Charare Qamber, Afghanistan //For refugees from Afghanistan's Sangin district living in this squalid slum outside Kabul, reports of a peace deal between US forces and local tribes are inspiring little hope.
US officials announced last week that leaders of the Alikozai tribe in Sangin, in the southern Afghan province of Helmand and one of the country's most dangerous districts, had pledged to halt insurgent attacks and expel Taliban fighters in exchange for international aid.
Some western analysts lauded the deal as a crucial bellwether for greater security gains in the country's troubled south, where foreign troops are under pressure to protect civilians and deliver on promises of more aid and improved infrastructure.
But interviews with Sangin natives living in Kabul's Charare Qamber camp - a sprawl of mud homes housing more than 1,000 displaced families from Helmand and Kandahar provinces - revealed that those forced to flee the area's years of violence had either little knowledge of the pact or placed minimal hope in its ability to pave the way for their return home.
The disparity between the optimism of US military officials heralding the Sangin deal and the low expectations of Afghan civilians who should potentially benefit from it highlights the difficulty foreign troops face in gaining the trust of local populations after 10 years of war.
"In my opinion, the deal won't last long," said Mira Jan, a 55-year-old refugee from Sangin.
On this Friday afternoon in Charare Qamber, about two dozen refugees from Sangin, their faces caked with dirt and lined by years of hardship and conflict, gathered in the bitter cold to tell their stories.
"Maybe the Alikozai will pay the Taliban, and they will stop attacking for a short time," said Mira Jan, as the others nodded in agreement. "But I know the Taliban. They were in my village, and they will not put their guns down until the Americans are gone."
US marines took control of Sangin in September after UK forces had presided over the district's spiral into a lawless, violent hub for Taliban insurgents and drug traffickers since 2006. More than 100 British soldiers were killed during the four years they battled insurgents in the district.
Helmand province produces more than 90 per cent of the world's opium, according to figures from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and Sangin is a centre for Taliban-run heroin labs.
But US military officials said they pushed for a security agreement with the Alikozai tribe. Although ethnic Pashtuns like the Taliban, the tribe has a history of resistance to the Islamist movement.
The Sangin deal also calls on local residents to notify foreign troops of homemade bombs and ensure safe passage for marine foot patrols in the area.
But 43-year-old Mullah Sher, from a village in the Upper Sangin Valley, said that though he received word of the peace deal through relatives, he won't return until foreign soldiers have left Afghanistan.
He announced the news of the agreement to his congregation at Friday morning prayers in one of the camp's makeshift mud mosques.
"I told the people that the Americans and the [Afghan] government asked the Alikozai tribe to negotiate with the Taliban, but that the Taliban said they will not stop the war," Mullah Sher said.
"We have all lost family members, children. There are people coming from Sangin every day to this camp," he said. "How can we believe there will actually be peace?"
There are already reports of revenge attacks by Taliban insurgents against Alikozai leaders in Sangin, but Taliban spokesmen deny lashing out at the tribe.
"The insurgents have already begun to strike back savagely at those who desire peace, but so far the elders remain steadfast," US marine Maj Gen Richard Mills, the commander of coalition forces in the south-west of Afghanistan, said in a statement last week. "We are cautiously optimistic of this agreement and will monitor insurgent activity," he added.
For Said Ali, a 30-year-old Sangin refugee and self-identified member of the Alikozai tribe, the words of a US general are not enough.
"I would go back today if I thought my family would be safe," he said. "Look at me, I live like an animal in this camp. But it's better than being dead."
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 849Nm
Range: 456km
Price: from Dh437,900
On sale: now
FIXTURES
Nov 04-05: v Western Australia XI, Perth
Nov 08-11: v Cricket Australia XI, Adelaide
Nov 15-18 v Cricket Australia XI, Townsville (d/n)
Nov 23-27: 1ST TEST v AUSTRALIA, Brisbane
Dec 02-06: 2ND TEST v AUSTRALIA, Adelaide (d/n)
Dec 09-10: v Cricket Australia XI, Perth
Dec 14-18: 3RD TEST v AUSTRALIA, Perth
Dec 26-30 4TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Melbourne
Jan 04-08: 5TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Sydney
Note: d/n = day/night
The%20Color%20Purple
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UAE%20medallists%20at%20Asian%20Games%202023
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The specs: 2018 BMW X2 and X3
Price, as tested: Dh255,150 (X2); Dh383,250 (X3)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder (X2); 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six-cylinder (X3)
Power 192hp @ 5,000rpm (X2); 355hp @ 5,500rpm (X3)
Torque: 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (X2); 500Nm @ 1,520rpm (X3)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic (X2); Eight-speed automatic (X3)
Fuel consumption, combined: 5.7L / 100km (X2); 8.3L / 100km (X3)
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
Results:
Men's 100m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 15 sec; 2. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 15.40; 3. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 15.75. Men's 400m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 50.56; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 50.94; 3. Henry Manni (FIN) 52.24.
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
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
The biog
Born: near Sialkot, Pakistan, 1981
Profession: Driver
Family: wife, son (11), daughter (8)
Favourite drink: chai karak
Favourite place in Dubai: The neighbourhood of Khawaneej. “When I see the old houses over there, near the date palms, I can be reminded of my old times. If I don’t go down I cannot recall my old times.”
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Sri Lanka squad for tri-nation series
Angelo Mathews (c), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Janith Perera, Thisara Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Shehan Madushanka, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan and Wanidu Hasaranga
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.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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.