Sinai Peninsula

â€Å"In 1956, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal, a waterway marking the boundary between Egyptian territory in Africa and the Sinai Peninsula. Thereafter, Israeli ships were prohibited from using the Canal, owing to the state of war between the two states. Egypt also prohibited ships from using Egyptian territorial waters on the eastern side of the peninsula to travel to and from Israel, effectively imposing a blockade on the Israeli port of Eilat. Subsequently, in what is known in Egypt as the Tripartite Aggression, Israeli forces, aided by Britain, and France, invaded Sinai and occupied much of the peninsula within a few days. Several months later Israel withdrew its forces from Sinai, following strong pressure from the United States and the Soviet Union. Thereafter, the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was stationed in Sinai to prevent any military occupation of the Sinai. In 1967, Egypt reinforced its military presence in Sinai, changed the prohibition of Israeli shipping using Egyptian territorial waters and on May 16, ordered the UNEF out of Sinai with immediate effect. Secretary-General U Thant eventually complied and ordered the withdrawal without Security Council authorization. Subsequent to Egyptian actions, Israel attacked Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, starting the Six-Day War. Israel captured the entire Sinai Peninsula, and Palestine's Strip from Egypt, the Palestinian West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan (which it had ruled since 1949), and the Golan Heights from Syria. The Suez Canal, the east bank of which was now occupied by Israel, was closed. Israel expelled thousands of Egyptians from Sinai, and commenced efforts at large scale Israeli settlement in the peninsula, concurrently with similar settlement in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Golan Heights. Following the Israeli conquest of Sinai, Egypt launched the War of Attrition aimed at forcing Israel to withdraw from Egyptian territory. The war saw protracted conflict in the Suez Canal Zone, ranging from limited to large scale combat. Israeli shelling of civilian areas in the cities of Port Said, Ismailia, and Suez on the west bank of the canal, led to high civilian casualties (including the virtual destruction of Suez), and contributed to the flight of some one million Egyptian internal refugees. Ultimately, the war concluded in 1970 with no change in the front line. Upon becoming President of Egypt following the death in office of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Al-Sadat sought a diplomatic solution to the conflict, offering peace and recognition to Israel in exchange for the Israeli withdrawal from all the Egyptian, Palestinian, and Syrian territory occupied in 1967, and a resolution of the Palestinian refugee problem. Israel rejected all of Egypt's proposals, with Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir insisting that Sinai was now part of Israel, and that it would be settled by Israelis. Consequently, Egypt and Syria began planning jointly for a military offensive to re-take their respective territories under Israeli occupation. On 6 October 1973, Egypt commenced Operation Badr to liberate Sinai, whilst Syria launched a simultaneous operation to liberate the Golan Heights, thereby beginning the Yom Kippur War (known in Egypt as the October War). Egyptian engineering forces built pontoon bridges to cross the Suez Canal, and stormed the supposedly impregnable Bar-Lev Line, Israel's defensive line along the canal. Though the Egyptians maintained control of most of the east bank of the Canal, in the later stages of the war, the Israeli military crossed the southern section of Canal, cutting off the Egyptian 3rd Army, and occupied a section of the west bank. The war ended following a mutually agreed-upon ceasefire. After the war, as part of the subsequent Sinai Disengagement Agreements, Israel withdrew from the Canal, with Egypt agreeing to permit passage of Israeli ships. The canal was reopened in 1975, with President Sadat leading the first convoy through the canal aboard an Egyptian destroyer. In 1979, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in which Israel agreed to withdraw from the entirety of Sinai. Israel subsequently withdrew in several stages, ending in 1982. The Israeli pull-out involved dismantling almost all Israeli settlements, including the settlement of Yamit in north-eastern Sinai. The exception was the coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh, which the Israelis had renamed as Ofira during the period of their occupation. The Treaty allows monitoring of Sinai by the Multinational Force and Observers, and limits the number of Egyptian military forces in the peninsula. † (Wikipedia, 2013) Problem Since Egypt and Israel were always fighting for the right to be at the Sinai Peninsula, they damaged it. Everyone is trying to have Sinai peninsula because of its important role when it came to power for trade in the sea. After a lot of years, Egypt finally came to make a peace treaty that said that Israel would have to withdraw from the entirety of Sinai. Israel did it, with the exception of the city of Sharm el-Sheikh. Causes Egypt and Israel wanted Sinai because of the trade they could gain if they had it for their country. Each wanted Sinai for the territory. Now days, there has been a lot of terrorist attacks because of the resentment of the poverty faced by many Bedouin in the area. Attacking the tourist industry was viewed as a method of damaging the industry so that the government would pay more attention to their situation. Since the 2011 Egyptian Revolution unrest has become more prevalent in the area including the 2012 Egyptian-Israeli border attack in which 16 Egyptian soldiers were killed by militants 3. Responsible People â€Å"The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights has denounced what it calls terrorist acts in Sinai in the early hours of Monday morning, blaming the Muslim Brotherhood for the violence in which civilians, including children, were killed and wounded. The organization blamed the Muslim Brotherhood for attacs which saw civilians, including children, killed Monday. The EOHR claimed Ikhwan leaders had aggravated the situation, by stating that â€Å"the situation in Sinai will calm down only if President [Mohamed] Morsy is reinstated. â€Å"† (Egypt Independent, 2013) Tripartite aggression: Because they invaded Sinai Peninsula Egypt government of that time: Because they nationalized the Suez Canal and began the war.

Teenagers and gatrway drugs essays

Teenagers and gatrway drugs essays Teenagers today are faced with many obstacles and decisions as they make their way into adulthood. It is a heavy burden to bear, to know that every decision you make, could effect the rest of your life. For teenagers one bad choice could have a negative effect years down the road. One major issue that teenagers deal with on a daily basis, are drugs. Every teen at one time or another is pressured to use drugs. Its not peer pressure alone that influence teens to use drugs. Most teenagers would never try them if it were not for gateway drugs. Gateway drugs are drugs that might seem harmless, but could become addictive and dangerous. Gateway drugs almost always lead to even more serious, addictive, and harmful drugs. Cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana are three of the Cigarettes are the most common of the gateway drugs. Cigarettes are not always considered a drug, because they do not get you high or alter your state of mind. Cigarettes are still highly addictive and cause life threatening illnesses. Lung cancer and emphysema are common desieses that life time smokers could possibly face. Over 80% of all adult smokers started smoking before they turned eighteen. Some young people are introduced with cigarettes as early as eight years old. While peer pressure plays a part in children taking a puff of that first cigarette, curiosity can also influence that decision. Just as curiosity and rebellion influence that first puff, it could sway your curiosity to drink that first beer. As with cigarettes, alcohol is not often referred to as a drug. The dangerous potential of alcohol being a gateway drug is obvious, but not often seen until it is too late. Alcohol can be a harmful drug for adults, but even more harmful for teenagers. Teenage drinking is a serious problem in high schools across America. The number of underage ...

Raul Castro Biography and Profile

Raul Castro Biography and Profile Raà ºl Castro (1931-) is the current President of Cuba and brother of Cuban Revolution leader Fidel Castro. Unlike his brother, Raà ºl is quiet and reserved and spent most of his life in his older brother’s shadow. Nevertheless, Raà ºl played a very important role in the Cuban Revolution as well as in the government of Cuba after the revolution was over. Early Years Raà ºl Modesto Castro Ruz was one of the  several illegitimate children born to sugar farmer Angel Castro and his maid, Lina Ruz Gonzlez. Young Raà ºl attended the same schools as his older brother but was neither as studious nor gregarious as Fidel. He was just as rebellious, however, and had a history of discipline problems. When Fidel became active in student groups as a leader, Raà ºl quietly joined a student communist group. He would always be as ardent a communist as his brother, if not more so. Raà ºl eventually became a leader himself of these student groups, organizing protests and demonstrations. Personal Life Raà ºl married his girlfriend and fellow revolutionary Vilma Espà ­n not long after the triumph of the revolution. They have four children. She passed away in 2007. Raà ºl leads an austere personal life, although there have been rumors that he may be an alcoholic. He is thought to despise homosexuals and reputedly influenced Fidel to jail them in the early years of their administration. Raà ºl has been consistently dogged by rumors that Angel Castro was not his real father. The most likely candidate, former rural guardsman Felipe Miraval, never denied nor confirmed the possibility. Moncada Like many socialists, Raà ºl was disgusted by the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. When Fidel began planning a revolution, Raà ºl was included from the start. The first armed action of the rebels was the July 26, 1953, attack on the federal barracks at Moncada outside of Santiago. Raà ºl, barely 22 years old, was assigned to the team sent to occupy the Palace of Justice. His car got lost on the way there, so they arrived late, but did secure the building. When the operation fell apart, Raà ºl and his companions dropped their weapons, put on civilian clothes, and walked out onto the street. He was eventually arrested. Prison and Exile Raà ºl was convicted of his role in the uprising and sentenced to 13 years in prison. Like his brother and some of the other leaders of the Moncada assault, he was sent to the Isle of Pines prison. There, they formed the 26th of July Movement (named for the date of the Moncada assault) and began plotting how to continue the revolution. In 1955 President Batista, responding to international pressure to release political prisoners, freed the men who had planned and carried out the Moncada assault. Fidel and Raà ºl, fearing for their lives, quickly went into exile in Mexico. Return to Cuba During their time in exile, Raà ºl befriended Ernesto â€Å"Chà ©Ã¢â‚¬  Guevara, an Argentine doctor who was also a committed communist. Raà ºl introduced his new friend to his brother, and the two hit it right off. Raà ºl, by now a veteran of armed actions as well as prison, took an active role in the 26th of July Movement. Raà ºl, Fidel, Chà ©, and new recruit Camilo Cienfuegos were among the 82 people who crowded on board the 12-person yacht Granma in November 1956 along with food and weapons to return to Cuba and start the revolution. In the Sierra Miraculously, the battered Granma carried all 82 passengers the 1,500 miles to Cuba. The rebels were quickly discovered and attacked by the army, however, and less than 20 made it into the Sierra Maestra Mountains. The Castro brothers soon began waging a guerrilla war against Batista, collecting recruits and weapons when they could. In 1958 Raà ºl was promoted to Comandante and given a force of 65 men and sent to the north coast of Oriente Province. While there, he imprisoned about 50 Americans, hoping to use them to keep the United States from intervening on behalf of Batista. The hostages were quickly released. Triumph of the Revolution In the waning days of 1958, Fidel made his move, sending Cienfuegos and Guevara in command of most of the rebel army, against army installations and important cities. When Guevara decisively won the Battle of Santa Clara, Batista realized he could not win and fled the country on January 1, 1959. The rebels, including Raà ºl, rode triumphantly into Havana. Mopping Up After Batista In the immediate aftermath of the revolution, Raà ºl and Chà © were given the task of rooting out supporters of former dictator Batista. Raà ºl, who had already begun setting up an intelligence service, was the perfect man for the job: he was ruthless and totally loyal to his brother. Raà ºl and Chà © oversaw hundreds of trials, many of which resulted in executions. Most of those executed had served as policemen or army officers under Batista. Role in Government and Legacy As Fidel Castro transformed the revolution into government, he came to rely on Raà ºl more and more. In the 50 years after the revolution, Raà ºl served as head of the Communist Party, minister of defense, vice president of the Council of State, and many more important positions. He has generally been most identified with the military: he has been Cuba’s top-ranking military officer since soon after the Revolution. He advised his brother during times of crisis such as the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. As Fidel’s health faded, Raà ºl came to be considered as the logical (and perhaps the only possible) successor. An ailing Castro turned over the reins of power to Raà ºl in July 2006, and in January 2008 Raà ºl was elected president in his own right, Fidel having withdrawn his name from consideration. Many see Raà ºl as being more pragmatic than Fidel, and there was some hope that Raà ºl would loosen the restrictions placed on Cuban citizens. He has done so, although not to the extent that some expected. Cubans can now own cell phones and consumer electronics. Economic reforms were implemented in 2011 to encourage more private initiative, foreign investment, and agrarian reforms. He limited terms for president, and he will step down after his second term as president ends in 2018. Normalization of relations with the United States began in earnest under  Raà ºl, and full diplomatic relations were resumed in 2015. President Obama visited Cuba and met with  Raà ºl in 2016. It will be interesting to see who succeeds Raà ºl as President of Cuba, as the torch gets handed to the next generation. Sources Castaà ±eda, Jorge C. Compaà ±ero: The Life and Death of Che Guevara. New York: Vintage Books, 1997. Coltman, Leycester. The Real Fidel Castro. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2003.

Law of Equity and Trusts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Law of Equity and Trusts - Essay Example In 2009, he declared, â€Å"all of my property including our lovely barge home is as much your Lorraine as it is mine†. This takes the form of an oral promise and judging from the fact that it was made on several occasions, Lorraine can establish that it amounts to an interest of some kind in the property (Ungarian v Lesnoff (1990) and Eves v Eves (1975)). Thus, the second step for Lorraine in order to establish her equitable interest in the property would be to prove that she relied upon the promise to her detriment. Lorraine spent a considerable amount of structural repairs and decoration, to the tune of 65000 pounds and contributed half of her salary to maintenance while she was working. This satisfies the additional requirement that the detriment faced must be in relation to the property in question (Gissing and Christian v Christian (1981)). However, the detriment must be in reliance on the promise, and it seems that she spent the money BEFORE the actual promise was made, as the promises came after the birth of the triplets in 2009 and the money was spent much earlier. However, Lorraine also quit her job and was unable to return to it after the birth of the children. This could easily be a detriment that flowed from the promise. Lord Bridge in Lloyds Bank carefully acknowledged the operation of a constructive trust to be used to ‘do justice’ and its presence cannot be willfully denied in this case just because the job was not directly related to the property (a requirement set by Gissing).  

Matrix Organization Structure in Jebal Ali Harbor Case Study

Matrix Organization Structure in Jebal Ali Harbor - Case Study Example The whole project was very complex, owing to the nature of the land terrain on which the project was undertaken, coupled with the immense risks involved, such as the risk of gulf fall. The Jebal Ali Harbor project was characterized by lack of bureaucracy, where the major decisions that were made impromptu, did not require bureaucratic procedures to be approved but were immediately rendered to tests and assessments, after which they were easily approved if they proved economical and feasible. Communication among the project team members was also smooth, despite the fact that the project comprised of diverse experts and contractors with different experiences and specializations. This enhanced the team coordination and promoted the project success. â€Å"Matrix organization structure† refers to a structure of an organization that has operations running from different locations, but the structure of the management team is arranged such that the top management is only located in the organization’s major office or headquarters, while the low-level managers are based on different site locations, where the organization has some businesses running, and the chain of command flows from the different locations. Pauling plc. is a good example of a contractor operating a â€Å"matrix organization structure†, with the top management of the company; the managing director based in London, the general manager based in Dubai, and the manager of the project based at the site location; Jebel Ali, where the construction process is ongoing. In the Pauling’s case, the chain of command is such that, the Managing Director based in London makes crucial decisions regarding the project, while the general manager implements th e decisions through delegating the same to the manager of the project on site. Nevertheless, both the project manager and the general manager make relevant decisions, based on the project situations, while consulting the same with the managing director.  Ã‚  

Manage Employee Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Manage Employee Relations - Essay Example Employee relationship management plays a vital role in the management of concerns that could impact the satisfaction of the employees, which might have a subsequent effect on the productivity of the employees and the overall organizational culture. Hence, the goal of effective employee relationship management is to enable two-way communication between the employees as well as the employer, employee growth as well as conflict management. Employee relationship management consists of putting into practice an information structure by the employer for the administration and supervision of its employees. An efficient employee relationship management program encompasses all the issues and problems that are concerned with the association between the employer and its employees (Gennard, J. & Judge, G., â€Å"Employee Relation†). The report reviews and discusses various imperative issues pertaining to employer-employee relationship. ... Review of Various Issues in Employee Relationship Management Employee Relations Strategy Employee relations strategy relates to the approach on how to enhance the employee’s commitment to the accomplishment of the business aims and objectives of the organization in a number of diverse scenarios. Employee relations strategies also make certain that changes in the organization are accepted amongst the employees. This necessitates an amalgamated strategy towards employee management so that a jointly emphasized and unified set of employee policies as well as practices can be built by the employer. The employee management strategies of an organization control its business performance. Thus, it is imperative to have appropriate practices of employee management in order to gain organizational competitiveness (Gennard, J. & Judge, G., â€Å"Employee Relation†; Farnham, D., â€Å"Employee Relations in Context). Employee Communication Strategy The costs to a business organizatio n due to inefficient employee communication are very high. This is because inefficient communication between the management of the organization and the employees could lead to communication gap which might result in low employee morale and competence of the business. Effective employee communication has a strong positive association with employee understanding, since apt, pertinent and precise communication assist in the process of comprehension of corporate strategies as well as goals by the employees (Gennard, J. & Judge, G., â€Å"Employee Relation†). Promotion of the Business as a Potential Employer Sound employee relationship management assists in the promotion of the business, as it enhances the employee loyalty and employee morale in addition to

Literature Review on Customer Relationship Essay Example for Free

Literature Review on Customer Relationship Essay The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, restaurants, event planning, theme parks, transportation, cruise line, and additional fields within the tourism industry. The hospitality industry is a several billion dollar industry that mostly depends on the availability of leisure time and disposable income. â€Å"CRM†, or Customer Relationship Management, is one of the most important topics in the business world. Its attributes and consequences cannot be disaffirmed. Without proper customer relationship management, there is no way you can build interest and acquire and retain customers to the business, in order to be profitable. CRM features an embryonic reputation and it is getting among the most popular educational as well as useful subjects in the industrial area. Due to the competing atmosphere, it has turn into a niche with regard to a company’s overall performance. Still there is certainly restricted investigation which shows the relationship between CRM and hotels’ overall performance. Consequently this particular research is a try to give a worth conceptual model which describes the actual speculative linkages between CRM and hotel’s performance. This particular research just not explains the connection among CRM and hotel performance, but in addition describes the actual mediation part of promoting/marketing abilities in the relationship. â€Å"CRM is never done, it is an ongoing effort.† The essence of a customer-focused environment is a preliminary indication of how the hotel industry can truly benefit from a strategic and focused approach to CRM. Hotel companies have in evidence had recourse to elements of CRM for a variety of strategic and tactical reasons. It is argued that the success of a strategy depends not only on the ability of a company to identify and understand what its target customers genuinely need and want, but also on the companys ability to deliver enhanced value in terms of these specific needs and wants (Diana Luck and Geoff Lancaster ,2013). In order to remain competitive, hospitality and tourism companies must adopt the knowledge management approach (Ruhanen Cooper, 2004). As customers become more experienced at finding the best deals for hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, and tourist destinations, the hospitality and tourism organizations face increasingly intense worldwide competition. Considering  the severe competition and the nature of the industry, employees and managers have to acquire more knowledge, in order to consistently provide the best deals and service to customers. What is more, customers’ preferences can be various and changeable, requiring employees and managers to understand the changes and continue to provide the best experience (Hallin Marnburg, 2008). However, the question often posed is: What kind of knowledge should be obtained in order to gain competitive advantage (Ruhanen Cooper, 2004). One of the basic and most common sources of failure for CRM implementations is a missing customer strategy â€Å"as the creation of a unique and valuable position involving a different set of activities†. A robust customer strategy is based on customer segmentation is one of the first steps necessary when implementing a sound CRM solution (Gillies et al.2002). Human beings have had the urge to select and choose what to them can satisfy their desires since creation and will continue to have this desire because of their changing nature. This tendency makes them explore what to them is the best in terms of quality when purchasing, especially in the area of service consumption. This is supported by Palmer’s assertion that: â€Å"customers have always been concerned about quality and that the proliferation of competitive market for a lot of services has also made customers become more selective in the services they choose†. This attitude means that service providers must be innovative in their service provision and delivery. The Hotel Industry is also experiencing increased globalization, competition, higher customer turnover, growing customer acquisition costs and rising customer expectations, meaning that hotels’ performance and competitiveness is significantly dependent on their ability to satisfy customers efficiently and effectively. To enhance profitability and guest loyalty, hotels must nowadays focus on implementing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategies/techniques that aim to seek, gather and store the right information, validate and share it throughout the entire organization and then use it throughout all organizational levels for creating personalized and unique guests’ experiences (Nana Yaw Asabere and Vida Doku, IJAIEM, Volume 2, Issue 3, March 2013). To retain customers, the relationship with customers has to be managed in a long-term and trusting manner for mutual benefits. Thus, the adoption of CRM should enhance the hotels’ performance through increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty, declining customer acquisition costs and increasing profitability by customers who are willing to pay a premium for better services (Piccoli et al., 2003). Although CRM is imperative for organizational survival, its implementation has resulted in mixed outcomes (King and Burgess, 2008), which is customer oriented believing that customer loyalty increases organization’s profitability. Therefore, Performance is improved since CRM involves the ongoing process development of market intelligence for building and maintaining a profit-maximizing portfolio of customer relationship (see Zablah et al., 2004). Thus, the hotels are expected to use strategy that focused on customers in order to sustain their competitive advantage. For these hotels, the use of the financial measures is not only short-term oriented but also inadequate to capture the customer perspective of performance (Kaplan and Norton, 1996). Customer-related performance measures are therefore needed to quantify customer relationships (Shoemaker and Lewis, 1999) and to differentiate customers who are worthy of the CRM efforts (Noone et al., 2003). All participating hotels have practices in place to manage customer relationships. The most commonly cited goal for CRM is guest retention. Evaluation and control are perceived as very important activities not only to create value for the customers, but also to track the performance of the guest contact departments and the customers evaluations of the hotel/restaurant experiences (Ada S. Lo, Hong Kong, 2010). Freeland (2002) suggests that organization must address four critical strategies and understand the key interplay with them: * Identifying the customer * Selecting the most appropriate channel to reach the customer * Receiving the effects on the brands value * Determining the most appropriate CRM capabilities (Wolfgang Emperger, 2004) The use of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application to create a business strategy is an excellent way to increase customer loyalty and customer retention. By personalizing a customers stay, a hotel can ensure that customers will come back again and again simply by remembering their favorite beverage, pillow or other preferred amenity (Nick Nikolis, Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2066799).