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sellbuyqatar · 10 months ago

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Top 5 Reasons Why Investing in Gold is a Smart Financial Move

Are you looking to secure your financial future and make smart investment decisions? Look no further than gold. This timeless and valuable commodity has proven to be a safe haven for investors. In this blog post, we'll explore the top 5 reasons why investing in gold is a smart financial move that can help you build wealth and protect your assets. Whether you're new to investing or a seasoned pro, there's something here for everyone. Let's dive in!

Introduction: The Fascination with Gold

Gold has been an object of fascination for centuries, revered by ancient civilizations and coveted by modern investors. Its allure is undeniable - from its beautiful luster to its historical significance, gold has captured the imagination of people across cultures and time periods. One of the main reasons for this fascination with gold is its rarity. Unlike other commodities that can be easily reproduced or manufactured, gold is a finite resource that is found in limited quantities on our planet. This scarcity adds to its value and makes it a symbol of wealth and luxury.

Another reason why people are drawn to invest in gold is its enduring value. While currencies have come and gone, wars have been fought, and economies have risen and fallen, gold has remained a constant store of value. It holds significant cultural significance as well, being used in religious ceremonies or as gifts for special occasions.

Gold also serves as a hedge against inflation. In times of economic uncertainty or high inflation rates, the value of paper currency tends to decrease while the price of gold usually rises. This makes investing in gold a smart move for those looking to protect their wealth from market fluctuations. Unlike stocks or real estate which require ongoing maintenance costs or fees, holding physical gold requires no maintenance costs once purchased. This makes it an attractive option for those seeking long-term investments without any additional expenses.

The fascination with gold also extends beyond just its monetary value. Many investors see it as an insurance policy against catastrophic events such as economic crashes or political instability. The idea that even if everything else fails, physical gold will always hold some form of worth brings peace of mind to many individuals.

The fascination with gold is rooted in its rarity, cultural significance, historical value, and ability to act as a hedge against inflation. These factors make investing in gold a smart financial move for both seasoned investors and those just beginning their journey towards financial security.

#1: Gold is a Stable and Secure Investment

When it comes to investing, stability and security are two of the most important factors that investors consider. One of the main reasons why gold is considered a stable investment is because its value has stood the test of time. Unlike other investments such as stocks or real estate, which can fluctuate wildly depending on market conditions, gold has maintained its value over thousands of years. In fact, it has been used as a form of currency since ancient times and continues to hold its value even in today's modern world.

It is seen as a safe haven asset by many investors who rush towards it during times of crisis. This demand for gold increases its value and helps protect against inflation or economic downturns. Another factor is its limited supply. While fiat currencies can be printed endlessly by governments, leading to inflation and devaluation, there is only so much physical gold available in the world. This scarcity makes it a valuable asset that maintains its worth over time.

Gold offers security as an investment option due to its tangible nature. Unlike stocks or bonds that exist on paper or digitally, gold is a physical asset that you can physically hold in your hand. This provides reassurance for investors knowing they have something concrete backing their investment.

With the rise of technology-driven financial products like cryptocurrency and digital trading platforms, some people may feel uncertain about these new forms of investments' long-term stability and security. However, with gold's long-standing history as an investment asset class, there are no such concerns about its future viability.

Whether you are looking for long-term stability or protection against uncertain market conditions, gold has proven to be a secure investment choice time and time again. Its historical track record of maintaining value, limited supply, tangible nature, and lack of dependence on technological advancements all contribute to making it a smart financial move for any investor looking to diversify their portfolio.

Reason #2: Hedge Against Inflation and Economic Uncertainty

In today's ever-changing economic landscape, it is important to have investments that can protect your wealth from inflation and uncertainties in the market. This is where gold comes into play as a smart financial move.

One of the main reasons why gold is considered a hedge against inflation is because it has shown to hold its value over time. Unlike paper currency, which can be easily printed and devalued, gold maintains its purchasing power. This means that even during periods of high inflation, the value of gold will not decrease drastically. In fact, history shows that during times of high inflation, the price of gold tends to increase.

Since most central banks around the world hold large reserves of gold, it has become an internationally recognized form of currency. This means that even in times when paper currencies lose their value due to inflation or economic uncertainty, gold can still serve as a universal store of wealth.

Investing in gold is also seen as a way to protect against economic uncertainty. During times of crisis or market volatility, investors tend to flock towards safe-haven assets such as gold. This demand for gold drives up its price and makes it a valuable asset to have in one's portfolio.

Gold also has a low correlation with other assets such as stocks and bonds. This means that while these assets may experience fluctuations due to economic conditions or market trends, the price of gold may remain steady or even increase. By diversifying your investment portfolio with some allocation towards physical or paper-backed gold investments, you are reducing your overall risk exposure and safeguarding your wealth against potential losses from economic downturns.

Moreover, unlike stocks or real estate which require constant monitoring and maintenance costs, owning physical or paper-backed gold requires minimal effort once purchased. It does not rely on external factors such as management decisions or property location for its value – making it a relatively low-maintenance investment option.

Investing in gold can provide a safety net for your wealth against inflation and economic uncertainties. Its ability to retain its value over time and serve as a universal store of wealth makes it a smart financial move for any investor looking to protect their portfolio. By including gold in your investment strategy, you are not only diversifying your portfolio but also securing your financial future.

Reason #3: Diversification in Your Investment Portfolio

Diversification is a key strategy when it comes to investing. It involves spreading out your investments across different assets, industries, and markets to minimize risk and maximize returns. This is where gold can play a crucial role in your investment portfolio.

Gold has a unique characteristic of being negatively correlated with other traditional assets such as stocks and bonds. This means that when the stock market experiences volatility or downturns, the value of gold tends to increase. Therefore, by including gold in your investment portfolio, you can offset potential losses from other investments and reduce overall risk.

Gold has historically demonstrated its ability to maintain its value over time, even during economic crises. Investing in physical gold also provides an additional layer of diversification within your portfolio. Unlike paper assets like stocks or bonds which are dependent on the performance of companies or governments respectively, physical gold is not subject to counterparty risk. In simpler terms, holding physical gold means that you own a tangible asset that is not reliant on anyone else's financial stability.

Gold offers geographical diversification through its global demand and pricing mechanisms. With increasing industrial use for technology purposes and jewelry demand in emerging economies such as China and India, the price of gold is heavily influenced by international factors rather than just domestic ones.

Owning physical gold gives you access to various forms of gold, such as bars, coins, and bullion. This allows you to diversify within the asset itself and choose the form that best suits your investment goals.

Including gold in your investment portfolio provides diversification on multiple levels - in terms of correlation with other assets, counterparty risk, geographical exposure, and types of physical gold. These aspects make gold a valuable addition to any well-diversified portfolio and a smart financial move for investors looking to mitigate risk and achieve long-term stability.

Reason #4: Potential for High Returns on Investment

Gold has long been considered a safe and stable investment, but it also has the potential to provide high returns. In fact, gold has consistently outperformed other traditional investments such as stocks and bonds in terms of its return on investment (ROI).

One of the key reasons for this is the limited supply of gold. Unlike paper currencies that can be printed endlessly, the supply of gold is finite. This makes it a scarce and valuable asset, which can drive up its price over time.

Gold is not tied to any specific country or economy. It is a universal currency that holds value across borders and cultures. This means that even if one economy faces a downturn, the demand for gold may remain steady or even increase in other countries. Investors often turn to gold as a safe haven asset. This increased demand can drive up the price of gold, resulting in higher returns for those who have invested in it.

Another factor contributing to the potential for high returns on investment in gold is its liquidity. Gold can easily be bought and sold around the world at any time. This means that investors can quickly convert their holdings into cash if needed without facing significant losses.

Owning physical gold does not come with ongoing expenses. Therefore, all profits from selling gold go directly to the investor's pocket.

It's also worth noting that while other assets may lose value during periods of inflation, historically, gold has maintained its purchasing power over time. In fact, during times of high inflation or economic crisis, the value of gold tends to rise significantly due to its scarcity and perceived stability.

Of course, like any investment option, there are risks involved when investing in gold. Its price can fluctuate daily based on global factors such as interest rates, currencies, and geopolitical events. However, by diversifying your portfolio and holding a portion of assets in gold, you can mitigate these risks and potentially earn high returns.

The potential for high returns on investment is one of the top reasons why investing in gold is considered a smart financial move. Its limited supply, universal value, liquidity, and ability to withstand economic uncertainties make it an attractive investment option for those looking to grow their wealth over time.

Reason #5: Tangible Asset with Universal Value

Gold has been considered a tangible asset for centuries, making it a highly sought-after investment option. Unlike other financial assets such as stocks or bonds, gold is a physical commodity that can be held in hand and has universal value. This means that no matter where you are in the world, gold will always hold value and can be easily exchanged for cash.

One of the main advantages of owning physical gold is its ability to preserve wealth. Gold has historically maintained its value and even increased in worth. This makes it an attractive option for investors looking to diversify their portfolio and protect against potential losses.

Furthermore, gold is not subject to the same risks as paper currencies. While inflation can greatly affect the purchasing power of fiat money, gold's value remains stable due to its limited supply and high demand. This makes it a reliable hedge against inflation and currency devaluation.

Another key benefit of investing in gold is its liquidity. Gold bullion coins or bars are universally recognized and accepted by dealers around the world, making them easy to buy or sell at any time without losing significant value. This flexibility allows investors to quickly access their funds when needed, unlike other assets that may require more time and effort to liquidate.

Owning physical gold provides investors with a sense of security during times of crisis or geopolitical unrest. When global financial markets experience turmoil, there tends to be an increase in demand for safe-haven assets like gold. As history has shown us, even when paper currencies collapse or stock markets crash, precious metals like gold retain their worth.

In addition to being a reliable store of wealth and providing protection during uncertain times, owning physical gold also offers potential tax benefits. In some countries, certain types of investments in precious metals may be exempt from capital gains taxes if held for a certain period. This can result in significant savings when compared to other taxable investments.

Investing in gold is a smart financial move due to its tangible nature and universal value. It offers investors a way to diversify their portfolio, protect against inflation and market volatility, and provides potential tax benefits. Its liquidity, stability, and ability to preserve wealth make it a valuable asset for any long-term investment strategy.

Best Place to Buy Investment Gold Bars and Gold Coins in Qatar

Rizan Jewellery is one of the best places to buy gold in Qatar. Our team of specialists is dedicated to assisting you in acquiring purity-certified gold and silver bullion. We provide competitive pricing and top-notch service for purchasing bullion in Doha, Qatar, ensuring both quality and satisfaction. If you are looking to sell your gold in Qatar, we are here to help you. We provide the best prices for your gold with instant cash credit.

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forever-niva · 4 years ago

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dobodel · 7 years ago

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Al Zain Necklace Dubai

Al Zain Necklace If you are looking for necklaces in Dubai, then buy Al Zain necklaces from Al Zain jewelry. Al Zain jewelry is based on Dubai gold souk-like other Dubai jewelry. Dubai shopping malls are the places where you can see the retail outlets of Al Zain jewelry. You can find a wide variety of Al Zain necklaces at the jewelry. The expert professional jewelry designers at Al Zain jewelry bring creativity and alluring designs on Al Zain necklaces. Al Zain necklaces are available in singles pieces or in sets. Different types of Al Zain necklaces are possible so that you can wear them with different attires. Al Zain jewelry is offering handmade Al Zain necklaces that show artistic talents of their professional designers. Al Zain silver mainly creates their jewelry pieces in 21k or 22k gold. Bahraini gold is used to create Al Zain necklaces. The customers can find great jewelry pieces from Cacharel and Guy Laroche. Guy Laroche is a French brand that consists of jewelry collection made out of stainless steel and white gold combined with ceramic. Cacharel is a brand that creates jewelry pieces out of diamonds and precious stones. Al Zain necklaces are available in yellow gold, white gold, and pink gold. The Al Zain necklaces created out of pure gold. Some of the Al Zain necklaces are decorated with diamonds and precious stones. Necklaces of different styles and designs are available in Al Zain jewelry. The cost of Al Zain necklace will vary according to a weight of the necklaces, diamonds or gemstones used in the necklaces, designs, style and gold purity. Al Zain jewelry offers luxurious and luring diamond necklace collections for the Arabian women. Bridal collection and Maharaja Collection at Al Zain jewelry are favored by customers from all walks of life. Custom made necklaces are available in the jewelry. The customers can order for a chain in their favorite designs and styles. If necessary, custom-made jewelry pieces can be designed with gemstones and diamonds at Al Zain jewelry. Several retail outlets of Al Zain jewelry are located in Dubai such as Festival City Center, Mall of Emirates, Deira City Centre, Burjuman shopping center, and Dubai Gold Souk. Al Zain jewelry has got several international awards for their creativity and jewelry designs. The retail outlets of Al Zain jewelry in other countries are in Riyadh, Bahrain, Doha, Khobar, Jordan, and Abu Dhabi. Al Zain is one of the well-established jewelry in Dubai. Al Zain jewelry provides necklaces with modern and traditional designs. You can find Al Zain necklaces for kids, teenagers, and women who would like to wear a neck piece gracefully. Lightweight necklaces can be worn with modern attire, and heavyweight necklaces can be worn with traditional dresses. The high design standards, high quality and intricate craftsmanship of Al Zain necklaces make them more attractive for customers of different ages. Apart from diamonds and precious stones, Al Zain jewelry is using pearls. The founder of Al Zain jewelry is actually started as pearl jewelry when Dubai was known as pearling industry.

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architectnews · 4 years ago

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Aquarela Apartments, Quito

Aquarela Apartments, South American Housing Project, Ecuadorian Architecture Images

Aquarela Apartments in Quito

11 Dec 2020

Aquarela Apartments

Architecture: Espinoza Carvajal Arquitectos

Location: Quito, Ecuador, South America

image © Ateliers Jean Nouvel. Associated architect

Jean Nouvel and Uribe Schwarzkopf unveil first phase of Aquarela, an innovative new residential development in Quito, Ecuador

image © Ateliers Jean Nouvel. Associated architect

First phase of the striking new building project opens a suite of extraordinary amenities, from an ice skating rink to a bowling alley to a music room and more

image © Uribe Schwarkopf

The first phase of Jean Nouvel’s Aquarela, a striking residential complex in the Cumbaya neighborhood of Quito, Ecuador was unveiled. The project represents a new type of development for the city, essentially forming a new neighborhood and community around the architectural landmark. Developed with Uribe Schwarzkopf, the city’s leading architecture and building firm, the first phase of Aquarela includes a stunning suite of amenities and striking vistas that epitomize a new and growing urban identity of the city.

image © Ateliers Jean Nouvel. Associated architect

Aquarela’s master plan responds organically to the project’s environment and context, generating green spaces and terraces throughout, and using materials that reflect the natural topography of the surrounding valley. The stone exteriors of Aquarela create a facade that responds to the physical space where it is situated, with native plants from the region intertwining with the exterior facade. Aquarela is meant to appear as a monolith, in order to become part of the topography of the Cumbayá valley, and to organically create harmony between the building and the physical features of the valley rather than disrupt its contours.

image © Ateliers Jean Nouvel. Associated architect

With that in mind, the complex of towers has an interior courtyard that is designed to feel like a mountain pass with more than 1,000 square meters of vertical gardens, and it is through this area that many of the amenities are reachable. As residents begin to move into the first few towers, all communal amenities are complete, including an ice skating rink, bowling alley, music room, a mini golf course, multiple screening rooms, kids and teen rooms, game room, mini-soccer field, squash and outdoor tennis courts, an semi-Olympic sized pool, and jacuzzis with spa with a sauna and steam room.

Aquarela will also feature semi-private rooftop pools for each tower, a fitness room with spinning and yoga studios, a hair salon and barber shop, a pet spa, events rooms and lounge areas, as well as a business center and meeting rooms.

image © Ateliers Jean Nouvel. Associated architect

“The collaboration with Jean Nouvel Studio has been an extraordinary experience for Uribe Schwarzkopf, bringing cutting-edge international architecture to Ecuador. The design of the amenities and internal areas of the project has led our team to really innovate and go beyond the conventional,” noted Joseph Schwarzkopf of Uribe Schwarzkopf. “With 12,000 square meters of amenities, the residents of Aquarela have access to all the services of a private club without leaving their homes. This dramatically improves quality of life and contributes to a healthier, more sustainable city, but also saves time, the one asset we can’t buy or get back.”

The interiors, designed by Uribe Schwarzkopf, include lighting from major international designers, including Flos, Vivia, Marcet, and Faro Barcelona and furniture from Pedrali, Dedon, and Konkretus. These are arranged in synergy alongside design objects and artworks that reflect the local environment, history, and culture, such as a front desk constructed of salvaged wood from a lightning storm and game room furniture constructed by a legendary local billiard champion.

image © Uribe Schwarkopf

The project also follows an eco-efficiency matrix which dictates the conscious use of materials, construction systems, and technical design, which are developed to generate the least possible impact when it comes to the use of non renewable resources (electrical energy saving, use of potable water, collecting and reusing rainwater, water treatment, irrigation systems, etc), demonstrating commitment to environmental responsibility.

image © Ateliers Jean Nouvel. Associated architect

Aquarela Apartments in Quito, Ecuador – Building Information

Architectural team: Ateliers Jean Nouvel

Associated Architects: Alberto Medem – Humboldt Arquitectos S.A Architect of record: Uribe Schwarzkopf Interiors: Uribe Schwarzkopf Address: Isidro Ayora and Avenida Interoceánica Total Square Meters: 136,597.97 m2 Number of Units: 573 apartments, 2 commercial units Number of Floors: 7 – 10, varies per tower

Communal Amenities: Multiple doorman attended lobbies, grand interior courtyard, ice skating rink, bowling alley, music room, mini golf course, multiple screening rooms, kids and teen rooms, game room, mini-soccer field, squash and outdoor tennis courts, large pool with jacuzzi for entire complex and multiple semi-private rooftop pools for each tower, fitness room with spinning and yoga studios, spa with sauna, steam room, splash pool, and jacuzzis, hair salon and barber shop, pet spa, events rooms and lounge areas, as well as a business center and meeting rooms

About Jean Nouvel Jean Nouvel’s strong stances and somewhat provocative opinions on contemporary architecture in the urban context together with his unfailing ability to inject originality into all the projects he undertakes have formed his international image. Jean Nouvel’s work does not result from considerations of style or ideology, but from a quest to create a unique concept for a singular combination of people, place and time.

His works have gained world-wide recognition through numerous prestigious French and International prizes and rewards. In 1989, The Arab World Institute in Paris was awarded the Aga-Khan Prize because of its role as “a successful bridge between French and Arab cultures”.

In 2000, Jean Nouvel received theLion d’Or of the Venice Biennale. In 2001, he received three of the highest international awards: the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Praemium Imperial of Japan’s Fine Arts Association and the Borromini Prize for the Culture and Conference Center in Lucerne. He was appointed Docteur Honoris Causa of the Royal College of Art in London in 2002. Three years later, he received the annual prize of the Wolf Foundation in Israel “for providing a new model of contextualism and redefining the dialectic between the two salient characteristics of contemporary architecture: concreteness and ephemerality”.

The Agbar Tower in Barcelona was awarded the International Highrise Award 2006 in Frankfurt, “as it makes an outstanding contribution to the current debate on high-rises”.

Jean Nouvel was the recipient of the prestigious Pritzker Prize in 2008. In France, he has received many prizes including the Gold Medal from the French Academy of Architecture, two “Équerres d’Argent” and the National Grand Prize for Architecture.

Jean Nouvel is currently developing several cultural projects in China. In November 2017, Jean Nouvel delivered the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum, a landmark museum in the Gulf region. The Louvre Abu Dhabi has received unanimous international acclaim and has already welcomed a large number of visitors since its opening. In March 2019, he opened the National Museum of Qatar in Doha. “Everything in this museum works to make the visitor feel the desert and the sea. The museum’s architecture and structure symbolize the mysteries of the desert’s concretions and crystallizations, suggesting the interlocking pattern of the bladelike petals of the desert rose”.

After he enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux, Jean Nouvel ranked first in the entrance examination of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1966 and obtained his degree in 1971. Assistant to the architect Claude Parent and inspired by urban planner and essayist Paul Virilio, he started his first architecture practice in 1970. Soon afterwards, he became a founding member of the “Mars 1976” Movement whose purpose was to oppose the architects’ corporatism and then a founder of French Architecture Union.

About Uribe Schwarzkopf Uribe Schwarzkopf is the leading architectural planning, design, and construction company in Quito, committed to quality and innovation, building exceptional living spaces, creating community, and responsibly planning for the future of the rapidly growing city.

For over 47 years, they have developed and innovated in the Ecuadorian real estate sector, designing, planning, and promoting large projects located within the city of Quito, as well as its surrounding valleys, including Cumbayá and Tumbaco. Since 1973, Uribe Schwarzkopf has built over 200 projects. Their portfolio includes condominiums, office buildings, shopping malls, and even hotels and hospitals.

Each Uribe Schwarzkopf building is marked by innovation and creativity as they constantly seek to break free of established paradigms. The company offers communal environments that improve quality of life, venturing to take Quito to the forefront of world cities by creating alliances with renowned international architecture and design companies including Arquitectónica – Bernardo Fort-Brescia (Peru-Miami), YOO Inspired by Starck (London), Wanders & YOO (Amsterdam), Carlos Zapata (Venezuela-Miami), Jean Nouvel (France), Moshe Safdie (Canada-Israel), Bjarke Ingels, BIG (Denmark), and Tatiana Bilbao (Mexico).

image © Ateliers Jean Nouvel. Associated architect

Aquarela Apartments in Quito images / information received 121120

Location: Quito, Ecuador

Ecuador Architecture

Contemporary Ecuador Architectural Projects

Ecuador Architecture Designs – chronological list

Ecuador Architecture News

Casa Ortega, Sangolquí, Ecuador Architects: Estudio A0 photograph : Sebastián Crespo Casa Ortega in Sangolquí

Diffuse Borders Residence, Tumbaco, Quito Design: arquitectura x photo : Bicubik, Sebastián Crespo, Andrés Fernández Diffuse Borders Residence in Quito

PD House, Club Los Arrayanes, Puembo Design: Gabriel Rivera Arquitecto photo : Arq. Gabriel Rivera House in Puembo

Ecuador Building

South American Buildings

Comments / photos for the Aquarela Apartments in Quito – Ecuador Residential Architecture page welcome

The post Aquarela Apartments, Quito appeared first on e-architect.

#e-architect

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cheerskeyz · 4 years ago

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Are you a ring lover?💍 Tale of my rose gold ring👇🏼 Last October, my brother & sister-in-law came to visit Qatar from India. We roamed many places in Qatar & as customary to any gulf visit we also went for shopping for gold & jewels in Malabar Gold. 😅 We were looking for gold & diamond rings and necklaces. Here they have a really good collection of designs. Suddenly my brother saw one infinity shaped ring & he shouted excitedly - Hey Sweety, infinity ring!! 😯 What amused me was that I had seen this ring with my previous visit with my husband & I had liked it at first sight but we thought of buying it later. 🤔 I was more surprised because he had spotted the same ring & told me that this is a gift for you. I was in denial mode questioning him without any special occasion why are you gifting this to me. But he liked this ring on me so much that he insisted on accepting this at last as a future Diwali gift. 🛍 I was very happy to have this rose gold infinity ring & making my hand more beautiful. I was happy that I bought the same ring I wished for. 😇 & today is my brother's birthday. Thank you @_zariyavala for the beautiful gift. Many many happy returns of the day & I wish you a great year ahead. 😘 Keep surprising me with such gifts. 😍😎 Lots of love 💕 #goldring #ringlover #rosegoldring #18caratring #infinitering #malabargoldanddiamonds #infinityring #delicatering #delicatejewlery #bestgift #diwaligift #giftforsister #bloggersinqatar #bloggerindoha #cheerskeyz (at Doha Qatar) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEMsqjblqaH/?igshid=194ipg626ml0r

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tuzzut · 5 years ago

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studywithds · 5 years ago

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22-02-2020 | Current Affairs

We provide you with the latest news updates and daily current affairs from The Hindu. Indian Express, Live Mint, PIB, Etc,… #studywithDs #UPSC #SSC #RAILWAYS #CurrentAffairs #DailyCurrentAffairs #DEEPIKASINGAMSETTY #DEEPIKA #GOVTEXAMCURRENTAFFAIR 1. Y Nageswara Rao Appointed Executive Director Of Bank Of Maharashtra 2. Ross Taylor Becomes 1st Player To Play 100 Matches In All 3 Formats 3. India And Sri Lanka To Sign MoU To Develop Jaffna Airport 4. Nigeria & India Sign MoU To Establish Sugar Institute 5. Qatar & UN Sign MoU To Open Counter-Terrorism Office In Doha 6. 16th World Education Summit Begins At Hyderabad 7. India Ranked 77th On A Sustainability Index 8. Norway Topped In Child Flourishing Index 9. India Ranked 131st In Child Flourishing Index 10. Hyderabad Ranks 7th In India Fit Report-2020 11. Maharashtra Becomes The 1st State To Implement Home Buying Process Online 12. Banks Board Bureau Recommends G.R. Chinatala As The Next Chairman Of NABARD 13. India Will Be The Guest Of Honour At The International Tourism Fair Of Madagascar 14. US Scientists Prepared 1st 3D Molecular Scale Map Of Novel Coronavirus 15. Sanjay Jasjit Singh Takes Charge As The Commandant Of The Naval War College, Goa 16. CSIR Topped The Nature Ranking Index 2020 17. IISc, Bangalore Ranks 2nd In Nature Ranking Index 2020 18. IIT Bombay Ranks 5th In Nature Ranking Index 2020 19. IIT Madras Ranks 6th In Nature Ranking Index 2020 20. IIT Guwahati Ranks 9th In Nature Ranking Index 2020 21. Ganga Kayak Festival Celebrated In Uttarakhand 22. Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav Launched HRMS Mobile App 23. UK Introduced New Points-Based Visa System To Boost The Economy 24. Arunachal Pradesh Celebrates Its 34th Statehood Day On February 20 25. France To Shut Down Fessenheim Nuclear Reactor By June 26. AIFF Received ‘Grassroots Charter Bronze Level’ Membership Of AFC 27. Brazil Para-Badminton International 2020 Held In Sao Paulo, Brazil 28. Pramod Bhagat Won 2 Gold At Brazil Para-Badminton International 2020 29. India Won 11 Medals At Brazil Para-Badminton International 2020 30. FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2020 To Be Held In India 31. ' Kick Off the Dream ' Is Official Slogan Of FIFA U-17 Women's WC 2020 32. 10th Edition Of Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad Held In New Delhi 33. Sunil Gurbaxani Appointed As MD & CEO Of Dhanlaxmi Bank 34. P. V. Sindhu Wins ESPN’s ‘Female Sportsperson Of The Year’ Award 35. Saurabh Chaudhary Wins ESPN’s Male Sportsperson Of The Year Award 36. Sprinter Dutee Chand Won The ESPN's ‘ Courage ’ Award 37. Koneru Humpy Won The Award For The ' Comeback Of The Year ' 38. Deepak Punia Won ‘ Emerging Sportsperson Of The Year ' Award 39. Pullela Gopichand Claimed The ' Coach Of The Year ' Award 40. Balbir Singh Won ESPN's " Lifetime Achievement " Award 41. Pragyan Ojha Announces Retirement From All Formats Of Cricket 42. Asian Wrestling Championships Begins At New Delhi 43. Divya Kakran (68Kg) Won Gold In Asian Wrestling Championships 44. Sarita Mor (59Kg) Won Gold In Asian Wrestling Championships 45. Nirmala Devi (50Kg) Won Silver In Asian Wrestling Championships 46. Motera Stadium Becomes India's 1st Green-Rated Cricket Stadium 47. Myanmar President Win Myint To Visit India From Feb 26-29 48. Northeast Frontier Railway Builds India's Tallest Pier Bridge In Manipur. Read the full article

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bigyack-com · 5 years ago

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From Beed to Tokyo, Sable’s long, hard run

“Bas, zid thi (I was just stubborn)!”Stubborn sums up Avinash Sable.Zid, of single-handedly plucking his family out of poverty. Zid, of making his way into the Indian Army. Zid, of discovering his love for running, and in less than five years after becoming an athlete, smashing through a national record that has stood for decades—bettering it three more times in the space of a year—and becoming the first Indian man to make the final of the 3000m steeplechase race at the 2019 World Athletics Championship and qualify for the 2020 Olympics.Travel to Mandava, where Sable was born and raised, and it’s not hard to see the source of his deep-set tenacity.Eight kilometres inland from the highway that runs from Mumbai to Beed, Mandava is a village with roughly 2,500 people and little land. The road that leads to the village is rocky and cracked during the long dry months, and muddy and non-existent when it rains. In November, when this correspondent visited, the village’s farmlands lay mostly barren—barring a few patches of wheat, and a few groves of lemon trees.It is here that Sable first started running, more out of compulsion than as a sport.Sable’s parents—father Mukund and mother Vaishali—own a small parcel of land, but like almost every family in the village, struggled to make ends meet with farming. Instead, Mukund and Vaishali started taking up daily wage jobs—as labourers to construct and repair roads near Lonavala and Pune, or as workers at a brick kiln near the village.

“We would leave at 3am for work after waking up at 2am to prepare the day’s food for Avinash and Yogesh (Avinash’s younger brother). And we would return only late in the evening after we got our day’s money,” Mukund, sitting on a charpoy outside his house, recalls.For a young Sable, these years of struggle left a deep impression. “Working hard is in my blood,” Sable says. “Whatever memories I have of my childhood, most of it is seeing my parents’ struggles to feed me and my brother every night.”And thus, despite not having the luxury of a cycle like some other boys, Sable says he never thought twice about the difficulties of reaching his school, 6km from his house, on foot. On the contrary, Sable, as early as when he was eight years old, began to find a solitary joy in running those 12km to and from his school every day.Swinging a plastic bag filled with his books, Sable would run on. “Woh kehte hai na, God’s gift,” Sable says. “I have that with running. Whenever I used to run, people would say, ‘This boy never gets tired of running’.”His primary school teacher, Babasaheb Taware, was one of the people who noticed.When he was in the 4th standard, Sadashiv took Sable to a school athletic meet for a 1000m race. Sable came first.“He had the talent and discipline but more importantly, he had guts,” Taware says. “That’s when I knew he was not an ordinary boy.”Taware knew he had to look after the boy carefully; when Sable’s father told him that he was thinking of taking the boy along daily to the brick kiln since there was no one home to take care of him, Taware intervened. He offered to take Sable home with him instead after school, and Mukund could pick him up on his way back from the kiln.“If he had gone with his father at that time, he wouldn’t have become a runner,” the 47-year-old Taware says.When he was 11 years old, conditions at home forced Sable’s parents to send him to live in a hostel for economically backwards children. Here, his running talent was spotted again. This time, he was sent to the Aurangabad Krida Prabodhini centre (Krida Prabodhini is an ambitious state-run programme which runs residential sports schools across the state to groom potential athletes).Ironically, it backfired. In the four years that Sable spent at the Krida Prabodhini, from standards 7 through to 10, his running career all but stopped.“I was very short as a kid, so no one there thought that I could do well in long-distance running. I didn’t perform well in any race that I participated in during those years,” Sable says.Sable thought that his sporting career was over. After finishing school, he returned home and enrolled in a college, hoping to pick up odd jobs after class to help his family—for a six-hour workday at a construction site, he earned ~100, he says.For all the change in his life, one old habit returned. Still without any form of transport, Sable began running again—house to college, and back—16km every day.And just like in school, another teacher saw Sable’s potential—the college’s physical education coach, Zameer Sayyed, took Sable under his wings, helping him train before and after classes. On Sundays, when there was no college, Sable would do a 10k run to a sugar factory down the highway; the teenage athlete’s workload was monstrous.Between 2010 and 2012, Sayyed paid from his own pockets to take Sable to taluk, district, division and state level 5000m races. Sable was, literally, far ahead of the competition.“Those races were of 12.5 rounds (around a 400m track), and by the time Sable finished, his competitors would be in the ninth or 10th round,” Sayyed, sitting in the college sports room with a basketball in hand, says. “While the others would get tired after seven-eight rounds, this guy would increase his speed. His stamina was something else.”The zid was back.“Deep down my heart, that’s when I felt that I could do something in running,” Sable says.Sayyed recalls how for a felicitation ceremony organised by the college after Sable won one of the state races, he advised the principal to hand the boy a cash price of ~2,000 so that he could buy running shoes.“He needed money, and he needed to run. I was trying to help with both,” Sayyed says.But for all his passion for running, it was still not a viable way of making money, and Sable desperately needed to earn. At 17, Sable made his way to an open trial held by the army in Osmanabad. He passed the physical and was summoned for a written test in Pune. Without money for a hotel, Sable spent the night sleeping at the gates of the Army Institute.On December 2012, Sable joined the Mahar Regiment of the Indian Army. His first posting, in the winter of 2013, was Siachen, the world’s highest battlefield. For a man who had never seen snow before, Sable found himself in a place where it seemed to never stop snowing. He spent two years there, with no thought of running. Then he was posted to the desert town of Lalgarh Jattan, near the Pakistan border in Rajasthan, where summer temperatures hover near 50 degrees. Sable distinctly remembers one evening in the soaring heat, when he and his fellow jawans were talking of running.“We were sitting in the mess, and some boys told me, ‘You run well, but cross country is not easy. You won’t be able to do it’,” Sable says. “That was my turning point. I wanted to prove them wrong. Bas, zid thi.”Even as his colleagues would begin their training at 6am, Sable woke up at 4 to run alone. The solo act would continue for an hour in the evening too, when everyone else would relax after the hard day’s toil.Sable ran his first inter-army cross country race in 2016, and immediately came under the notice of Amrish Kumar, the army’s long-distance running coach. Kumar picked up Sable to be a part of the army’s camp for the top 22 long-distance runners held in January 2017 in Hyderabad, where his running pathway took a dramatic detour.Kumar, a steeplechase runner back in his younger days, knew that ‘Shivaji Maharaj’—as he teasingly called Sable—was not meant to rule the cross country circuit. So, one evening during the camp when his steeplechase athletes were crossing hurdles while training, Kumar summoned Sable for a conversation.“I told him, ‘Come, I’ll show you a new game today’,” Kumar recalls. “He asked me, ‘How do I cross the hurdle?’I asked a 12-year-old girl to jump and show, which she did. Avinash laughed seeing that.“I said, ‘Shivaji Maharaj, do you think of yourself as a Maratha’? He said, ‘Yes sir, I do’. I said, ‘If you’re a true Maratha, you will cross this hurdle easily’.”Sable was convinced.“He came to me and said, ‘Okay sir, I’ll do it (steeplechase)’,” Kumar says. “I said, ‘You won’t just do it, you will break records in six months’.“I told him, ‘You come from an area (Beed district) which is so challenging that it can break the best. But it didn’t break you. So you can do this.” Kumar recalls.So sure was Kumar about Sable that for the Open Nationals in Chennai in September that same year, he called up other coaches in advance and told them that he was bringing a boy who will leave everyone else behind. True to his coach’s words, Sable won gold with a timing of 8:39.81s.What gave him that confidence in a rookie who, till a few months ago, had no idea about steeplechase?“His muscles and body physics,” explains Kumar. “His height is not that much, but if you look at the world’s top steeplechase runners, they’re not that tall. Sable’s muscles were long and strong, like a horse.”“Pehle se hi ghoda tha woh (He was a horse from before),” Taware, the primary teacher, says. “In school, when he played kho-kho, no one could catch him for four-five minutes; he would keep running in circles without getting tired. That’s how his muscles became so strong.”It doesn’t come as a surprise to either Taware or Kumar—who is still Sable’s coach—that the Beed man has made such giant strides in the last 18 months. Sable set a new steeplechase national record at the 2018 Open Nationals in Bhubaneswar in September with a timing of 8:29.80s, erasing Gopal Saini’s 1981 mark. He has since re-written that record three more times; it now stands at 8:21.37s, which he ran in the final of the Doha World Championships in October to book his ticket to Tokyo.That final was watched by children in Sable’s school once it was up on YouTube. The school now has a smart TV installed in the principal’s cabin, and the village sarpanch has already decided that the people of Mandava will watch Sable’s Olympics race together on that TV.Since he joined the army, Sable rarely finds time to visit home; but things have changed there. His parents do not have to do daily wage labour anymore; Sable has ensured a steady source of money. Instead, they cultivate lemons on their two acres of land. From the earthen house Sable grew up in, his parents have shifted to a brick-and-cement home with one room and a separate kitchen.“We never dreamt of this,” Mukund says. “We were daily wage earners with no money. But destiny favoured Avinash and made his life.”For Sable, the next few months will be lived the way he likes it—with the single-minded pursuit of a goal.“Ever since I qualified for the Olympics, I’ve set my mind on giving my life to it,” Sable says. “I want to put on a show that will create history for India.“Bas, zid hai.” Read the full article

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olympictickets · 6 years ago

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Two-time Chinese Olympic taekwondo gold medalist Wu Jingyu returns for Tokyo Olympic 2020

China’s Two-time Olympic taekwondo gold medalist (2008, 2012) Wu Jingyu has announced she is planning to after two years of being away from competition and will aim for 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, after receiving the encouragement from international Olympic committee President Thomas Bach announced the Chinese Taekwondo Fan Club on the social media platform Weibo. Fans from all over the world who want to watch the live-action of Olympic Street Skateboarding can buy Olympic Taekwondo Tickets online.

They announced: "Two-time Olympic taekwondo champion Wu Jingyu is coming back, let’s cheer the 'Super Kicker'!"

2-time Olympic taekwondo champ Wu Jingyu is coming back. She will join women's -53-kilogram class of the Fujairah Open 2019. Born in 1987. In 2016 at the age of 19 Wu won the first Asian Games taekwondo gold medal for China in Doha, Qatar. 2 years later at the Beijing Olympics, Wu secured her first Olympic title and reserved it in London in 2012.

However, on her journey to the third straight champion in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Wu endured the biggest loss in her career. First, she was defeated by Tijana Bogdanovic from Serbia, an 18-year-old girl who actually watched Wu's videos on YouTube to help her train. Then in the Trostrunde, Wu lost to Patimat Abakarova from Azerbaijan and was knocked out of the competition.

Though Wu told that she would see the loss as a treasure after the match, she admitted: "You can't imagine what losing means to me." After Rio, Wu went back and worked as a teacher at Beijing Sport University. Though she never publicized retirement, the truth was that Wu never attended any contest since Rio.

Wu gave birth to her daughter, in July 2017, who was given the English name "Gloria" by Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). When Gloria was one-month-old, Bach went to WU’s home to meet her and brought some Olympic souvenirs for the baby. Bach checked Wu's physical condition and encouraged her to take on the challenge of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.. Wu's fans were excited to see their taekwondo stardom return.

All-Mighty Yao posted on Weibo: "She said goodbye to the competition but she can't say goodbye to her passion. Finally, she came back!"

Anonymous user wrote on Tencent News: "It does not matter what you can achieve because every Chinese citizen should learn from your spirit of never giving up."

Olympic fans can get Olympic Tickets through our trusted online ticketing market place. OlympicTickets2020.com is the most reliable source to book Tokyo Summer Games Tickets.

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wasilly1 · 6 years ago

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My Trip To Doha

“Not all those who wander are lost.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring We left for India on the 8th of June. It was a very exciting journey overall. Through a few connecting flights and a 24-hour layover in Doha, we reached Nagpur. A small city in India. Our flight was from Boston to Doha to Nagpur. On our way to India, we stopped in Doha for a day. We landed in Doha around 5 pm Doha time. It took approximately an hour or so to get our bags. The first thing you realize when you step out of the airport is the heat and the dry climate. The heat is overwhelming, given that you are in a desert. Be prepared for the hot and dry weather of Doha if you are traveling through that part of the world. We had 24 hours in Doha so we made the most of it. To start off, the Hamad International Airport is an engineering marvel. It is truly one of the most beautiful airports you will ever see. It has many restaurants, shops, lounges, and many other activities which can you can do at the airport. I didn't have a chance to enjoy much of the airport's amenities because we were heading out into the city.

Hamad International Airport

The ride from the airport to the city was my first glimpse of the rich architecture that Doha had in store. On the way, I could see numerous posters for the upcoming FIFA world cup which will be held in Doha in 2022. In Doha, we stayed in a Hilton DoubleTree hotel. Our hotel was not too far from the airport, approximately a 15-minute drive, and it was a beautiful hotel. After we freshened up, we decided to explore the city. We visited the Museum of Islamic Arts, which was closed at the time. Just next to the entrance, there were golf carts taking people around the museum. We got into one of them and we were dropped right next to the beach where we could the iconic Doha skyline. It was amazing. We sat there gazing at the skyline for almost half an hour. Here are a few night photography tips I wish I knew before going to Doha Use a tripodUse a manual mode on your cameraTry to use low ISO (1600)Take a bunch of shots with different settings (Exposure)Shoot raw so you can edit later

The Iconic Skyline

Museum of Islamic Arts

Good Ol' inspiration After seeing the skyline we went to have dinner at a famous Indian restaurant. I had some papadi chaat which is a classic Indian dish which I recommend you taste. Even at night, Doha was very hot. We came back to the hotel after dinner to get some rest so we are ready for the next day. We would be getting up early the next morning to explore Doha some more. The next day we headed out to do some shopping. The first thing we did was get our currency exchanged from Dollar to Qatari Rial. It is always advisable to shop in local currency instead of using foreign currency. One of the best things to do, when in a new place, is to ask advice from hotel staff because they usually have a good understanding of local shops and the best places to visit. One of the things which Doha is best known for is their gold. They have a lot of it. It's in their airports, food, museums, streets, shops, basically everywhere.

Shopping is a must if you ever go to Doha. Be sure to bargain for the best price because some street vendors may have unreasonable prices. We saw a lot of gold shops, locally handcrafted souvenirs, and a lot of spice and sweet shops. One of the coolest things that I did in Doha was to visit the local market. Souq Waqif is one of the biggest local markets in Doha. It looks like something right out of a movie. It dates back at least a hundred years and it is enormous. You can buy anything, from spices to expensive garments. It is the number 1 place to go if you visit Doha. We brought a few souvenirs to take along with us.

They even had parrots...

Additionally, even throughout the market, you could see merchandise advertising the upcoming FIFA world cup in 2022. After Souq Waqif, we explored more of Doha. The heat was a little overwhelming but we got to experience stunning architecture. It is a must to wear a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, and drink plenty of water when roaming around.

Islamic Center

Towards the end of the day, we visited the Museum of Islamic Arts. It is such an extraordinary museum. It is absolutely jaw-dropping. The entrance to the Museum of Islamic Arts.

Photo by Shahin Olakara The Museum of Islamic Arts is located on an artificial peninsula where you get a clear view of the Doha skyline. The Museum of Islamic Art represents Islamic art from three continents dating back to 1,400 years. It contains jewelry, literature, textiles, and ceramics. The interior of the museum has an elaborate design. The museum was designed by IM Pei, the architect of the Louvre pyramid in Paris. The entrance is grand and exotic, lined with palm trees and a fountain. The museum consists of 3 floors of varying artifacts. If you are visiting Doha, make sure you take time to visit the Museum of Islamic Arts. It is definitely an experience not worth missing out on.

After the Museum of Islamic Arts, we had to go to the airport to board our next flight to Nagpur. In the next post, I will tell you about how amazing an Indian wedding is.

A picture taken before leaving Doha. Read the full article

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memsmedic1 · 8 years ago

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A different part of Asia 05/29/17-07/01/17

Back in February, just after the Iraqi army and coalition forces had liberated eastern Mosul from ISIS and initiated the West Mosul offensive, I had contacted the Academy of Emergency Medicine (AEM), a Slovakian NGO, and requested information on what was required to volunteer with their organization. I sent in the required documents, but not a peep did I hear back from them afterwards, so I figured that it was a no go- plus I am so busy with M-EMS that I didn't think I would be able to volunteer with them even if I was accepted. So I was completely taken by surprise when on Thursday the 25th, on our second to last day of EMR training in Myawaddy I received an email from AEM stating that not only had I finally been checked and approved, but that if I was available there was currently an urgent need for medics to treat escaping civilians as well as the soldiers fighting ISIS. The only problem was that I knew I wouldn't be able to take that much time off on such short notice so I didn't even get my hopes up. However, the month of June was when we had planned to teach a large EMR course up in northern Myanmar, and because of multiple setbacks in that area we were forced to cancel. So now we actually did have an entire month where we weren't scheduled for anything major. When I mentioned the opportunity at our post-training team meeting on Friday, Myanmar EMS was excited about the prospect and volunteered to sponsor my time to make the mission happen pending finalization of a couple of scheduling issues with the AREMT. So now I was excited! I spent an agonizing weekend not knowing what I was going to do, but finally Sunday night we received the confirmation that assured I would be able to go! Monday the 29th I purchased my ticket and started getting packed. Tuesday morning though I woke up and found an email canceling my ticket with no explanation so I had to quickly go through the entire ticket finding process again and was able to find a replacement that wasn't too expensive and only pushed my flight back by one day. (Which is amazing because for some reason there aren't too many flights headed to Iraq!) Thursday, June 1st I woke up super early to make it to the airport on time for my flight. Some of my team were traveling to Thailand to take care some banking business (Myanmar's banking system is Byzantine) and show our school property to a potential buyer so it worked out perfectly for them to drop me off at the airport on their way. The first leg of the journey went from Yangon out over the Bay of Bengal, straight across India, and over the Persian Gulf to Doha, Qatar. The airport sits right on the water and the end of the runway is actually a seawall so I felt like we had taken a wrong turn and were on final approach to Saint Martin before we actually landed and I could finally see that we were in the middle of a sandstorm that was partially obscuring my view of the skyscrapers and sand dunes! Inside the airport everything was extremely plush and lavish, there's an entire mall inside with every exclusive retailer in the world seeming to have a storefront. There's Mercedes, Ducati, and Lamborghini showroom models for sale and raffle scattered around, and if you're interested you can buy gold bars or coins in any of the jewelry stores! After a 3 1/2 hour layover, I boarded another almost empty flight that flew me northwest over the Persian Gulf towards Mosul and ISIS. The destination for this flight is Erbil, the capital city of Iraqi Kurdistan, a fully autonomous region in northern Iraq about 90 km from the city of Mosul and a major staging ground of the Battle for Mosul that has been underway now for the better part of a year. At first after crossing into Iraq the terrain was flat, bone dry, and arid desert, but the farther north we flew the more rugged and mountainous it became. Eventually I started to see trees on the higher hills and finally we started flying over snow covered mountains! Shortly after leaving the mountains behind we began to prepare for landing. Instead of beginning our descent a couple hundred miles away from our destination, we remained at nearly cruising altitude until we flew over Erbil. Then the pilot flew in a figure eight pattern while dropping us down towards the runway. We descended so fast that I felt like I was training for a trip to the space station while nearly levitating under my seatbelt! In the airport I went through customs and then took a shuttle to the civilian meeting point where I was picked up by Oliver and Sven, who run AEM operations in Iraq. After introductions they took me to their main base in Erbil. This is in what used to be a very nice mansion but it's been neglected for a while now and is surrounded by mostly abandoned and run down compounds. After we got there I was introduced to Monir, another paramedic who had arrived last night. Oliver gave us an orientation talk and then we went to the market to buy whatever gear we didn't already have with us. By this time it was 0130 for me with time change so I went to bed. In the morning we loaded up and met with Pete and Walter from Global Response Management to form a convoy on the 90 km drive to Mosul in Nineveh province. I was even allowed to drive one of the Toyota hiluxes in the convoy! After leaving Erbil we drove northwest through the desert passing countless checkpoints and places in the road where at some time either a large dirt berm had been across it and recently bulldozed through or where the road had been mined and the craters filled in with dirt. The closer we got to Mosul the more damage there was. Houses completely riddled with holes, burned out, or with blast damage. Finally ahead of us we could see the smoke over the city and as we stopped at the last checkpoint before crossing the floating bridge over the Tigris River we could hear the fighting. After arriving in western Mosul we stopped along the side of the road as refugees flowed by going in the opposite direction, a Predator drone circled overhead, and one of ISIS' Dushka heavy machine guns intermittently barked out strings of epithets a half mile to our left. We had stopped in this prime location for our mandatory security briefing:...Don't talk to the jihadi's...don't get shot or exploded...Don't run outside and wave at unidentified drones...If there's a problem run in that direction... Etc. Afterwards we struck off towards the Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) forward operating base 1 and 3, which were combined after they sustained too many losses to operate separately. They are stationed in a couple large abandoned houses just west of the Old City. Along the way we had to drive within 700 meters of ISIS around the outskirts of ISIS controlled Old City. Here we dropped off a truck full of supplies as well as Monir to help reinforce two paramedics and several Iraqi medics who are already staffing this trauma stabilization point (TSP) co-located with ISOF. As the name implies, a TSP is located as close to the fighting as is safe and is where front line injuries come for stabilization so they can survive the trip to various field hospitals located several kilometers farther away from the front where they will receive additional stabilization or definitive care. Then we continued on to ISOF 2's FOB where Walter and I would initially be stationed with a team of several Iraqi medics and two Americans, Chris and James, at a second TSP that AEM is staffing. ISOF 2 is based in an old mosque just southwest of the Old City and had been an ISIS stronghold up until less then 2 months ago when this block was liberated. ISOF are US trained, urban warfare specialists who are engaging ISIS in close quarters, sometimes in hand to hand combat as they work in cooperation with the Iraqi army and the various militias and coalition forces to liberate the maze of alleyways and neighborhoods of Mosul's Old City inch by bloody inch. The challenge that makes this so difficult is that the streets of the Old City are so old that they are too narrow for tanks, Humvees, or even pickup trucks so all the fighting must be carried out via drone or other air strikes or dismounted, on foot. Also, ISIS refuses to let civilians leave the war zone and tries to shoot anyone who does, currently holding approximately 180,000 civilians (6/2) as hostages for their own enjoyment and as human shields, preventing coalition forces from simply razing the entire area to the ground. We threw our gear into the library aka bunk room and started introducing ourselves to the ISOF medics who were there at the moment. Before we even finished this our first patient came screeching up to the front gate in the back of a Humvee. An old man had been attempting to flee the Old City with his family when he was spotted by a sniper and was shot in the flank which also fractured his pelvis. We quickly stabilized him as much as possible and then called up one of the ambulances donated by the WHO and staffed by local volunteers to transport him to the hospital. It is amazing how all the civilians here in the neighborhood around the TSP and in all the liberated areas, many of whom escaped from the Old City only within the last week or two, are attempting to pick up their life where it was interrupted by ISIS. While many houses have been completely destroyed and thousands of homeless people are making their way to relatives homes or the IDP camps, even more are staying behind to begin the daunting task of rebuilding their lives and city. Some people are opening up their market stands and other businesses again, others are repairing damaged buildings and plastering over bullet holes, and city employees are repairing water, power, and sanitation infrastructure and clearing away as much of the rubble as possible. There are IED's camouflaged everywhere in the liberated areas, as well as unexploded ordnance, broken glass, disabled vehicles, and craters in the roads either from air strikes or IED's. Many roads are still barricaded on purpose to deter ISIS from driving their never ending supply of VBIED's (vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices) past the siege of Iraqi and coalition forces and into the liberated areas of the city. At first our patient volume was fairly low with just a few soldiers per day and the majority being civilians. The most common civilian problem was symptoms resulting from observing Ramadan which is from May 26 through June 24 this year- dizziness, weakness, tiredness, syncope, and kidney failure from not eating or drinking all day and then eating loads of salt and sugar at night. During the day the temperature rises to 115-119 degrees Fahrenheit and everybody is chronically dehydrated. Next most common problem is injuries resulting from exploding IED's- burns, shrapnel, head injuries, soft tissue injuries, "danglies", and amputations. Anywhere ISIS occupied for any length of time (all of Mosul) is infested with ingeniously disguised explosives. Candy bars, coke cans, toys, microwaves, refrigerators, faucet handles, livestock (we saw both a chicken bomb and a donkey bomb), doorknobs, and pressure plates under the tile floor running to a claymore built into the wall and plastered over are just a few of the items ISIS rigs to explode when families try to return home. Every day the sounds of the fighting echo in the background of everything we do. The sharp ringing and cracking of small arms fire that occasionally sends a bullet ricocheting off the wall of the mosque, deep heavy whumping of coalition air strikes and ISIS mortars, brrrrrrrrrrrping of A-10 Warthogs strafing insurgent positions, and the chest resonating kaboom of the occasional VBIED that would cause the curtains to jerk and the doors to shake and send up a massive fireball into the dusty sky became so normal that we hardly noticed them any more. After 10 days of working at ISOF 2 being on call 24/7 Walter and I took our truck and convoyed with Oliver and Sven back to Erbil to rest for a couple days and bring back supplies for the TSP's. In addition to sleeping and washing clothes we enjoyed exploring the city of Erbil which happens to hold the distinction of being the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world! You could probably say that we were all pretty exhausted and happy for a respite from the constantly "switched on" mode of the front but occasionally it went too far. One day while we were back in Erbil a huge shipment of medical supplies arrived at the airport for us and Oliver and Sven went to pick it up with one of the trucks and a cargo van. Unfortunately it was stuck in customs and wasn't accessible that day so they came back home. After getting back they realized that they had both ridden back in the truck and forgot the van at the airport! That very next day Monir, who had come back a day after me from the other TSP for a quick break also, went to get food from a great little restaurant close by and not only could he not find the shop, but when he walked back to where he thought the truck was parked it was gone! After frantically searching for it everywhere without success he got a taxi back to the house and told Oliver. Oliver and Sven took the keys and went to do a quick drive-by before calling the police and found the truck sitting nicely parked and locked within sight of the restaurant! After the break when we returned to Mosul Walter and I were assigned to staff ISOF 1 and 3 along with Monir, a paramedic named Anthony who was the team leader and a nurse named Steve, because two paramedics from Australia had arrived to volunteer for a while and were placed at ISOF 2. The Australians were very friendly and fun to hang out with. They were super health oriented and tried to work out on the roof of the mosque two or 3 times per day. It was extra funny because after just 2 days they both got violently sick from the food or water or both and had to go back to Erbil for a while to recover! Working at ISOF 1 and 3 came with a couple perks. For one, the ISOF medics here weren't as incompetent and tried to be proactive when treating patients. For another, there's a kitchen and a cook here so food doesn't have to come from ISOF headquarters! Only downside is that we have to keep our heads down behind the low wall on the flat roof because ISIS snipers have a clear line of sight to this position. On Wednesday the 14th ISIS rushed the front line and launched a counterattack with 7 VBIED's and approximately 100 men. At least 23 ISIS (aka Daesh) were confirmed killed and the rest were pushed back into the Old City. Casualties were plentiful and were divided up over several TSP's. On Sunday the 18th the Iraqi army and coalition forces officially announced a new assault on the Old City after almost a week of fighting at a standstill. This lull had occurred because one of the regiments of the 9th division had become bogged down while clearing their assigned section of the the Old City and everyone else had to stop their advance and wait for them to catch up again. Because there are so many players assisting in the Battle for Mosul, there are huge variances in training and proficiency and effective communications between everyone is sometimes lacking. Now that everyone is back in place the Iraqi army is confident that this is the "final chapter" in the Battle for Mosul that has been dragging on for almost a year. On the 22nd we woke up to discover that during the night the 844 year old Great Mosque of al-Nuri, from which Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had announced Islamic State's so called caliphate on July 4, 2014, had been blown up by retreating jihadists. 😥 The Great Mosque is where the world-famous 148 foot tall leaning al-Hadba (the hunchback) minaret had been before it was also destroyed. Our TSP had been close enough to this piece of history that we could clearly see the black flag of ISIS flying at its peak. As the coalition continued gaining back ground from Daesh our TSP's at ISOF's forward operating bases started getting farther and farther away from the front line, which meant that anyone injured in the fighting had a longer way to come to reach medical care. So one day Oliver, Sven, and I went to find a new building to use as a stabilization point. After driving down the main road a little over a mile we found a water purification facility with a walled compound that would work great for us once it was de-mined. Unfortunately, the very next day it received several direct hits from a 120mm mortar and was completely destroyed. We then made contact with the 16th division of the Iraqi army who had a small first aid station set up in a carpentry shop a couple hundred yards further back from the water plant. They had three army medics working around the clock treating dozens of soldiers and over 150 civilians per day with almost no supplies. When Oliver asked Major Ahmed if we could bring in some medics and supplies to work with them the Major almost started crying. So starting the next day AEM started staffing medics at 16th division including myself, being sure to keep some volunteers at ISOF 2 and ISOF 1 and 3 to maintain coverage. Although some civilians just can't take it anymore and try to escape before the army recaptures their house or street most wait because one of the things ISIS enjoys the most is shooting men, women, and children in the back as they try to escape. Those who are liberated or make it to the Iraqi lines and searched and questioned and then walk down the road right past our TSP on their way to a family members home or an IDP camp. If they were shot or wounded by an IED on their way out of the Old City we would treat them and send them to the hospital via ambulance. There were also many patients with old injuries that we would assess and clean, and we treated hundreds of patients with life threatening dehydration. When the civilians were uninjured, we would simply greet them as they walked by, celebrating with them if they were happy and consoling them if they were sad. And there was always work to do assisting other humanitarian agencies in passing out food and water to the starving, malnourished children and their families. If the TSP was relatively quiet we would sometimes go and pick up loads of elderly, sick, or injured civilians in our ambulances or the large open freight trucks that the UN funded NGO 'Muslim Aid' uses to haul in food and water for the refugees passing our TSP and haul away dead bodies. This helps take some of the load off the Iraqi army who have evacuated hundreds of the injured on their armored Humvees either sitting or lying on stretchers tied to the hood. On the 23rd our position was overrun with overzealous reporters who had found out about our TSP and all the refugees fleeing down our road as the army pushed in opening escape routes and were trying to get stories. We banned them from the critical patient side of the carpentry shop and kept on working as best we could. After an hour and a half however, we began coming under mortar fire and all the journalists quickly started leaving. The army intelligence officers who worked with us at the TSP sniffing out disguised Daesh and their families discovered that one of the reporters had been hosting a live news broadcast and ISIS had used it to work out our location. Those reporters won't be coming back. They quickly called in coalition air support to locate the source of the offending projectiles and after several air strikes that were close enough to set off car alarms and rattle all the metal doors up and down the street everything was back to normal. Across the Tigris in east Mosul, which has been a liberated and semi- functional city for the past 5 months, three suicide bombers blew themselves up in a residential neighborhood in retaliation for the increased pressure they are feeling from the offensive, killing 5 and injuring 19 others. The next day on the 24th Major Ahmed received intel that we had a suicide bomber of our very own who had made his way through the army lines disguised as a cripple and was targeting our TSP. We quickly shut everything down and went to evacuate when Monir realized that he had lost the truck keys! We waited for several tense minutes until Pete arrived from ISOF 1 and 3 and we all piled into the back of his truck and called it a day! A total of 5 suicide bombers infiltrated the city that day and later that night we were woken up to care for some of their handiwork. On the evening of the 25th I was just relaxing after a suspiciously quiet day when I started hearing shouting and extra shooting and then convoy after convoy of Humvees, MRAPS, and M1 Abrams tanks screaming past the TSP away from the direction of the Old City. When I went up to the roof and looked around the entire city to the Southwest of our position was nothing but smoke and fire and shooting. It turns out several dozen Daesh had slipped past the Iraqi army's siege around the Old City through a series of "rat holes" (holes punched through the walls of interconnected houses as well as subterranean tunnels) and launched a massive surprise counterattack after popping up just on the the other side of ISOF 1 and 3 where I had been working that day. They lit houses and cars on fire and then began fighting their way back towards the Old City and us attacking Iraqi and coalition positions from behind. For a couple hours we were within line of sight of the new front line and I could see ISIS muzzle flashes and angry red tracers cracking through the air past the TSP. As you can imagine we were busy that night as panicking civilians tried to evacuate and fled in all directions without rhyme or reason, some fleeing east toward the Old City and some west towards the new offensive with cows and flocks of sheep and goats all mixed in. After the army got organized and started pushing back the offensive quickly crumbled and by midnight victory was declared although there was a thorough house to house mop-up in the morning. The last 3 jihadis involved in the counterattack who weren't killed barricaded themselves in a house holding a family of 14 hostage. After an 18 hour standoff 2 ISOF snipers were able to get in position to shoot two of them and the third was overpowered by his hostages. Before the army could move in the family opened the front door and tripped a claymore placed by the 3 Daesh to deter an attack on their position. Five family members were rushed to our TSP in critical condition and after doing what we could to stabilize them they were transferred to Mosul General. On June 29th, my last day in Mosul, the Iraqi army recaptured the destroyed Great Mosque where the iconic leaning al-Hadba minaret had once stood. This was met with great happiness by Iraqi army and citizens alike as a symbolic victory over ISIS in Mosul. That afternoon I had to tell all the medics and soldiers I'd lived and worked with for the past month goodbye, then I left Mosul and drove back to Erbil to clean up and pack so I would be ready to leave the next morning. In Erbil also I had to say goodbye to many friends that I had met and spent time with over the last month. Afterwards Sven dropped me off at the airport and after barely catching my flight I flew back to Doha, Qatar, and then on to Yangon, Myanmar arriving at six o'clock in the morning on July 1st. Volunteering in Mosul for this month was an amazing experience, making lifelong friends and memories. Even though there were so many sickening and twisted things happening while I was here I was able to help a little and make a difference for a lot of people and I am hoping to come back again sometime!

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