Cricketer Don De Dieu Mugisha bowls a ball down a bumpy, dusty wicket at a match in Rwanda: a sport introduced by those who returned after fleeing genocide 20 years ago.
While still viewed with bewilderment by many in this small, hilly east African nation, the game is growing rapidly, and fans are raising funds to build the country’s first dedicated international-standard pitch.
For players, efforts to build a pitch symbolise far more than a strange game with a bat and a ball.
“Because of our history, people here in Rwanda try to do something that can bring people together,” said Mugisha, 18, who is the captain of Rwanda’s Under 19 team.
Fans believe sport offers a way to bring a still traumatised community together.
Today’s field is a small and uneven pitch at a college at Kicukiro, site of a notorious massacre during Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, in which almost a million people were slaughtered in three months of killing.
“The history of cricket in Rwanda has to do with the history of the country and what we went through being forced out as refugees,” said Charles Haba, 37, a founder of the Rwanda Cricket Association (RCA).
Haba learnt the game at schools in Uganda and Kenya. Like others, he continued to play on his return to Rwanda, starting with a team of just seven players. “When you have a passion, you want to pursue that passion,” he said.
Cricket fans from Rwanda and Britain, backed by London’s Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), are working to build a 4.5-hectare field on the outskirts of the capital, Kigali, with construction to begin before the end of the year.
Dark memories of the killings that took place at Kicukiro remain. About 2,000 people sought shelter in a school here but, after United Nations troops withdrew, murderous gangs using grenades and then machetes killed almost all.
“Some of our players lost loved ones here, we have given hope to a place that has been a place of killings,” Haba said.
Along with several friends, Haba set up the RCA in 1999 and was recognised by the International Cricket Council in 2003. From the tiniest beginning, there are now more than 5,000 members.
But the lack of facilities is hampering growth.
“Our biggest single challenge has been infrastructure, so we are very excited we are putting up a new international cricket stadium,” Haba said.
Patrons of the project include West Indian batting legend Brian Lara and David Cameron, the British prime minister.
The project has so far raised about two-thirds of the almost US$1 million cost (Dh3.67m), said project director Ed Pearson, enough for the pitch and practice nets, with remaining fund-raising for a pavilion.
For Haba, cricket is not about politics, but it is far more than just a game.
“Sport speaks a language that no politician can speak,” Haba said. “When you are on the same team, it doesn’t matter who you are, or where you are from.”
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As You Were
Liam Gallagher
(Warner Bros)
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
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One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.
She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.
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.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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.
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
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GROUPS AND FIXTURES
Group A
UAE, Italy, Japan, Spain
Group B
Egypt, Iran, Mexico, Russia
Tuesday
4.15pm: Italy v Japan
5.30pm: Spain v UAE
6.45pm: Egypt v Russia
8pm: Iran v Mexico
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Kill%20
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