A reader says student protests in South Africa are not all peaceful. Nic Bothma / EPA
A reader says student protests in South Africa are not all peaceful. Nic Bothma / EPA

Fresh hope for South Africa



I refer to Joseph Dana's opinion article, Has South Africa stopped progressing? (October16).

The student protests referred to by the writer were not peaceful. The damage caused by them ran into millions.

The main issue is that the ANC government made promises it didn’t keep.

But there is hope, because the Democratic Alliance has won elections in some key areas.

Hopefully, the South African people will see the progress and stop clinging to a party that is no longer the ANC of Nelson Mandela.

M Smalberger, Abu Dhabi

Keeping track of your spending is key to success

Mahmoud Kassem gives some good advice in his column, Stay the course – for financial and physical health (October 17)

Everyone’s aim should be to get their financial house in order. Learn how to better manage your money and debt in both the short and long term. Find out how to save an emergency fund.

Track your spending. If you don’t know where your money goes, it can be difficult to find opportunities to save. Keep track of your spending habits to help identify areas where you can cut expenses.

Name withheld by request

Dammam is not ready for tourists

Saudi Arabia's oil hub Dammam feels the pinch across all sectors (October 16) raises the prospect of a tourism industry in that city.

The question is: what does Dammam have to offer tourists?

When I was there, even the petrol stations were 30 years behind the standard here – the only modern one being Enoc. Few of the roads have white lines, so it was difficult to keep in the correct lane while ­driving.

It’s going to require massive investment to put Dammam on the map as a tourist destination.

Randall Mohammed, Dubai

Waiting is bad for my health

On a recent morning, I went to the Daman headquarters in the city centre to renew my health insurance.

At the reception desk, I was told that all my papers and documentation were in order, so I was given a ticket and told to sit down and wait for my number to be called.

Two hours and 43 minutes later, my number was called. The transaction at the desk took two minutes. This is an unacceptable standard of customer service.

David Willis, Abu Dhabi

Arrest a result of cooperation

I refer to the story about the arrest of Rolando "Kerwin" Espinosa Jr (Philippines drug suspect arrested in Abu Dhabi, October 17).

Extradite him soon. No drug dealer or criminal suspect should feel safe by escaping to another country.

Habib Hazim, Abu Dhabi

Thank you to the Abu Dhabi Police for working with authorities in my country to arrest this man.

Dorothy Buffe-Tolentinp, Philippines

How to collect unpaid wages?

Unscrupulous employers 'bullying pregnant women from their jobs (October 16) struck a chord with me.

My wife’s employer has refused to pay her maternity leave. What can we do?

Name withheld by request

Infrastructure suggestion

I am writing in reference to your editorial, Infrastructure programmes are welcome (October 15).

I think that Abu ­Dhabi needs a metro and a train service linking it to Dubai.

Chris Reid, Dubai

Bridging the gap in employment

I was pleased to read Training company helps Emirati employees become perfectly suited for the job (October 17).

It is good to see that there is someone who can bridge the gap between the Emirati workforce and employers in the private sector.

Jobseekers need to understand the benefits of working in the private sector, and private employees need to understand how to understand cultural differences. Name withheld by request

The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

Company Profile

Founders: Tamara Hachem and Yazid Erman
Based: Dubai
Launched: September 2019
Sector: health technology
Stage: seed
Investors: Oman Technology Fund, angel investor and grants from Sharjah's Sheraa and Ma'an Abu Dhabi

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits

Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

Storage: 128/256/512GB

Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4

Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps

Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol

Power: 154bhp

Torque: 250Nm

Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option 

Price: From Dh79,600

On sale: Now

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company%20Profile
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Ramy%3A%20Season%203%2C%20Episode%201
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreators%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAri%20Katcher%2C%20Ryan%20Welch%2C%20Ramy%20Youssef%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERamy%20Youssef%2C%20Amr%20Waked%2C%20Mohammed%20Amer%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo

Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm

Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm

Transmission: CVT auto

Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km

On sale: now

Price: from Dh195,000 

Company%20profile
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

Changing visa rules

For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.

Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.

It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.

The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.

The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
The specs

Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now

The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now