International donors wary of funding Gaza reconstruction

Farida Aziz with her children as they visit their damaged apartment building in the UAE-funded $66m Sheikh Zayed City residential compound in Gaza on August 9,2014.

GAZA CITY // International donors are wary of funding another rebuilding effort in Gaza, with the European Union divided over increasing pressure on Israel for a lasting solution to the Palestinian issue.

“There’s huge concern that whatever we help rebuild will be destroyed again,” said a European diplomat in charge of his country’s development aid in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

“We need fundamental changes to the situation on the ground so that we don’t repeat what keeps on getting repeated.”

Palestinian officials said last week the Israeli offensive that began on July 8 caused US$6 billion (Dh22bn) worth of damage. Nearly 1,900 Palestinians, mostly civilian, have been killed so far.

Camp ka Champ winner still hitting the right notes

DUBAI // When Collin Ishaq auditioned for the Camp ka Champ contest six years ago, little did he know that he would go on to become one of the country’s most sought-after singers.

Collin, who was one of the winners of the 2008 contest and a finalist in 2012, says the annual Pop Idol-style show for labourers has transformed his life.

“After I started singing there, I got the confidence to sing in front of thousands of people,” says Collin, 25, a Pakistani expatriate who works airside at Dubai International Airport.

Collin’s singing attracted the attention of several bands and he occasionally performs private live shows.“I saw him during one of the shows and we took him on because he had a good voice,” said Imtiaz Khan, drummer with Dubai Rocks. “He has done two shows for us in Dubai and two in Abu Dhabi.”

Russian sanctions begin to bite in the Netherlands

The Russian sanctions imposed on Thursday against western countries are already beginning to bite in the Netherlands, Dutch media report on Friday. The Financieele Dagblad reports that 300 trucks carrying vegetables and fruit have already been refused entry at the Russian border.

The effects are also being felt at the Zaltbommel trade auction where prices are already falling. On Thursday, Russian prime minister Dmitri Medvedev announced that Russia is boycotting vegetables, fruit, meat, fish and dairy products from all countries supporting sanctions against Russia by the EU and US.

Durban gets John Legend gig

Cape Town - Big Concerts announced on Thursday that John Legend will be performing in Durban for one night only with his highly anticipated All Of Me Tour on Friday 21 November 2014 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Tickets go on sale on Friday, 8 August 2014 at 09:00 from Computicket.
An Evening with John Legend: The All of Me Tour, has currently sold out in over 60 cities the US and features John in an intimate setting, highlighted by guitar/vocal accompaniment as well as a string quartet.

"I've enjoyed this tour immensely," said Legend. "The opportunity to get up close and personal with my fans and tell my story has been so much fun for me."

Possible outcomes of the Oscar Pistorius trail

Dubbed 'the trail of the century' with millions of people across the world following Oscar Pretorius' defence and prosecution, many of us are wondering what the possible outcomes could be. Here we lay them out.

Many of you may be wondering (or indeed be confused) about what the possible outcome of the Oscar Pistorius trail would be. While judgement is set for 11 September 2014, here are possible outcomes:

 If convicted of premeditated murder, Pistorius faces a mandatory life sentence, meaning he will be behind bars for 25 years before he can be considered for parole.In his closing arguments Gerrie Nel for the State stated that Oscar Pistorius is guilty of the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

He said in the High Court in Pretoria on Friday 8 August: "My lady, he knew it was a human being in the toilet. His intention was to kill a human being," prosecutor Gerrie Nel said in answering the defence's final arguments.