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Hundreds of Ukrainians are camping in the border city of Tijuana, Mexico, hoping to seek asylum in the US, a dramatic increase in arrivals just days after the Biden administration said the US would accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing from war.
Many of the Ukrainians escaping the Russian invasion of their home country have flown to the US-Mexico border hoping officials will allow them in so they can reunite with US relatives or friends.
People are spread out on blankets and lawn chairs alongside overstuffed suitcases on a patch of grass near the international port of entry. Some are sleeping in tents and under tarps.
US volunteers in neon vests - some Ukrainian-Americans who travelled to Tijuana after hearing about the arriving refugees - are collecting names on a handwritten waitlist to keep track of arrivals.
While some 600 Ukrainians are camping near the border entry around 500 more are staying in hotels in the city, said Enrique Lucero, Tijuana's migration affairs director, citing the list kept by volunteers. About 40 per cent of the people are children, he added.
Mr Lucero said around 100 Ukrainians are being allowed to cross into the US daily. US Customs and Border Protection said data on the number of Ukrainians who entered the US in March would be available in coming weeks.
The number of people at the southwest border is still small compared to more than 3.8 million Ukrainians who have fled to nearby countries in Europe since the Februar 24 invasion, which the Russian government calls a "special military operation".
In response to the exodus — the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War Two — US President Joe Biden pledged last week to accept some 100,000 Ukrainians into the US through various legal pathways.
But some families desperate to leave have resorted to traveling through a string of countries to the southern border, after being denied US visas, or told to wait, at US embassies abroad.
While Ukrainians and Russians have been arriving at the US-Mexico border since before the conflict erupted, now people are coming "very quickly", said Julia Neusner, an attorney with the New York-based non-profit advocacy group Human Rights First.
On average, Ukrainians are waiting about one day from the time they are put on the list compiled by volunteers until they can cross into the US, Ms Neusner said.
Two weeks ago, according to a Reuters witness, around 15 Ukrainians per day were arriving at the Tijuana border and being immediately waved through.
While Ukrainians are being ushered into the US, border agents have told Russians, Mexicans, Central Americans and migrants from other countries to stay put, citing a pandemic-era border expulsion policy known as Title 42 that has closed the US-Mexico border to most asylum seekers.
On Friday, the Biden administration announced it will end the expulsion policy in late May, as US health officials said it was no longer needed to protect public health.
Inna Levien — originally from Belarus — said she and other Russian-speaking members of her mothers' group in Orange County, California, headed down to Tijuana earlier this week to help Ukrainian refugees, many of whom speak Russian.
She said there is no running water at a local bus stop where some women and children are sleeping and children are falling ill.
"Vomiting, diarrhoea, they are so stressed out, they are dehydrated," she said. "They have this unrest inside."
One six-year-old girl told Ms Levien she was praying to protect her father who stayed behind to defend Ukraine because it was her "job" to be his "guardian angel”.
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TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 285bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: TBA
On sale: Q2, 2020
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
The Gandhi Murder
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The five pillars of Islam
Top tips
Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
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