Walid has finally made it. After years trekking through country after country, weeks in a makeshift French camp, and seven gruelling hours on a tiny boat, he is on British soil.
He has managed to cross the so-called 'death route'.
His friend Falah, an Iraqi who is travelling with his two daughters - nine-year-old Arwa and 13-year-old severely diabetic Rawane, is still in France.
Just 33km separate France and England at the narrowest part of the English Channel, but it is also one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world with cargo tankers fill the bottleneck.
Walid, from Kuwait, met Falah and his daughters in Frankfurt, Germany, travelling on the migrant route towards a better life.
"Even if this journey is nicknamed 'the death route", we want to cross. We're heading into the unknown -- there is just God, the water and us. Allah will decide our fate," said Falah.
Walid is a Bidoon, a stateless tribesman with no passport. He passed through Greece and other countries trying to reach Britain, and the choppy crossing doesn't scare him.
"The hardest thing is not knowing when you're leaving," he said.
"Before this, I had never stayed more than five days in the same place. But here, we don't know if it's tomorrow, in two days or in two months."
On Thursday, September 10 - one month and 13 days after he arrived in northern France - his smuggler confirms that the crossing is imminent.
"We don't know until what time we're going to wait before setting off," Walid said, on the way to the meeting point.
Police patrol the coast, forcing his party to stay hidden for hours.
Reaching Britain
At 7am, propelled by a weak engine, the boat slowly heads northwest. On board were 14 people including women, a baby and children, all wearing bright orange life jackets.
All they want is to reach British waters, so they will be taken ashore.
The boat’s engine stalls, and then restarts. The border is just a few kilometres away.
It's now 10am, and a red shape emerges in the distance. It's a lightship -- a ship that acts as a lighthouse and marks the start of British waters.
Walid is ecstatic, drained and emotional. He throws his mobile phone into the water to erase all trace of his past. His neighbours throw their arms to the sky and shout.
British coastguards arrive to tow them to the port of Dover. After a seven-hour crossing, the passengers set foot on British soil.
Walid, only has a few clothes into his small backpack. He is soon escorted into a bus to an immigration processing centre in Dover.
There, by law, people can officially ask for asylum before being taken to a shelter.
Father fled ISIS
On the other side of the Channel, Falah did not attempt the crossing.
Falah escaped Iraq in 2015 when the ISIS group was in full expansion. He left behind his wife and travelled on foot from Karbala in Iraq to Germany.
In Germany for two years, he felt he'd found a host country, but when his requests for asylum failed, so he set off again.
Every day, Falah has to find ice cubes to preserve his daughter's insulin, which he keeps stocked up via private donations and contacts, he says.
When it's good weather, they also wash in the nearby canal, and clean their clothes in the murky water.
In England, "everything will be easier," he believes. "I'll be able to work with my skills, in the food service or car industry."
Boulder shooting victims
• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
• Eric Talley, 51
• Kevin Mahoney, 61
• Lynn Murray, 62
• Jody Waters, 65
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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How to come clean about financial infidelity
- Be honest and transparent: It is always better to own up than be found out. Tell your partner everything they want to know. Show remorse. Inform them of the extent of the situation so they know what they are dealing with.
- Work on yourself: Be honest with yourself and your partner and figure out why you did it. Don’t be ashamed to ask for professional help.
- Give it time: Like any breach of trust, it requires time to rebuild. So be consistent, communicate often and be patient with your partner and yourself.
- Discuss your financial situation regularly: Ensure your spouse is involved in financial matters and decisions. Your ability to consistently follow through with what you say you are going to do when it comes to money can make all the difference in your partner’s willingness to trust you again.
- Work on a plan to resolve the problem together: If there is a lot of debt, for example, create a budget and financial plan together and ensure your partner is fully informed, involved and supported.
Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
SERIES INFO
Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series
All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Test series
1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March
Play starts at 9.30am
T20 series
1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March
TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube
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FIGHT%20CARD
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WHAT%20IS%20THE%20LICENSING%20PROCESS%20FOR%20VARA%3F
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Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
Why%20all%20the%20lefties%3F
%3Cp%3ESix%20of%20the%20eight%20fast%20bowlers%20used%20in%20the%20ILT20%20match%20between%20Desert%20Vipers%20and%20MI%20Emirates%20were%20left-handed.%20So%2075%20per%20cent%20of%20those%20involved.%0D%3Cbr%3EAnd%20that%20despite%20the%20fact%2010-12%20per%20cent%20of%20the%20world%E2%80%99s%20population%20is%20said%20to%20be%20left-handed.%0D%3Cbr%3EIt%20is%20an%20extension%20of%20a%20trend%20which%20has%20seen%20left-arm%20pacers%20become%20highly%20valued%20%E2%80%93%20and%20over-represented%2C%20relative%20to%20other%20formats%20%E2%80%93%20in%20T20%20cricket.%0D%3Cbr%3EIt%20is%20all%20to%20do%20with%20the%20fact%20most%20batters%20are%20naturally%20attuned%20to%20the%20angles%20created%20by%20right-arm%20bowlers%2C%20given%20that%20is%20generally%20what%20they%20grow%20up%20facing%20more%20of.%0D%3Cbr%3EIn%20their%20book%2C%20%3Cem%3EHitting%20Against%20the%20Spin%3C%2Fem%3E%2C%20cricket%20data%20analysts%20Nathan%20Leamon%20and%20Ben%20Jones%20suggest%20the%20advantage%20for%20a%20left-arm%20pace%20bowler%20in%20T20%20is%20amplified%20because%20of%20the%20obligation%20on%20the%20batter%20to%20attack.%0D%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CThe%20more%20attacking%20the%20batsman%2C%20the%20more%20reliant%20they%20are%20on%20anticipation%2C%E2%80%9D%20they%20write.%0D%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CThis%20effectively%20increases%20the%20time%20pressure%20on%20the%20batsman%2C%20so%20increases%20the%20reliance%20on%20anticipation%2C%20and%20therefore%20increases%20the%20left-arm%20bowler%E2%80%99s%20advantage.%E2%80%9D%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,600m
7.05pm: Handicap Dh 185,000 2,000m
7.40pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap Dh 190,000 1,400m
8.50pm: Handicap Dh 175,000 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap Dh 175,000 1,200m
10pm: Handicap Dh 165,000 1,600m
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
Tell-tale signs of burnout
- loss of confidence and appetite
- irritability and emotional outbursts
- sadness
- persistent physical ailments such as headaches, frequent infections and fatigue
- substance abuse, such as smoking or drinking more
- impaired judgement
- excessive and continuous worrying
- irregular sleep patterns
Tips to help overcome burnout
Acknowledge how you are feeling by listening to your warning signs. Set boundaries and learn to say ‘no’
Do activities that you want to do as well as things you have to do
Undertake at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. It releases an abundance of feel-good hormones
Find your form of relaxation and make time for it each day e.g. soothing music, reading or mindful meditation
Sleep and wake at the same time every day, even if your sleep pattern was disrupted. Without enough sleep condition such as stress, anxiety and depression can thrive.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Williams at Wimbledon
Venus Williams - 5 titles (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008)
Serena Williams - 7 titles (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016)
