As the world remembered anti-apartheid activist and statesman Nelson Mandela on his birthday on July 18 this week, it's a good time to reflect on his unwavering kindness and humanity.
In his book, Ye Shall Bowl on Grass, Rafique Gangat, who had just been posted to Abu Dhabi as the new South African ambassador, fondly remembers Mandela's state visit to the UAE in 1995.
“I had the privilege of witnessing the stature and charm of the man from a vantage point and couldn’t help but marvel at his humility with all the attention fostered on him,” he writes.
In one heartwarming anecdote, Gangat recalls the South African president's interaction with a palace staffer in Abu Dhabi.
While preparing for a meeting with UAE Founding Father President, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Mandela noticed the fine job done by whoever had pressed his suit.
“Who ironed my suit?” Mandela asked Gangat, who did not know the answer.
“He showed me the lines and cuffs, and how well it was ironed and insisted that he needed to thank the person. I told him, ‘I shall do that later, but now we have the President waiting and we need to go,'" Gangat writes in his book.
“But Mandela insisted and I gave in to his resolute demand. I quickly instituted an inquiry to determine the whereabouts of the person who ironed the president’s suit, and we both walked to the laundry room, which was quite a distance away.
“We were met by a young Indian man busy ironing linen, and when he looked up, he simply exclaimed, ‘Mandela’, at which the president took his hand and thanked him sincerely for the excellent job.
“To our surprise, the young man started to cry and when Mandela asked, ‘Why are you crying?’, he replied, ‘No one has ever thanked me, and I don’t believe that Mandela is thanking me.'
“They were tears of joy, and I must add that I was also touched by this sincere gesture and was a bit choked up, too.”
Mandela's close relationship with the UAE is also well-documented, particularly his friendship with Sheikh Zayed.
The two statesmen met on a number of occasions, the first time in 1995 during the state visit, when Mandela was decorated with the Order of Zayed Medal First Class.
Sheikh Zayed and Mandela, who were both born in 1918, shared many of the same traits as leaders, including strong vision and a commitment to their people, and were said to have immense respect for each other.
When they met again three years after their first meeting, in 1998 during the GCC Summit in Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed told Mandela: "You are a blessing." The South African leader responded: "There is no greater blessing than you."
Writing for The National, Taryam Al Subaihi recalls the time he heard Mandela speak at the American University of Sharjah in 2001.
"It was not a speech about politics, imprisonment or his struggle against apartheid. Instead, he spoke of the future and the duty we as a people had towards ensuring something better for many generations to come," Al Subaihi writes. "It reminded me immediately of how our late present Sheikh Zayed shared the same passion and love for his country that inspired his nation towards greatness."
In 2018, the centenaries of the birth of Sheikh Zayed and Mandela, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, now Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, was on a visit to Pretoria in South Africa.
He presented Zwelivelile "Mandla" Mandela, the grandson of the late South African president, with a thank you note addressed to the Mandela family.
The note was in appreciation of the late leader’s legacy and his friendship with the UAE’s first President.
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
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- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
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What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
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Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
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How to avoid crypto fraud
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The five pillars of Islam
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
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- Three wins in past 10 starts
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- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
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Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
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England v South Africa Test series:
First Test: at Lord's, England won by 211 runs
Second Test: at Trent Bridge, South Africa won by 340 runs
Third Test: at The Oval, July 27-31
Fourth Test: at Old Trafford, August 4-8
The specs
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- Power: 640hp
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- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
'Brazen'
Director: Monika Mitchell
Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler
Rating: 3/5
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