The parents of a Muslim child who was reported to the UK's anti-radicalisation Prevent scheme in error say they want to protect other youngsters from wrongly being placed on security lists which can affect their schooling and career prospects.
The couple, a dentist and an engineer from the north of England, have taken legal action against their 11-year-old son's school after a teacher thought he had said "arms" instead of "alms".
The boy was referred, without his parents knowledge, after the teacher asked pupils what they would do if they inherited a lot of money and thought he had said he wanted to "give arms to the oppressed".
His parents are concerned his details will remain on a security list permanently and affect his career and schooling.
"The parents are really distraught and distressed over the impact on their son," their lawyer Dean Garrett, from Liberty Law, told The National.
"He has been selected for a grammar school place and his parents are really concerned that this will now be closed to him because of this misunderstanding by the class teacher.
"They are really hoping this can be resolved and do not want it to happen again to any other youngster. This is not the first incident we know of."
The boy's parents also fear future job prospects will be closed to him unless Prevent remove the data they hold on him.
"Prevent is a separate entity to the police and his parents want an acknowledgement of what data is being held on their son," Mr Garrett added.
"They want a copy of it and will be seeking its removal. They are taking action because they do not want another child going through this."
His parents have also requested a written apology from the school and the payment of damages.
Prevent deals with all forms of terrorism, including Islamist and far-right extremism.
From 2012 to March 2020, almost 3,000 people were taken on by Prevent’s voluntary and confidential Channel programme.
Of those referred to Prevent in 2019-2020, 1,487 (24 per cent) were referred because of concerns related to Islamist radicalisation and 1,387 (22 per cent) were referred over concerns related to far-right extremism.
The government is currently reviewing the scheme to assess its effectiveness.
The scheme relies on referrals from teachers, health workers and members of the public who have extremism concerns about individuals.
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Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
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UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
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Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
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Friday Leganes v Alaves, 10.15pm; Valencia v Las Palmas, 12.15am
Saturday Celta Vigo v Real Sociedad, 8.15pm; Girona v Atletico Madrid, 10.15pm; Sevilla v Espanyol, 12.15am
Sunday Athletic Bilbao v Getafe, 8.15am; Barcelona v Real Betis, 10.15pm; Deportivo v Real Madrid, 12.15am
Monday Levante v Villarreal, 10.15pm; Malaga v Eibar, midnight
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Rating: 4/5
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Kathryn Hawkes of House of Hawkes on being a good guest (because we’ve all had bad ones)
- Arrive with a thank you gift, or make sure you have one for your host by the time you leave.
- Offer to buy groceries, cook them a meal or take your hosts out for dinner.
- Help out around the house.
- Entertain yourself so that your hosts don’t feel that they constantly need to.
- Leave no trace of your stay – if you’ve borrowed a book, return it to where you found it.
- Offer to strip the bed before you go.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans
Jasmin Mujanović, Hurst Publishers
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The struggle is on for active managers
David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.
The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.
Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.
Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.
Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.
At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn.
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
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AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
