ANWARA, BANGLADESH // Mohammed Jahangir Alam's days in the village are numbered.
His brother, Mohammed Bohran Uddin, was among the 19 Bangladeshis who died in the Al Ain road crash on February 4. In his place, it will fall to Mr Alam to become the family's primary earner.
He makes just 5,400 taka (Dh250) a month as a bank clerk, barely enough to feed himself and his parents.
"We sent my brother abroad to help feed the family," he said. "I stayed behind to look after my parents. I really don't want to work as a labourer but if I have to, I will."
Mr Alam is the family's only high-school graduate. But now, like millions of Bangladeshis, he will leave the country to earn a living.
"Our hope lies in Jahangir now," said Anwara Begum, Mr Alam's mother. "If he does not find work in the Middle East, I don't know how we will survive."
Bangladesh's economy has struggled to keep pace with its growing population. Farming, still done largely by hand, has failed to generate enough jobs - each year about 1.5 million young people enter the job market, but there are fewer than 500,000 new jobs.
The result is that 40 per cent of the country's 150 million people live below the poverty line.
Since the mid-1970s, they have increasingly sought their fortune abroad. About 6.7 million Bangladeshis now work overseas, sending home US$2.4billion (Dh8.8bn) in more than 140 countries last year alone.
"Unskilled labourers have no other means of employment here," said Indrajit Kundu, a professor of sociology at the University of Chittagong in Bangladesh. "The land holdings for families is small and does not generate enough income. They have no other option other than to migrate."
The money goes a long way in the villages, helping families pay for health care and education, and to buy land, build homes, and purchase cars. Some start small businesses or buy more land holdings, creating a retirement plan.
"Even if they are labourers there, their families' lives run well here," said Zahedul Hassan, a teacher at a primary school in Fatickchari county, where four of the men were buried.
The Middle East's familiar culture and common religion make it particularly hospitable, which, says Mr Kundu, creates a chain of migration in which one worker goes to a country, and then finds jobs there for other members of his family.
The concentrating effect is powerful. More than two-thirds of the Bangladeshis who went abroad in the first half of last year went to the Middle East, according to the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training of Bangladesh - and, said the Bangladeshi Embassy in Abu Dhabi, a million of its citizens live and work in the UAE, mostly in informal employment.
Many of the families that lost sons and brothers in last week's crash will now try to use that chain to make up for the loss of their breadwinner, sending other male relatives to take the place of those who died.
In the case of Mohammed Ala Uddin, 41, who was among the dead, his younger brother Nizam, 35, will be sent to the Middle East to work. He is a carpenter by tradition.
"They will now pool their resources to send him abroad so he can become a pillar of support," said Mohammed Habibullah Babar, commissioner of the Fatickchari district council, one of the several areas that buried their dead on Sunday.
Not all the families are so fortunate. Arif Uddin, 22, died leaving behind an ailing grandfather and his divorced mother - and no male relatives of working age.
"There is no one to take his place," said Mr Babar. "The mother's only hope is the compensation she will receive."
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
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Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
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Fuel consumption: L/100km
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Name: Yousef Al Bahar
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Tomorrow 2021
PRESIDENTS CUP
Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday (Internationals first mention). All times UAE:
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Name: Carzaty
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Launched: 2017
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Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
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Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
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Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
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MATCH INFO
Azerbaijan 0
Wales 2 (Moore 10', Wilson 34')
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
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What is an FTO Designation?
FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
Source: US Department of State
COMPANY%20PROFILE
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
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Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
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bundesliga results
Mainz 0 Augsburg 1 (Niederlechner 1')
Schalke 1 (Caligiuri pen 51') Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Miranda og 81')
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
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- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
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Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
