With France and much of the EU still reeling from the recent spate of terror attacks across mainland Europe, Paris was showing signs on Friday of beginning to reappraise its attitudes to travel across its borders, both legal and irregular.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin arrived in Tunisia on Friday, and met his Tunisian counterpart, Taoufik Charfeddine, as well as the President, Kais Saied, before departing for Malta and Algeria on Sunday.
Though long planned, it is unlikely that the recent attack in Nice by undocumented Tunisian migrant Brahim Aouissaoui, which killed three, was far from the forefront of people's minds.
Mr Darmanin was ostensibly in the country to negotiate the return of about 20 of the 231 irregular migrants from across the Maghreb and Russian territories that it suspected of having links with known terror organisations.
He used the visit to distinguish between those subject to France's security measures and their religion. "We are fighting together the terrorism which has struck several countries in the world," he told reporters gathered at the Ministry of Interior in Tunis.
"We will continue to exchange information to fight against this ideology, which should not be confused, moreover, with any religion,” he added.
For its part, Tunisia agreed to accept the return of the migrants, subject to certain conditions. "But this must be done in line with conditions and regulations" under international laws and conventions, and "preserving the dignity of the Tunisian" being returned, Charfeddine told reporters.
Mr Damanin's visit comes amid what appears to be a recalibration of France's attitudes to border security and the Schengen Agreement, the treaty governing much of the free movement within the European Union.
Speaking during a visit to the Franco-Spanish border earlier on Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters: "I am in favour of a deep overhaul of Schengen to rethink its organisation and to strengthen our common border security with a proper border force."
He also confirmed that he intended to submit fresh proposals to European Union partners at a summit in December.
Eight people have been killed and more injured during terror attacks across France and Austria since the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, elected to mark the beginning of the trial of those accused of abetting the 2015 attack on its offices by republishing the cartoons that originally gave offence.
President Macron's subsequent defence of the magazine's right to do so during a tribute to slain middle schoolteacher Samuel Paty, who had used the images as part of a lesson on free speech, led to a heightening in international tensions, with countries such as Turkey, Qatar and Kuwait all seeking to condemn France for its actions.
France is far from unique in examining the relationship between illegal migration and security. In July, a UN committee of experts concluded that the arrest in Cyprus of nine Syrians, an Egyptian and a Turkmen – all linked to either ISIS or Al Qaeda affiliated groups – showed the potential that clandestine migration routes offered to terror groups.
Like states across Europe, France is a magnet for the dispossessed, the persecuted and the opportunistic. According to the country's ministry of the interior, anywhere between 80,000 and 100,000 illegal migrants make their way to France every year, joining a pool of undocumented residents estimated in 2019 to number anywhere between 300,000 and 400,000.
"The irregular migrant experience in Europe isn't easy, and is often far more economically and socially difficult than North African migrants expect when they leave home," said Matt Herbert, a senior analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime.
"This was true before Covid-19, with the situation becoming progressively more difficult over the last decade,” he added.
“The advent of the pandemic has likely only magnified the challenge. For some this frustration can transform into resentment, leaving some vulnerable to radicalisation. But the process isn't predetermined, nor irreversible, and really is likely an issue in a very, very small minority in the larger migrant population.”
While at pains not to downplay the risk, or the potential carnage any one attack might bring, observers such as the journalist and author, Jason Burke, cautioned against overstating the case.
"This is nothing like the period between 2013 and 2017, when we had a consistently clear and direct threat to Europe," he said referring to ISIS and its ultimately doomed project to build and maintain a caliphate.
Radicalisation remained an issue, Mr Burke said, even though it may be occurring to a lesser degree.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Sri Lanka v England
First Test, at Galle
England won by 211
Second Test, at Kandy
England won by 57 runs
Third Test, at Colombo
From Nov 23-27
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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The five pillars of Islam
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
