I paid for additional channels on Al Jazeera English to watch the European Football Championships, but the first few games did not have English commentary on the HD channels, which was what was advertised. I tried to get hold of Al Jazeera to find out why, but they did not respond. While the problem is now largely resolved, many viewers will have lost out - friends had the same experience - and I would like an explanation as we paid for something we did not get. SC Dubai
I have tried numerous times to contact Al Jazeera English, but they have ignored my requests, which were made by email, via their website and a Twitter account that is clearly active. I noted that other people had also sent tweets regarding the service, all of which were ignored. This is not what anyone expects from such a well-known company and is an unacceptable level of customer service.
I understand that under UAE Labour Law, in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, companies must provide their employees with health care, otherwise they will be in breach of the law. How does this rule apply if I am my husband's sponsor? I came to Abu Dhabi a few years ago on a single overseas contract. I am getting married in a few weeks and my husband will be joining me in August. He has a position in my workplace, so will be on a local contract, but I am to pay for his residency visa, health care and flights. The company is paying for his labour card only. My company is not changing my contract to a married one and I will have to pay for my husband's medical insurance on a separate policy to my own. The reason my PRO gave me is that I am on a single overseas contract. JG Abu Dhabi
If anyone is sponsored by an employer on an Abu Dhabi visa, the company is obliged to provide medical insurance. Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (HAAD) rules say that the employer must provide cover for the employee, their spouse and up to three children (up to the age of 18 years). If an employee's spouse is a resident in the UAE, then the employer must pay for appropriate cover (per HAAD guidelines) and cannot pass on the cost to the employee. This is the case whether the spouse works for the same company, works elsewhere or not at all and is entirely unrelated to the contract of employment. Furthermore, the HAAD website clearly says: "The law restricts the employer or sponsor from passing on the cost of providing health insurance to their employees and dependents, and such an act will be considered a violation of the law and shall hold the employer or sponsor subject to investigation and penalties. Complaints may be filed at the Complaints Unit at GAHS [General Authority for Health Services], if such a case occurs." JG should provide this information to her employer because their current action is against the law.
I have been working for the same company for four years and three months on an unlimited contract. My initial employment was a commission-based role, but after two years I was offered a managerial position within the company with a basic salary and also received a salary raise after one year. I have just been promoted to a higher position with another increase in salary, but this time the company has asked me to sign a document signing off my end-of-service gratuity payment, which it has based on the period of the last two years and three months of employment, excluding the period I was in the commission-based role. The document states that it is my full and final settlement of dues, with no claims whatsoever possible against the company in future. As far as I am aware, an end-of-service payment should be paid out, as it suggests, at the end of employment with a company and upon cancellation of the visa. Can my company force me to sign off my gratuity now? And if so, should it not be based on the four years and three months of employment, which is my actual duration of service up until now? As the gratuity payment increases after five years of employment for the same company, it seems my company is trying to keep this payment as low as possible. Is this legal? PE Dubai
According to UAE Labour Law, your end-of-service gratuity should be based on your full period of service. That said, it is not uncommon for employees on a commission-only basis to waive their rights to a gratuity payment, but this is only legal if both the employer and employee sign documentation to this effect at the outset. At this stage, PE's employer cannot force her to sign a document either waiving her right to receive it or to accept a one-off payment now. They also cannot pay out her end-of-service gratuity now and not make a further payment at a later date. PE should not sign this document and the employer is not acting within the letter or the spirit of the Labour Law.
Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser with Holborn Assets in Dubai. Contact her at keren@holbornassets.com or onyourside@thenational.ae.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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RESULTS
6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Meshakel, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
Winner Gervais, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner Global Heat, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Firnas, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m
Winner Rebel’s Romance, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m
Winner Topper Bill, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m
Winner Wasim, Mickael Barzalona, Ismail Mohammed.
EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HyveGeo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abdulaziz%20bin%20Redha%2C%20Dr%20Samsurin%20Welch%2C%20Eva%20Morales%20and%20Dr%20Harjit%20Singh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECambridge%20and%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESustainability%20%26amp%3B%20Environment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%20plus%20undisclosed%20grant%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVenture%20capital%20and%20government%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
Alan%20Wake%20Remastered%20
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The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Monster Hunter: World
Capcom
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
The%20specs
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Company%20Profile
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Scores:
Day 4
England 290 & 346
Sri Lanka 336 & 226-7 (target 301)
Sri Lanka require another 75 runs with three wickets remaining
The five pillars of Islam
Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.