Latest from Lakome
Emirates 24/7
18 minutes ago
- Business
- Emirates 24/7
UAE serves as model in advancing women's leadership
The UAE has developed a comprehensive framework for women's empowerment, adopting a systematic approach to address challenges, expand opportunities and prepare women for leadership across multiple sectors. These efforts have strengthened the country's competitiveness regionally and globally. National entities, such as the UAE Gender Balance Council and Dubai Women Establishment, have contributed significantly to developing Emirati women's leadership capacities and facilitating their advancement to senior posts in both the public and private sectors, in cooperation with leading international organisations. Speaking to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Mouza Mohammed Al Ghuwais Al Suwaidi, Secretary-General of the UAE Gender Balance Council, said that the Council is intensifying efforts to increase women's participation in the private sector and raise their representation in leadership positions. This, she said, is being achieved through strategies and initiatives aimed at creating inclusive and balanced workplaces, in partnership with strategic stakeholders from both public and private sectors. She highlighted that a number of national and international companies operating in the UAE have joined the 'SDG 5 Pledge to Accelerate Women's Leadership in the UAE Private Sector'. These companies have voluntarily committed to raising women's representation in middle and senior management roles to at least 30 percent by 2025 for the first group, and by 2028 for the second group of companies that have recently joined the initiative. The UAE Gender Balance Council Strategy 2026 aims to further reduce the gender gap across all sectors, enhance the UAE's ranking in global competitiveness reports on gender equality and achieve gender balance in decision-making positions, as well as promote the UAE's status as a benchmark for gender balance legislation. In this context, the UAE ranked first regionally and 13th globally in the 2025 Gender Inequality Index published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Naeema Ahli, CEO of Dubai Women Establishment, said that advancing Emirati women's leadership remains one of the organisation's key priorities. She noted that the Establishment continues to design and implement advanced training programmes to build leadership skills for women across sectors, while also preparing them for senior roles in international organisations through specialised programmes developed with global institutions and universities with expertise in executive and leadership education. She added that these programmes aim not only to provide women with modern leadership knowledge and skills, but also to strengthen their understanding of leadership dynamics in changing work environments and build their confidence in decision-making roles.
France 24
21 minutes ago
- Politics
- France 24
'In principle, there are always justifications for limiting & curtailing threats to nat'l security'
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France 24
21 minutes ago
- Sport
- France 24
World champions Springboks to play Japan at Wembley
Japan, then as now coached by Eddie Jones, overcame the Springboks 34-32 in an absolute thriller of a match in Brighton. South Africa have gone on to beat the 'Brave Blossoms' twice since then, both times in Japan, as well as being crowned world champions in 2019 and 2023 giving them a record four victories in the sport's quadrennial showpiece. Jones, who in between his stints as Japan handler had a rollercoaster spell with England losing to the 'Boks in the 2019 World Cup final but was fired in late 2022, said the 'Miracle of Brighton' had been a game changer for the sport. "The game in Brighton 10 years ago changed rugby in Japan from being a minor sport to a boom sport," said Jones. "Playing against the Boks is the dream of every young Japanese player." His Springbok counterpart Rassie Erasmus said it was a most welcome challenge ahead of their traditional November clashes with northern hemisphere heavyweights. "We are delighted to be starting off our tour of the Northern Hemisphere with a match against Japan at the iconic Wembley Stadium," said Erasmus in a South Africa Rugby statement. "Especially ahead of a challenging tour which kicks off a week later with the first official Test of the November window against France in Paris. "The Brave Blossoms are renowned for playing fast, attacking, high-tempo rugby -– which has been prevalent in our last two encounters, before and during the Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019." Wembley has hosted 11 rugby matches over the years, starting with England's 26-13 win over Canada in 1992. Wales hosted six games there, including their Five Nations matches in 1998 and 1999, while the old Cardiff Arms Park was being rebuilt. A revamped Wembley also featured a couple of games during the 2015 Rugby World Cup, though both lacked the drama of the Japan and Boks pool match. The last time the Boks played at Wembley was a 31-31 against the Barbarians draw in 2016. Erasmus's side will have already played in England ahead of the Japan match, as they face Argentina in the final round of the Rugby Championship at Twickenham on October 4.
France 24
21 minutes ago
- Politics
- France 24
Chinese troops swelter through rehearsal for major military parade
President Xi Jinping will inspect troops in the capital's Tiananmen Square at the event to mark 80 years since the end of World War II, with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and other world leaders expected to attend. Pin-straight lines of men and women clutching guns packed the pavement at a rehearsal on a military training square under the hot sun in southeast Beijing on Wednesday. Soldiers in their twenties stared sternly as sweat collected on their faces and soaked through their fatigues. Wang Ranran, an army guard, said she was "extremely proud" to participate in the parade on September 3. "China often uses the term 'steel-gun rose' to describe its female soldiers," she said. "The combination of roses and guns, we really like it." Troops wearing white, green and navy blue uniforms with Chinese flags on their chests started and stopped to the piercing voices of the officers directing the show. Training that is "strict, difficult and practical" has always been the army's tradition, said Lan Yu, a second-level staff sergeant. Rehearsals had not lasted long, he said, because parade training was part of their daily schedule. New hardware Millions of Chinese people were killed during a prolonged war with imperial Japan in the 1930s and 40s, which became part of a global conflict following Tokyo's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The ruling Communist Party has held a series of blockbuster events in recent years to commemorate its wartime resistance. China's military will showcase its latest equipment on September 3, "reflecting the evolution of modern warfare", Major General Wu Zeke, an official at China's military commission, told a news briefing on Wednesday. "All of the weapons and equipment taking part in this review were selected from domestically produced, currently active main battle systems, with a significant proportion being newly unveiled equipment," Wu said. These will include strategic heavy weapons and hypersonic precision systems, as well as unmanned and counter-unmanned equipment making their public debut, he said. The parade, which will last around 70 minutes, will "fully showcase our military's powerful capability to prevail in modern war", Wu said. It will also feature ground troops marching in formation, armoured columns, aerial echelons and other high-tech fighting gear. The Kremlin has confirmed that Putin will attend, and Chinese officials said other world leaders were also expected at the parade. China raised its defence spending for 2025 by 7.2 percent in March. The increase comes as Beijing's armed forces undergo rapid modernisation and eye deepening strategic competition with the United States.
France 24
21 minutes ago
- Business
- France 24
Defence begins closing arguments in Hong Kong trial of Jimmy Lai
The 77-year-old founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper has contested two counts of foreign collusion, with authorities accusing him of using various platforms to lobby Western nations to sanction China and Hong Kong. The charges are brought under the city's national security law, which Beijing imposed in 2020 after the finance hub saw huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests the year before. Defence lawyer Robert Pang told the court it was "not wrong" to support freedom of expression and human rights. "It is not wrong to try to persuade the government to change its policy... Nor is it wrong not to love a particular administration, or even the country," he added. Aside from the collusion offence -- which could land him in prison for life -- Lai is also charged with "seditious publication" related to 161 articles, including op-eds carrying his byline. Pang began his closing arguments by pointing to three Apple Daily news articles that prosecutors deemed seditious. "It's factual reporting," he said, adding that the 161 items made up a tiny fraction of the newspaper's output. But judge Esther Toh countered that it was "pointless" to play a numbers game, adding that the judges had already gone through the articles carefully. 'Not credible' testimony Earlier in the day, prosecutor Anthony Chau challenged Lai's courtroom testimony -- which spanned more than 50 days -- as "not credible". The portrayal of Apple Daily as a "neutral defender of Hong Kong's core values" was "utterly misleading", Chau told judges. "(Lai) and Apple Daily were anti-communist for many years," he said, adding that the tycoon "glorified violence, mutual destruction and martyrdom against the (Chinese Communist Party) regime". The prosecutor also pointed to a trove of communications, some on WhatsApp, that allegedly tied Lai to political figures in the United States and a plan to lobby for Western sanctions against China and Hong Kong around the time of the 2019 protests. "(Lai) was clearly a betrayer of national interests," he said, wrapping up his case after two and half days. Lai was attentive during Wednesday's hearing, waving and gesturing to family and supporters in the public gallery when he entered the courtroom. The septuagenarian was outfitted with a heart rate monitor and prescribed medication after the defence said last week that Lai was experiencing heart palpitations. Concerns have been raised previously over Lai's health by his family and rights groups. The media tycoon has been kept behind bars since December 2020, reportedly in solitary confinement, and has lost weight during that time. The Hong Kong government has said Lai was receiving "adequate and comprehensive" medical care, with a senior medical officer earlier declaring him "physically and mentally fit for court".
