"This is not the car I wanted to buy, to be honest with you," says Afif Jabbour, a 21-year-old business student at the American University of Sharjah. "I was going for a Mustang or a Chrysler at first. A Mercedes sounded too grown up for me."
Jabbour got his 2005 Mercedes-Benz E320 as soon as he acquired his driver's licence two years ago.
"I went back to Kuwait, and went out with my father to buy the car, and I was primarily looking for one with a V8 engine.
"It was very important to me that the car I got can be tuned. There is nothing I enjoy more than to custom tune my car the way I like."
After reservations from his father regarding the strong performance of a V8 engine, Jabbour settled for a V6 E320.
"The way I see it is that, I got to please my father and get the engine he picked, and at the same time, I could tune the car with anything I want. Things added up in the end."
Jabbour knew what he was buying, so there were no surprises when he took the car for a drive.
"It's not that powerful, and it wasn't made for racing. That much I expected," he says.
Known for its luxury more than anything else, the Mercedes-Benz E320 has a mix of lavishness, performance and safety, equipped with a 221hp, 3.2L V6 engine.
After Jabbour brought his new car to the UAE he decided to make up for some of the aspects he found it lacked. He took the Mercedes for a tuning spree in Sharjah's industrial area.
"The first thing I replaced was the tyre rings. I painted the roof black [some models originally come with a black roof]. I bought some rear spoilers off eBay, and attached them to the sides.
"I also tinted the windows so that the black colour would be consistent with the roof," says Jabbour.
The tuning is still an ongoing process for Jabbour. He makes sure his car gets the latest accessories available in the market.
"I had a new air-intake system installed because I felt the one it already had wasn't enough to sustain the pressure that I put on it. I also installed a new exhaust system just to make sure my car does exactly what I tell it to without any complaining," Jabbour says.
Originally from Syria, Jabbour was born and raised in Kuwait, where he spent all of his life before his university years and it was there were he learnt to drive.
Jabbour praises the UAE's RTA rules and regulations, and says that it's the best place he has ever driven in.
"I drove different cars in Syria, and it was quite an experience when you're used to the well-constructed roads of the UAE. There are not much rules or awareness when it comes to cars and driving.
"This fact makes you appreciate the efforts of the government here in ensuring safety and order," he says.
When it comes to his future plans, Jabbour wants to keep his Mercedes and buy a Ford F150 Raptor pick-up truck.
"I've grown tired of the saloons, and I've always had a thing for pick-up trucks. This Ford comes tuned with everything I could want, so hopefully, I'll get to have my own one day."
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
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Top 10 most polluted cities
- Bhiwadi, India
- Ghaziabad, India
- Hotan, China
- Delhi, India
- Jaunpur, India
- Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Noida, India
- Bahawalpur, Pakistan
- Peshawar, Pakistan
- Bagpat, India
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl
Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: Dh99,000
On sale: now
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Sri Lanka's T20I squad
Thisara Perera (captain), Dilshan Munaweera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ashan Priyanjan, Mahela Udawatte, Dasun Shanaka, Sachith Pathirana, Vikum Sanjaya, Lahiru Gamage, Seekkuge Prasanna, Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay and Chathuranga de Silva.
Company%20Profile
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RACE RESULTS
1. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes) 1hr 21min 48.527sec
2. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) at 0.658sec
3. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Red Bull) 6.012
4. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 7.430
5. Kimi Räikkönen (FIN/Ferrari) 20.370
6. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Haas) 1:13.160
7. Sergio Pérez (MEX/Force India) 1 lap
8. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Force India) 1 lap
9. Felipe Massa (BRA/Williams) 1 lap
10. Lance Stroll (CAN/Williams) 1 lap
11. Jolyon Palmer (GBR/Renault) 1 lap
12. Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL/McLaren) 1 lap
13. Nico Hülkenberg (GER/Renault) 1 lap
14. Pascal Wehrlein (GER/Sauber) 1 lap
15. Marcus Ericsson (SWE/Sauber) 2 laps
16. Daniil Kvyat (RUS/Toro Rosso) 3 laps
Thor: Ragnarok
Dir: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson
Four stars
The%20specs
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Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Sugary teas and iced coffees
The tax authority is yet to release a list of the taxed products, but it appears likely that sugary iced teas and cold coffees will be hit.
For instance, the non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Cold coffee brands are likely to be hit too. Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
What%20is%20Dungeons%20%26%20Dragons%3F%20
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The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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