UK authorities are struggling to deal with thousands of Afghan refugees currently staying in hotels who are unable to start new lives, with no idea when they will be given permanent homes.
The refugees include interpreters who helped the British military in Afghanistan.
When the Taliban seized control in Kabul, 15,000 Afghans were brought to Britain and as part of Operation Warm Welcome they were supposed to be integrated into their new communities.
One council leader accused the government of dumping even more people into the area's hotels without warning before they had been able to deal with earlier arrivals.
Newcastle city council leader Nick Forbes said he feared refugees would be “stuck in limbo” as the Home Office puts more new arrivals into quarantine hotels without communication or support.
“We have been working hard to settle families but additionally we have the Home Office dumping large numbers of people in our city without any engagement or support.
“We fear they will be stuck in limbo. From the Home Office point of view, if they are in hotels that is job done. From our point of view, it’s nowhere near integration into a local community for mental health needs or getting kids into education.”
There is also a danger that people left in temporary housing could be “radicalised” if they feel promises made to them have been broken, said Col Simon Diggins, a former officer who is working with the refugees.
Among the refugees are at least 70 unaccompanied children waiting for longer-term housing, the Home Office has said.
The UK government has also been urged to provide a new online application scheme for Afghans hoping to join their loved ones in Britain after the process ended with the evacuation of its embassy in Kabul.
Mr Forbes, chairman of the asylum, refugee and migration task force, a national body for local governments, said the dream of the new life for Afghans in Britain cannot begin while they are in hotel accommodation.
“My worry is that once people are in hotels or temporary accommodation, attention will move to the next problem,” he said.
“We really do have to deal with the huge backlog and make sure there is a real plan for every family that is coming here and no one gets left behind or abandoned.
“The longer kids are out of school the further behind they are going to fall and people will lose out on job opportunities.
“Many of the people coming from Afghanistan have huge mental health challenges that are going to need long-term support. None of that can be achieved if they are stuck in temporary housing.”
Hotels the start of a new life
Col Diggins said it was vital that the refugees be allowed to start their new lives.
“We need to get them to a place where they can start to settle, where they can start to not just survive, but thrive,” Col Diggins told Sky News.
“Let them live their best lives in this country. Let's show the best of this country to them. We're not seeing that at the moment.”
The original plan for incoming refugees was for everyone to spend 10 days in a Covid-secure quarantine hotel before being moved on to temporary housing and then into permanent homes.
Afghan families tend to have more children then UK families, so they need bigger houses, Mr Forbes said, but councils who want to help are tied up by a system of government caps on housing costs.
“Councils are going out of their way, doing what they can to help … but we need communication with government, clarity about legal status and need to make sure they are not just passing people around the system, but they have a permanent home, can put down roots and rebuild their lives,” he said.
The Home Office said more than 100 councils are helping to house Afghan refugees.
“A significant cross-government effort is under way to ensure the thousands of Afghans who were evacuated to the UK receive the support they need to rebuild their lives, find work, pursue education, and integrate into their local communities,” a Home Office representative said.
“We have already committed £200 million to meet the cost of the first year of the Afghanistan Citizens' Resettlement Scheme, which aims to welcome up to 20,000 Afghans.”
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
The five types of long-term residential visas
Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:
Investors:
A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.
Entrepreneurs:
A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.
Specialists
Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.
Outstanding students:
A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university.
Retirees:
Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Mountain%20Boy
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PRO BASH
Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
Ad Astra
Director: James Gray
Stars: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones
Five out of five stars
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Results
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Tu%20Jhoothi%20Main%20Makkaar%20
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