eventual champion Madison Keys in three sets.
After beating Russia's Veronika Kudermetova to reach the last eight, Svitolina wrote “The spirit of Ukraine” on a TV camera lens at the end of the match.
“This fighting spirit I try to show, that I try to represent as well,” Svitolina, who refuses to shake hands or pose for photographs with Russian or Belarusian players because of the war, told reporters in Melbourne.
“These days are very difficult for Ukraine. It's almost been three years that the war is ongoing.
“On a daily basis it is a very heavy rucksack that all Ukrainians have on their backs.
“For me to find a way to win matches, to find a way to bring a little light, a little win for the Ukrainian people is something that I feel I am responsible for. To bring the fight is the least that I can do.”
Three-time Grand Slam semi-finalist Svitolina has “high expectations” for the new season as she looks to add to her 17 singles career titles.
Last September, she had an operation to insert two screws into her ankle and took time off the tour to get her body back in working order.
Now she is back, and while the ultimate goal of winning a Grand Slam title has yet to be fulfilled, Svitolina is pleased with her progress.
“I always have high goals for myself, but it really important to break it down into the small steps,” she said. “And right now, I've been really trying to play well on the court because I missed four months at the end of last year with my surgery.
“It hasn’t been easy after that, but I feel like I had a good start to the year in Australia, making the quarter-finals there.
“So, I feel like I'm on a good path. I just have to get back and into the rhythm, into the tournaments and then the results will come.”
Having recently just competed at the Qatar Open and Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships – and with Saudi Arabia now hosting the season-ending WTA Finals – Svitolina believes the region's influence on women's tennis is a positive one.
“I feel it's a good step," she said. “I feel we are doing everything possible to involve kids and, to involve women.
“It could be professional, it could be amateur as well, but I feel like sports is uniting a lot of people. It's a great platform to unite for good causes.
“Tennis for me personally, it brought a lot to my life and I'm very thankful for my parents for having chosen this sport for me.”
Players Selected for La Liga Trials
U18 Age Group
Name: Ahmed Salam (Malaga)
Position: Right Wing
Nationality: Jordanian
Name: Yahia Iraqi (Malaga)
Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Morocco
Name: Mohammed Bouherrafa (Almeria)
Position: Centre-Midfield
Nationality: French
Name: Mohammed Rajeh (Cadiz)
Position: Striker
Nationality: Jordanian
U16 Age Group
Name: Mehdi Elkhamlichi (Malaga)
Position: Lead Striker
Nationality: Morocco
Afghanistan fixtures
- v Australia, today
- v Sri Lanka, Tuesday
- v New Zealand, Saturday,
- v South Africa, June 15
- v England, June 18
- v India, June 22
- v Bangladesh, June 24
- v Pakistan, June 29
- v West Indies, July 4
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
FINAL SCORES
Fujairah 130 for 8 in 20 overs
(Sandy Sandeep 29, Hamdan Tahir 26 no, Umair Ali 2-15)
Sharjah 131 for 8 in 19.3 overs
(Kashif Daud 51, Umair Ali 20, Rohan Mustafa 2-17, Sabir Rao 2-26)
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rob%20Marshall%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHalle%20Bailey%2C%20Jonah%20Hauer-King%2C%20Melissa%20McCarthy%2C%20Javier%20Bardem%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More on animal trafficking
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.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 435hp at 5,900rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,800-5,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Price: from Dh498,542
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,200m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,900m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 2,000m
8.15pm: Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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South Korea
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RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
