Three EU member states and three Middle Eastern countries expect to train personnel in border, customs, maritime and cybersecurity techniques at a cutting-edge US-funded facility in Cyprus that is scheduled to be ready early next year, the Cypriot foreign minister said on Thursday.
The Cyprus Centre for Land, Open-Seas, and Port Security (CYCLOPS) is scheduled to start operating on January 16, 2022, Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said, after inspecting the under-construction facility with US ambassador Judith Garber.
Mr Christodoulides said Cyprus was selected for the centre because the Mediterranean island nation is located at the southeastern end of the EU and enjoys good relations with nations in the Middle East.
“Officials from neighbouring countries as well as from EU member states will receive the kind of training required to counter common threats of a non-military nature,” he said.
CYCLOPS will include state-of-the-art equipment and a mobile facility to train officials on how to best protect key infrastructure projects and how to conduct cyber investigations and border screening. The US will provide equipment and training staff.
Cypriot government spokesman Kyriakos Koushos said US President Joe Biden considers Cyprus a “significant partner” in bolstering regional security in the east Mediterranean and has pledged to further strengthen US-Cyprus relations.
Mr Biden made the remarks in a letter addressed to Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, Mr Koushos said. In the letter, the US president looks forward to working with Mr Anastasiades to deal with issues of common interest in the east Mediterranean, the spokesman said.
Cyprus and the US have forged closer security links in recent years, culminating in the 2019 congressional approval of the Eastern Mediterranean Energy and Security Partnership Act, which underscored US support for an energy-based partnership between Greece, Cyprus and Israel.
Under the act, the US is providing ethnically-divided Cyprus with funding for military training and has partially lifted an arms embargo that was enacted 33 years ago to prevent a potential arms race from harming peace talks with the country's breakaway Turkish Cypriots.
Cyprus has licensed ExxonMobil to prospect for oil and gas in waters where the island nation has exclusive economic rights.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
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Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit
As he spoke, Mr Aboul Gheit repeatedly referred to the need to tackle issues affecting the welfare of people across the region both in terms of preventing conflict and in pushing development.
Lebanon is scheduled to host the fourth Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in January that will see regional leaders gather to tackle the challenges facing the Middle East. The last such summit was held in 2013. Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki told The National that the Beirut Summit “will be an opportunity for Arab leaders to discuss solely economic and social issues, the conference will not focus on political concerns such as Palestine, Syria or Libya". He added that its slogan will be “the individual is at the heart of development”, adding that it will focus on all elements of human capital.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
FORSPOKEN
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Indika
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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