We have to support people with special needs in their daily struggles. Christopher Pike / The National
We have to support people with special needs in their daily struggles. Christopher Pike / The National

Lessening the gap



Allocated parking spaces solely for disabled drivers is a way to reduce the yawning disparity between the ease of their lives compared to the rest of the community. This explains why people often get so irate at able-bodied drivers parking in disabled person's bays purely for reasons of convenience or laziness.

Those who misuse disabled bays already face the heaviest parking fines available – Dh1,000 – but the level of enforcement has often been wanting. However, high-tech help is on the way through the Makani (Arabic for "my place") system that scans the licence plate of each car that pulls into an accessible-parking space, sounds a warning if the car is not registered to a disabled driver and imposes a fine if the car doesn't vacate the space.

One would hope that empathy for those less fortunate would be enough to ensure compliance. But the selfish few who abuse this and make the lives of the disabled more difficult will pay the price as the system is rolled out in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Fujairah.

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km

Price: Dh133,900

On sale: now 

THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

If you go

Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.

Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com

A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5