Thousands of Rohingya refugees have been left without food and clean water after the failure of a $1 billion United Nations appeal.
More than one million people fled persecution in Myanmar since a military crackdown that started in August 2017 but they face a health emergency after the appeal raised less than half of the amount needed for this year.
The UN, European Union, US and UK will next week host a conference aimed at raising funds for refugees, who include some 860,000 in the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
“The world must wake up to the severity of their plight and come together now to save lives,” said Dominic Raab, the UK Foreign Minister.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled the brutal military offensive in Rakhine state in Myanmar in an operation described by the UN as ethnic cleansing.
Witnesses told of girls being abducted, killings, mass rape and forced starvation aimed at driving Rohingya from their homes. Myanmar’s commander-in-chief and other military leaders face sanctions in response to massacres of the minority Muslim Rohingya population.
The UN said that many displaced Rohingya were living life on the margins across Asia with no access to basic healthcare, clean water, food, work or education.
The Covid-19 pandemic has worsened living conditions and increased the risk of infection diseases spreading in the camps at Cox’s Bazar, a city in southeast Bangladesh, and centres holding another 150,000 Rohingya refugees in other countries across the region. Some 600,000 people also live in camps in Rakhine state.
A virtual conference will be held next Thursday to try to fix the “significant funding gap”, said the organisers.
“Any sustainable solution to this crisis must include the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees and other displaced people to their homes or to a place of their choosing,” the EU, UN and the two countries said in a joint statement.
Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said: “Solidarity with the Rohingya people means more than just meeting their basic needs. Refugees, like everyone else, have a right to a life of dignity and the chance to build a safe and stable future.”
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COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Indian origin executives leading top technology firms
Sundar Pichai
Chief executive, Google and Alphabet
Satya Nadella
Chief executive, Microsoft
Ajaypal Singh Banga
President and chief executive, Mastercard
Shantanu Narayen
Chief executive, chairman, and president, Adobe
Indra Nooyi
Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo
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The 12 breakaway clubs
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
FINAL RESULT
Sharjah Wanderers 20 Dubai Tigers 25 (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries: Gormley, Penalty
cons: Flaherty
Pens: Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries: O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons: Caldwell 2
Pens: Caldwell, Cross
Asia Cup Qualifier
Venue: Kuala Lumpur
Result: Winners play at Asia Cup in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in September
Fixtures:
Wed Aug 29: Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30: UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu Sep 6: Final
Asia Cup
Venue: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Schedule: Sep 15-28
Teams: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, plus the winner of the Qualifier
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
