When the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact collapsed more than two decades ago, voices in the West called for the dismantling of Nato, as it had no role to play anymore, commented Mazen Hammad in an article for the Qatari daily Al Watan.
The demise of communism was a prompt towards the disbandment of Nato. But the advent of new enemies such as terrorism, electronic warfare and rogue states gives the alliance new reasons to remain in force.
At the recent summit in Lisbon, leaders of the coalition succeeded in giving Nato a new lease of life. It adopted a more convincing and less costly missile shield system based on the gradual building of a network of defences and radars. The network would cover all of Atlantic Europe as well as the US. Its best feature is that its cost will not exceed $1.5 billion over a period of 10 years.
Nato was able to determine new future roles for itself, and succeeded in persuading Turkey to retract past objections to the missile shield. Turkey agreed to the establishment of the shield as long as it didn't name Iran as a source of the threat. There are also indications that the alliance would be able to overturn Russia's reservations about the new shield as long as it doesn't target its missiles.
Americans praised the Lisbon agreement as a victory for President Obama, while Nato documents issued in the Portuguese capital seemed to hail a new birth for the alliance.
A perplexing Israeli withdrawal in Lebanon
The reasons for the "pro bono" Israeli withdrawal from al Gajar town is still unknown, observes the columnist Abdul Rahman al Rashed in an article for the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al Awsat.
Israel has never, spontaneously and willingly, relinquished one occupied meter of land prior to this instance. All previous withdrawals were done in calculated circumstances, for a determined price or as result of continuous resistance.
Although Lebanon and Syria have yet to agree on the affiliation and identity of al Gajar's inhabitants, the dispute will not exacerbate or resolve tensions before the withdrawal of the last Israeli soldier from the town.
But why did the Israelis withdraw?
The one alarming answer would be that, in case of a war on Lebanon, Israel wants to be able to provide evidence of compliance with prior commitments. Then, any attack by or because of Hizbollah would be interpreted as an act of aggression rather than resistance.
This suggests that the happy withdrawal is a bad omen, although Israel is never short of excuses for a war. Therefore, it doesn't need to withdraw to justify a future war.
"Despite the multitude of interpretations that have nothing to do with typical Israeli mentality, I still cannot fathom the real reason for the withdrawal. This means we have to deal with this event as a positive result, until proven otherwise," concludes the writer.
Security issues top concern for Gulf Cup
Talk of security overshadows sports news in Yemen with the inauguration of the Gulf Cup football championship in the city of Aden, as the real confrontation is to take place outside the stadium between Yemeni security forces and al Qa'eda, writes the columnist Hassan Haidar in an article for the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat.
The focus is no longer on the participating teams, at least for the organising country, as much as it is on securing the games, especially for the thousands of fans who come from neighbouring Gulf countries to cheer for their teams.
Al Qa'eda and its supporters view these high security measures as a victory, since it succeeded in forcing the authorities to deploy more than 30,000 soldiers throughout the city. The government, on the other hand, view these costly measures as a victory of their own if the games end in success.
The Yemeni Minister of Youth and Sports described the groups attempting to distort the championship by threatening to organise a protest on Monday as "less patriotic than the mafia in South Africa". He went on to say: "Unfortunately, we thought that these groups would copy criminal mafia gangs that declared their patriotism in South Africa when their country hosted the World Cup. But it seems that these are even less patriotic than the mafia."
The problem however, is that the "national truce" that the minister is asking for requires a lot more than a football championship.
Space mission into worlds of knowledge
Next February, the US space shuttle Endeavour will be launched into space carrying a device that cost $1.5 billion and 16 years of scientific effort, said the columnist Saad Mehio in the Emirati daily Al Khaleej.
The eight-ton-device, called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, is one of the most ambitious space projects to date, as its mission is to dive deep into space in search of dark matter. Dark matter is one of the most perplexing mysteries of the universe. Scientists know nothing of it but the gravity force it exercises on known matter. It accounts for 80 per cent of the universe's matter, while visible matter accounts for no more than 20 per cent.
If the spectrometer succeeds in inspecting this elusive matter by capturing cosmic radiation, scientists would be closer to unravelling the real composition of the cosmos.
"Three months from now, man would be able to get closer to this immense invisible world. Should natural laws differ from the physics laws that we know, humanity's knowledge would have to, once again, go back to point zero, just as it did when Copernicus discovered that the earth orbits the sun and not the contrary."
* Digest compiled by Racha Makarem
rmakarem@thenational.ae
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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.
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
Director: Romany Saad
Starring: Mirfat Amin, Boumi Fouad and Tariq Al Ibyari
MATCH INFO
Burnley 0
Man City 3
Raheem Sterling 35', 49'
Ferran Torres 65'
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Star%20Wars%3A%20Episode%20I%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Phantom%20Menace
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Top%2010%20most%20competitive%20economies
%3Cp%3E1.%20Singapore%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Switzerland%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Denmark%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%20Ireland%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%20Hong%20Kong%0D%3Cbr%3E6.%20Sweden%0D%3Cbr%3E7.%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E8.%20Taiwan%0D%3Cbr%3E9.%20Netherlands%0D%3Cbr%3E10.%20Norway%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ENGLAND TEAM
England (15-1)
George Furbank; Jonny May, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell (capt), Elliot Daly; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Courtney Lawes; Charlie Ewels, Maro Itoje; Kyle Sinckler, Jamie George, Joe Marler
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, George Kruis, Lewis Ludlam, Willi Heinz, Ollie Devoto, Jonathan Joseph
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Kanye%20West
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Five%20calorie-packed%20Ramadan%20drinks
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
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.
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
Famous left-handers
- Marie Curie
- Jimi Hendrix
- Leonardo Di Vinci
- David Bowie
- Paul McCartney
- Albert Einstein
- Jack the Ripper
- Barack Obama
- Helen Keller
- Joan of Arc
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
if you go
The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.
The trip
Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding