UN staff leave Ivory Coast after poll


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ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST // Hundreds of residents have fled Ivory Coast, UN officials said yesterday as they also began evacuating some 500 staffers after a contentious election that resulted in both candidates claiming the presidency.

The UN development programme country director, Andre Carvalho, said hundreds of people had fled to neighbouring countries, and that officials feared more would leave if violence broke out.

"While there has not been any major violence, people have started fleeing into Ghana and Liberia," he said.

The international community has recognised the opposition leader, Alassane Ouattara, as the winner of last week's run-off vote.

Both Mr Ouattara and Laurent Gbagbo, the incumbent president, claimed victory in the poll and took oaths of office, and Mr Gbagbo has defied pressure from France, the United States and the UN to step down.

Mr Carvalho said uncertainty about the poll had interrupted daily activities. "Since the election, people haven't been working and haven't been making money." If the crisis continued, he said, it could turn into a humanitarian situation because "food prices will rise".

In Abidjan, the largest city, residents said they heard gunfire overnight in a pro-Ouattara neighbourhood. Residents said they were fired on by security forces, who appeared to have fallen under Mr Gbagbo's control.

Residents of the downtrodden Abobo neighbourhood described their method for warding off attacks: when they heard security forces approaching, neighbours blew on whistles and trumpets and banged on pots and pans to scare them away.

Hamadoun Toure, a UN spokesman, said on Monday that the UN deemed it necessary to move civilian staffers to nearby Gambia and Senegal. The relocation does not affect the more than 10,000 military peacekeepers, who will remain in Ivory Coast.

Once a beacon of stability in a troubled region, the West African nation has been struggling to hold an election for years. Mr Gbagbo's five-year mandate officially expired in 2005, but he extended his stay in office, arguing elections were impossible because rebels still controlled the northern half of the country.

The 2007 peace deal broke years of political stalemate, leading to the dismantlement of a UN-patrolled buffer zone. But the vote was delayed again repeatedly because of disputes over voter rolls.

More than a quarter of the country's 20 million people are foreign immigrants who came to work on cocoa and coffee plantations in the south. Differentiating them from native Ivorians - with roots and names common in neighbouring countries - has taken years.

About 4.8 million out of 5.7 million registered voters went to the polls, according to the electoral commission, meaning turnout was high - about 85 per cent. Many had hoped a peaceful election would unify the divided nation.

"People haven't been living in a stabilised environment for years," said Mr Carvalho. "They were on the point of normalisation with this election, but now we're going to have to start all over again. That's the sad part."

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

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)

How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
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  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Indian origin executives leading top technology firms

Sundar Pichai

Chief executive, Google and Alphabet

Satya Nadella

Chief executive, Microsoft

Ajaypal Singh Banga

President and chief executive, Mastercard

Shantanu Narayen

Chief executive, chairman, and president, Adobe

Indra Nooyi  

Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo

 

 

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Brave CF 27 fight card

Welterweight:
Abdoul Abdouraguimov (champion, FRA) v Jarrah Al Selawe (JOR)

Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (TUN) v Alex Martinez (CAN)

Welterweight:
Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA) v Khamzat Chimaev (SWE)

Middleweight:
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Rustam Chsiev (RUS)
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) v Christofer Silva (BRA)

Super lightweight:
Alex Nacfur (BRA) v Dwight Brooks (USA)

Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) v Tariq Ismail (CAN)
Chris Corton (PHI) v Zia Mashwani (PAK)

Featherweight:
Sulaiman (KUW) v Abdullatip (RUS)

Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) v Mohammad Al Katib (JOR)

Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill

Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.

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Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

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AC Milan v Inter, Sunday, 6pm (UAE), match live on BeIN Sports

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Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Brief scores:

Toss: South Africa, chose to field

Pakistan: 177 & 294

South Africa: 431 & 43-1

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Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)

Number in service: 6

Complement 191 (space for up to 285)

Top speed: over 32 knots

Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles

Length 152.4 m

Displacement: 8,700 tonnes

Beam:   21.2 m

Draught: 7.4 m

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

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What is a black hole?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

The specs

Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder

Transmission: 7-speed auto

0-100kmh 2.3 seconds

0-200kmh 5.5 seconds

0-300kmh 11.6 seconds

Power: 1500hp

Torque: 1600Nm

Price: Dh13,400,000

On sale: now

'Moonshot'

Director: Chris Winterbauer

Stars: Lana Condor and Cole Sprouse 

Rating: 3/5

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Defence review at a glance

• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”

• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems

• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.

• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%

• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade

• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels

About Karol Nawrocki

• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.

• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.

• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.

• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.