Author: dailyguardian.ae
A senior Qatar Airways executive told an Australian Senate inquiry on Wednesday there would be no repeat of an incident at Doha’s international airport in 2020 in which female passengers were subjected to invasive gynaecological examinations. Australian Transport Minister Catherine King said three weeks ago that the examinations of 13 Australian women who had boarded a Qatar Airways plane to Sydney were a factor in her decision in July to refuse the airline additional flights to Australia. Qatar Airways Senior Vice President for Global Sales Matt Raos described the incident, which occurred when authorities were looking for the mother of…
Americans showed their steadfast resilience and kept spending online, at restaurants and other outlets in September even as they grappled with higher prices, rising interest rates and a host of other headwinds piling up. Retail sales rose 0.7 per cent in September, more than twice what economists had expected, and close to a revised 0.8 per cent bump in August, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. Retail sales in August were inflated after gasoline prices spiked, however. That was not the case in September when gas prices rose more slowly. A closely-watched category of retail sales that excludes auto dealers,…
For Dubai visitor Anneliese, the release of the Barbie movie was a perfect “girls’ day out” with her cousin Chloe, despite having watched the movie previously. “I watched the film in Sri Lanka last week when I was visiting there,” she told Khaleej Times, while waiting to get snacks at the theatre in Mall of the Emirates. “But when I came here to visit Chloe and heard that it was releasing here, I knew that I had to watch it again with her.” According to the university student, she feels like the movie has brought together a community of women.…
While most may view Barbie as a children’s toy, others see it as a means to make a statement. Twenty five-year-old Haneefah Adam, a Nigerian visual artist, transformed the classic doll with a new look and created Hijarbie, Barbie wearing a hijab. Her unique take on the timeless doll has garnered worldwide attention from fans, celebrities and the media. “I understand that kids mostly play with dolls, but the way Hijarbie was created, it was an avenue for self-expression. I created the Instagram page so that young and older girls or women can still see it and be inspired. Either…
Travis Head conjured a fine all-round performance as Australia defeated South Africa to enter the World Cup final on Thursday. Head, who took two wickets when South Africa batted, top scored with 62 as the five-time champions beat the Proteas by 3 wickets in an entertaining match at the majestic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The Aussies, gunning a sixth ODI World Cup title, will now square off against hosts India, who are eyeing a third crown in the showpiece event, in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Earlier, David Miller hit a defiant century to help rescue South Africa to a modest 212.…
The Pac-12 is arguably the best conference in college football in 2023. The Pac-12 has another top-15 matchup on Saturday night as the No. 5 Washington Huskies (10-0) play the No. 11 Oregon State Beavers (8-2). The opening kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT on November 18. ESPN’s lead commentary team of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Holly Rowe will call the game on ABC from Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon. The Huskies are the only undefeated Pac-12 team remaining. If Washington wins on Saturday night, they clinch a spot in the Pac-12 Championship in Las Vegas.…
Four domestic worker recruitment agencies in the UAE have been sealed shut, and their owners fined Dh50,000 for operating without a licence. The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) has referred the four Al Ain-based agencies to the public prosecution. The Department of Economic Development has placed ‘closure’ signs on their doors. “A temporary accommodation has been provided for the domestic workers at the violating establishments,” the ministry said. The workers have agreed to be transferred to MoHRE-approved domestic worker recruitment establishments. Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. The agencies were caught…
A Swiss-led team has driven electric vans across Europe and the Arabian Peninsula to Qatar to showcase zero-emission battery powered vehicles, organisers said Sunday. The five-strong Swiss and German team set out from Geneva on August 28 in two electric Volkswagen vans on a 6,500 kilometre (4,000 mile) journey that ended in Doha on Saturday. “The motivation was really to do something unusual,” the group’s leader Frank Rinderknecht told AFP. “Certainly we did have the risk of not arriving — technical issues, health issues or an accident.” The journey aimed to raise awareness about the environmental benefits of electric vehicles,…
The European Central Bank moved closer to creating a “digital euro” on Wednesday by greenlighting the next stage in the project, even as questions persist about the potential benefits and risks. The ECB’s governing council has agreed to launch a two-year “preparation phase” from November, the bank said in a statement. The final decision on launching a virtual currency had not yet been made, it stressed. “We need to prepare our currency for the future,” said ECB president Christine Lagarde. A digital euro, she said, “would coexist alongside physical cash, which will always be available, leaving no one behind”. From…
Franz Kafka never realized how close he came to kickstarting a superhero franchise. Ever since Gregor Samsa awoke in his bed to find himself transformed into a monstrous dung beetle in The Metamorphosis, we’ve had spider-men, wasps, ant-men, crime-fighting ticks and mighty mantises — such a super swarm of insectoids that you might be tempted to reach for a fly swatter. We’re now back to the beetle with the new DC Comics film Blue Beetle, which opens in UAE theatres on August 24. But what distinguishes Blue Beetle isn’t its place in the bug brigade but the person doing the…