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Maid’s daughter beats the odds to become Dubai lecturer

November 24, 2016

Dubai, Nov 24: Shahra Jafar Ali, a housemaid’s daughter who secured a full scholarship at Murdoch University in 2013, has graduated with distinction in two majors. What is more, last week she has landed a job as a lecturer at the university.

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Only three years ago, the Indian teenager despite having a brilliant academic record faced a bleak future as lack of funds threatened to cut short her education.

Shahra had won plenty of trophies and awards for sports and academics, but she, a grade 12 student then, could not think of a college life as her mother could not afford the tuition fees.

A report in XPRESS highlighting Shahra’s plight, however, changed all that. She secured a full scholarship with Murdoch University for an under-graduate course in Computer Science.

Vice Chancellor’s award

Fast-forward, Shahra is a double graduate with distinction and recipient of the Vice Chancellor’s award for academic excellence in Information Technology (IT).

“Destiny may have favoured this young girl, but nobody can take away the fact that she worked hard to get where she is today. She did not forget the huge favour bestowed on her. And she worked doubly hard to show her worth. Shahra is naturally brilliant, but I do not know of another student in the IT course who worked harder,” said Dan Adkins, Academic Director – Murdoch University Dubai and COO of Global Institute Management.

“She did not miss a day at college and would come to college at 9am and leave by 6pm. In her last year, she was learning programming, operating systems and data base and had built a solid foundation,” Atkins told XPRESS.

Shahra has now secured a full time job as a lecturer at the university.

“It is like a dream come true, I cannot express my happiness in words. Three years ago I had no direction in life. I did not know where life was going to take me. There was no money in the house, our visa status unsure. Today thanks to Murdoch University, there is a purpose in my life. I have a job and am able to support my family. That is a huge thing,” said Shahra.

“My brother has been given a scholarship and 75 per cent of his tuition fees have been taken care of. The rest I am paying. Currently I am teaching foundation students – the basics of computers. Gradually I hope to progress in my job and sponsor my mother and brothers.”

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Shahra Jafar Ali with her family at the graduation ceremony

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News Network
July 20,2020

Abu Dhabi, Jul 20: The United Arab Emirates launched its first-ever interplanetary Hope Probe mission to Mars from Japan's Tanegashima Space Centre at 01:58 a.m. (local time) on Monday.

"United Arab Emirates (UAE) launches its first mission to Mars, the 'Hope Mars Mission' from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center," UAE Space Agency said on its Twitter page.

The spacecraft is expected to reach Mars orbit in about 200 days from now and then begin its mission to study the Red Planet's atmosphere, WAM news agency reported.

Once it enters Mars' orbit in the first quarter of 2021, the Hope probe will mark the UAE's 50th anniversary.

The probe will travel 493 million kilometres into space in a journey that will take seven months, and will orbit the Red Planet for one full Martian year of 687 days to provide the first truly global picture of the Martian atmosphere.

The Hope probe will be the first to study the Martian climate throughout daily and seasonal cycles. It will observe the weather phenomena on Mars such as the massive famous dust storms that have been known to engulf the Red Planet, as compared to the short and localised dust storms on Earth.

It will also examine the interaction between the upper and lower layers of the Martian atmosphere and causes of the Red Planet's surface corrosion, as well as study why Mars is losing its upper atmosphere.

Exploring connections between today's Martian weather and the ancient climate of the Red Planet will give deeper insights into the past and future of Earth as well as the potential of life on Mars and other distant planets.

The Hope Mars Mission is considered as the biggest strategic and scientific national initiative announced by UAE's President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 2014. The UAE will be the first Arab nation to embark on a space mission to the Red Planet in a journey that contributes to the international science community as a service to human knowledge.

The interplanetary mission is the first by any West Asian, Arab or Muslim majority country.

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January 15,2020

Asia, Jan 15: Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Wednesday said that killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani showed the ignorance and arrogance of the United States and asserted that Washington looks at things from their perspective and not keeping the interests of the region in mind."The US looks at things from their perspective, not from the perspective of this region. The killing of Qassem Soleimani shows ignorance and arrogance. 430 Indian cities saw protests against killing of Soleimani," Zarif said at an event.

Hitting out at US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Zarif said that they were the only ones, along with the Islamic State (ISIS) who celebrated the death of Soleimani.

"Who is celebrating Soleimani's killing? President Trump, Pompeo and Daesh (Arabic name of ISIS). You wonder about strange bedfellows?" he said.

Tensions between the US and Iran soared dramatically earlier this month after Washington launched airstrikes at Baghdad International Airport, which killed Soleimani. Tehran retaliated by firing a volley of ballistic missiles at two military bases of US-led coalition forces in Iraq, leading to a strife in the region.

However, Zarif regretted the shooting down of the Ukrainian airline and said it happened because of "tension".

"Nine million people were out in the streets of Iran commemorating Soleimani. You cannot bring out so many people to protest. The shooting down of a plane was a mistake. 180 families are mourning the loss of their dear ones. It happened because of tension," he said.

Asked whether there a chance of a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis, Zarif ruled out negotiating with the US.

"Iran is interested in diplomacy. We are not interested in negotiating with the US. US did not keep its commitments under nuclear deal. We had a US deal and the US broke it. If we have a Trump deal, how long will it last?" he said.

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Agencies
August 4,2020

Beirut, Aug 4: A massive explosion has shaken the Lebanese capital of Beirut, with a very high number of casualties expected.

A warehouse at the Beirut Port caught fire on Tuesday afternoon, triggering a huge explosion, Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Several smaller explosions were heard before the bigger one occurred.

Abbas Ibrahim, the head of Lebanon’s General Security, said that “highly explosive materials” confiscated earlier had been stored at the site.

Footage shared on social media captured the moment of the bigger explosion, with a colossal shock wave seen traveling fast across several hundreds of meters and shrouding the area in thick smoke.

The blast left enormous material damage to the surrounding buildings and structures. But it was not immediately known how big an area was affected.

There was also no immediate casualty count. Graphic amateur video from the scene showed bodies strewn on the ground, with their clothes blown off.

The NNA said rescue operations were underway. Ambulances were seen heading toward the scene in central Beirut.

Lebanese LBC television channel quoted Lebanon’s Health Minister Hamad Hasan as saying that the blast had caused a “very high number of injuries” and “extensive damage.”

Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud said an unspecified number of firefighters dispatched to extinguish the initial fire had been killed in the explosion.

“As they were putting out the fire, the explosion took place and we’ve [lost them],” he said, breaking down on live TV.

The explosion comes at a time when the Arab country is passing through its worst economic and financial crisis in decades, and amid rising tensions with Israel.

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