A week of racism-fuelled disorder in Northern Ireland, sparked by disturbances in English towns and cities, is proving difficult to end, with fears that Christian sectarian divisions are feeding into the violence.
“They burnt every single thing, there is nothing left inside, just ashes,” said Bashir, 28, a businessman whose supermarket in Belfast was torched during attacks against foreign-owned shops and businesses.
A mosque in a town near Belfast was attacked on Friday. “We are scared at what may happen next, there is lots of hostility against the Muslim community,” said Bashir, who is from Dubai.
Northern Ireland has suffered nightly unrest, mainly in pro-UK loyalist neighbourhoods, which began after an anti-immigration protest in Belfast on August 3.
The violence has mirrored disorder across England, spurred by misinformation spread on social media about the suspected perpetrator of a knife attack in Southport on July 29 that killed three children.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said on Saturday that 31 people had been arrested during the disturbances.
“On a fundamental level, the Belfast attacks are similar in its dynamic to anti-immigration protests in white working class areas in England, the Republic of Ireland and elsewhere in Europe,” said Peter McLoughlin, a politics lecturer at Queen's University Belfast.
“It is driven by racism and fear of the other, but in Northern Ireland it also interfaces with sectarian political dynamics,” he told AFP.
'Under attack'
Three decades of violent sectarian conflict known as the Troubles largely ended in 1998, but bitterness and friction persists between pro-UK Protestant loyalists and pro-Irish unity Catholic nationalists that took root hundreds of years ago.
Outside Bashir's smoke-scarred shopfront in the loyalist inner-city district of Sandy Row, British Union flags flutter on lampposts and painted wall murals proclaim fierce allegiance to the UK.
“Within loyalism there is a sense that prevailed through Northern Ireland's peace process that their community is in retreat, that their community and British identity is under attack,” Mr McLoughlin said.
Many loyalists feel they “must oppose outsiders coming into those areas, who are seen as taking supposedly Protestant jobs and houses, and encroaching on a community that was once dominant.”
After last Saturday's anti-immigration protest, rioters rampaged through streets looking for foreign-owned businesses to attack.
“What happened last week was crazy,” Yilmaz Batu, a 64-year-old Turkish chef who has lived in Northern Ireland for two years, told AFP.
“There was never any trouble before,” he said, sitting at the Sahara Shisha Cafe, one of several Middle Eastern and Turkish-owned businesses near Sandy Row that were hit.
The Northern Ireland Muslim Council said in a statement that “the vast majority of the violence has been whipped up and fuelled by deliberate misinformation and disinformation on social media”.
“False and dangerous narratives” about Muslims who “constitute a small minority in Northern Ireland” led to the attacks, it added.
'Extremely shocking'
Northern Ireland has low rates of immigration compared with the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
The 2021 census showed about six per cent of the population were born outside the UK or Ireland, with about 97 per cent describing their ethnicity as white.
The disorder was “extremely shocking for the wider community", said Fiona Doran, chairwoman of the United Against Racism group that helped to organise a solidarity rally in Belfast on Saturday.
The demonstration, which drew several thousand people, gave people “a chance to come out on the streets, to show that Belfast is a welcoming city, it's a city that says no to racism and fascism”, she told AFP.
At an anti-immigration rally the previous day in Belfast, about 100 protesters carried British flags and placards reading “respect our country or leave".
Some chanted the name of Tommy Robinson, a notorious anti-Muslim agitator who has been accused of helping to fuel the unrest in England through constant social media posts about the events.
Nearby, behinds ranks of armoured police vehicles, more than 1,000 counter-protesters chanted “racists out!”
Bashir told AFP on Saturday he was unsure whether he will reopen his supermarket.
“My question is: are we able to do that? If we do, it will be because of all the people who came out to show us support,” he said following the solidarity demonstration.
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Valladolid v Osasuna (Kick-off midnight UAE)
Saturday Valencia v Athletic Bilbao (5pm), Getafe v Sevilla (7.15pm), Huesca v Alaves (9.30pm), Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Real Sociedad v Eibar (5pm), Real Betis v Villarreal (7.15pm), Elche v Granada (9.30pm), Barcelona v Levante (midnight)
Monday Celta Vigo v Cadiz (midnight)
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt
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The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The biog
Favourite film: The Notebook
Favourite book: What I know for sure by Oprah Winfrey
Favourite quote: “Social equality is the only basis of human happiness” Nelson Madela. Hometown: Emmen, The Netherlands
Favourite activities: Walking on the beach, eating at restaurants and spending time with friends
Job: Founder and Managing Director of Mawaheb from Beautiful Peopl
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
The specs
Engine: 2x201bhp AC Permanent-magnetic electric
Transmission: n/a
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 659Nm
Price estimate: Dh200,000
On sale: Q3 2022
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
The specs: 2018 Ford F-150
Price, base / as tested: Dh173,250 / Dh178,500
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 395hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 555Nm @ 2,750rpm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 12.4L / 100km
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
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Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
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