A decision to cut relations with a close neighbour can never be an easy one. The magnitude of such a decision will have been understood at the highest levels, in the UAE and in Saudi Arabia. This is not, as Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, has said on Twitter, an attempt to interfere in the sovereignty of Qatar. But when so many countries choose to side with the Gulf states – Yemen also broke off relations with Doha yesterday – they cannot all be wrong.
Certainly the crisis has escalated rapidly. The trigger was the failure by Doha to abide by decisions taken at the most recent summit between the Gulf states and the United States. That was then compounded by the debacle over comments that Qatar’s emir made to a military graduation ceremony days later – and which were compounded yet again, in the most extraordinary and naive decision of this whole saga, by the emir accepting a phone call from Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president.
Those were the proximate causes of the current crisis. Yet it is the result of years of problems with Qatar’s political positions, in particular its bafflingly close relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran. That relationship is especially troubling given how both have tried to sow division within Gulf countries. How can Qatar seek to maintain close relations with its neighbours, while at the same time keeping close relations with the very groups and regimes that are seeking to undermine those neighbours?
This is an essential, indeed existential, question, and Doha has not yet answered it. Those who say that it is simply good politics have misunderstood the nature of the threat and its effect on Gulf countries. This is an issue that the Gulf states genuinely feel affects their security and stability. In that situation, there is no such thing as mere politics. The continued prosperity of the Gulf countries – and that includes the prosperity of Qatar, because, as the severing of air, sea and land routes shows, the country is intimately connected to its neighbours – requires that Qatar come back into the fold.
There is still a way out of this crisis, but it will require some movement from Doha. Not mere words, though, the time for that is long past. So serious has this crisis become that only concrete actions and political changes will finally mend relations. It is the actions of Qatar that have brought about this crisis. Only action from Qatar can end it.
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The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
SPECS
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
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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)
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.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Happy Tenant
Started: January 2019
Co-founders: Joe Moufarrej and Umar Rana
Based: Dubai
Sector: Technology, real-estate
Initial investment: Dh2.5 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 4,000
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