Welcome to The National's weekly newsletter Beshara, where we share the most positive stories of the week
Designer Rami Al Ali poses backstage before his haute couture show in Paris on July 10. Reuters
Dear reader,
Fashion designer Rami Al Ali this week became the first Syrian to join the prestigious ranks of haute couture at Paris Fashion Week.
For his debut show, he presented a collection that pays homage to his homeland's handicrafts, which had been endangered and almost forgotten during Syria's long civil war.
Al Ali explained why reworking Syrian heritage was important for him in a statement before the show,
“Every step forward, especially when you're coming from a place that’s underrepresented or misunderstood, is an act of quiet defiance,” he said. “Success is a form of resistance.”
While Syria continues to navigate an uncertain future, voices such as Al Ali's prove that its spirit, culture and talent are far from broken.
Mazin Muntassir Hassan with relatives and Dr Naveed Ahmed and members of the cardiology team at Aster Hospital Mankhool in Dubai. Photo: Aster DM Healthcare
A Sudanese teenager has received critical surgery for a congenital heart defect that had gone undetected.
UAE resident Mazin Muntassir Hassan, 14, was found to have a congenital condition that could have been fatal if left untreated.
It was diagnosed at Dubai hospital after his symptoms raised the alarm among the medical team. Mazin said the doctors have helped him "get his life back".
“Before the treatment, I felt tired all the time and couldn’t play or do normal things like other kids," he said. "Now I feel healthy and strong again.”
QUOTED
'I never ever dreamed that a door like this would open for me. To receive a scholarship to play in the US is a life-changing opportunity'
– Jordanian athlete Omar Suleiman is one of three players scouted by SUNY Adirondack university in New York for a two-year football scholarship
An Emirati aid convoy of 13 lorries arrived in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday night. Photo: Wam
The UAE has announced plans to supply water to Palestinians in Gaza through a new pipeline.
Under the project, water will be piped from a desalination plant built by the Emirates in Egypt to displaced families between Khan Younis and Rafah in southern Gaza.
The project, part of the Gallant Knight 3 campaign, aims to serve 600,000 people, providing 15 litres of desalinated water per person each day.
More than 80 per cent of water facilities in the enclave have been destroyed, leaving many Gazans facing dehydration every day.
SNAPSHOT
A family uses a plastic sheet to protect themselves during heavy rains in New Delhi, India. Reuters
Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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
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
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11 What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time. TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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.
