A lab technician works on samples to test for cholera, at a hospital in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on September 11, 2022. AFP
A lab technician works on samples to test for cholera, at a hospital in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on September 11, 2022. AFP
A lab technician works on samples to test for cholera, at a hospital in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on September 11, 2022. AFP
A lab technician works on samples to test for cholera, at a hospital in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on September 11, 2022. AFP

Syria's deadly cholera outbreak could spread, WHO warns


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  • Arabic

At least seven people have died in Syria amid a cholera outbreak that has ravaged Aleppo governorate in the north of the country.

The World Health Organisation expressed “serious concern” about the speed of the outbreak’s spread. It said cases had been found in the east of the country and the coastal governorate of Latakia, with five provinces affected in total.

The WHO said the outbreak could spread to all 14 provinces in the country if not quickly controlled.

In the east of the country, former ISIS stronghold Raqqa — a city that was largely destroyed in fighting to expel the terrorists in 2018, has reported cases. The neighbouring Deir-ez-Zor province has done likewise.

Both governorates are controlled by a Kurdish-Sunni anti-government alliance backed by the US known as the Syrian Democratic Forces. In the north-east, cases were also detected in Al Hasakeh province, which is also under SDF control.

The Syrian health ministry confirmed the deaths out of a total of 53 cases on Tuesday. Sewage contamination in the Euphrates, which runs through most of the affected governorates, was thought to be the cause of the outbreak.

The Kurdish-led administration in the east called on international agencies, “especially the World Health Organisation, to provide the necessary support to limit the spread of cholera".

Syria’s water infrastructure was already substandard before the country slipped into a bloody, decade-long civil war. The embers of this are still burning in the northern province of Idlib, which is occupied by Al Qaeda-linked rebels.

In Idlib, which hosts hundreds of refugee camps, most of the provinces 3.4 million people depend on foreign aid. Disease outbreaks in camps are common due to poor water quality, aid agencies say. Urban outbreaks in government-held areas have been less frequent, but still occur due to damage to water lines and treatment facilities after the conflict.

In 2009 — when the country suffered its last serious cholera outbreak ― 342 cases were reported in Deir-ez-Zor and Raqqa. These are governorates which suffered government neglect and later became central to the anti-government uprising, before being taken over by ISIS.

International health organisations have been warning for years that the country was at risk of a major disease outbreak. This is because so much water infrastructure has been destroyed by the war.

Cholera is generally contracted from contaminated food or water, and causes diarrhoea and vomiting.

It can spread in residential areas that lack proper sewerage networks or mains drinking water.

More than a decade of civil war has damaged two-thirds of Syria's water treatment plants, half of its pumping stations and one-third of its water towers, Unicef has said.

Nearly half the population relies on alternative and often unsafe sources of water while at least 70 per cent of sewage goes untreated, it added.

An outbreak of cholera hit neighbouring Iraq this summer for the first time since 2015.

Worldwide, the disease affects between 1.3 million and four million people each year, killing between 21,000 and 143,000 people.

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

How%20champions%20are%20made
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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Squads

India (for first three ODIs) Kohli (capt), Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Jadhav, Rahane, Dhoni, Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Umesh, Shami.

Australia Smith (capt), Warner, Agar, Cartwright, Coulter-Nile, Cummins, Faulkner, Finch, Head, Maxwell, Richardson, Stoinis, Wade, Zampa.

Women%E2%80%99s%20Asia%20Cup
%3Cp%3ESylhet%2C%20Bangladesh%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20results%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ELost%20to%20Sri%20Lanka%20by%2011%20runs%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20fixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ETue%20Oct%204%2C%20v%20India%3Cbr%3EWed%20Oct%205%2C%20v%20Malaysia%3Cbr%3EFri%20Oct%207%2C%20v%20Thailand%3Cbr%3ESun%20Oct%209%2C%20v%20Pakistan%3Cbr%3ETue%20Oct%2011%2C%20v%20Bangladesh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Hydrogen: Market potential

Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.

"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.

Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.

The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.

GIANT REVIEW

Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan

Director: Athale

Rating: 4/5

COMPANY PROFILE

Company name: SimpliFi

Started: August 2021

Founder: Ali Sattar

Based: UAE

Industry: Finance, technology

Investors: 4DX, Rally Cap, Raed, Global Founders, Sukna and individuals

Dubai World Cup factbox

Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)

Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)

Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)

Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)

Results

Ashraf Ghani 50.64 per cent

Abdullah Abdullah 39.52 per cent

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 3.85 per cent

Rahmatullah Nabil 1.8 per cent

Empty Words

By Mario Levrero  

(Coffee House Press)
 

When is VAR used?

Goals

Penalty decisions

Direct red-card incidents

Mistaken identity

HAJJAN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Abu%20Bakr%20Shawky%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3EStarring%3A%20Omar%20Alatawi%2C%20Tulin%20Essam%2C%20Ibrahim%20Al-Hasawi%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Fourth-round clashes for British players

- Andy Murray (1) v Benoit Paire, Centre Court (not before 4pm)

- Johanna Konta (6) v Caroline Garcia (21), Court 1 (4pm)

if you go

The flights

Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return. 

The trek

Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required. 

Squad

Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas) 

KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Wes%20Ball%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Owen%20Teague%2C%20Freya%20Allen%2C%20Kevin%20Durand%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: 4 liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous electric motors placed at each wheel

Battery: Rimac 120kWh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry

Power: 1877bhp

Torque: 2300Nm

Price: Dh7,500,00

On sale: Now

 

PROFILE OF HALAN

Started: November 2017

Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport and logistics

Size: 150 employees

Investment: approximately $8 million

Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar

PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES

Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)

Leicester City v Brighton (9pm)

Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (11.15pm)

Wednesday

Manchester United v Sheffield United (9pm)

Newcastle United v Aston Villa (9pm)

Norwich City v Everton (9pm)

Wolves v Bournemouth (9pm)

Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11.15pm)

Thursday

Burnley v Watford (9pm)

Southampton v Arsenal (9pm)

Chelsea v Manchester City (11.15pm)

Updated: September 14, 2022, 8:33 AM