Microsoft to fit portal to local users

The UAE will be one of the first countries to see a customised version of the MSN Arabia website, the Middle Eastern Web portal owned by Microsoft, as the company rolls out new features to attract more of the region's online advertising dollars. Microsoft and MSN Arabia representatives will meet today with advertisers to discuss their plans as well as introduce a new advertising concept called "advertainment" that will attempt to involve users in marketing campaigns, said Mohammed el Sayad, the general manager of MSN Arabia.

The Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia will be the first to get the localised portals, with Lebanon, Bahrain and Qatar to follow, Mr el Sayad said. "There are some countries that make sense to have stand-alone versions because of the internet penetration, the amount of users and the amount of content we can generate from those countries," he said. The advertainment concept will attempt to integrate social media services such as Facebook and Twitter to share content that is tied to marketing campaigns.

"I don't think advertising will be the same any more," he said. "We want users to be entertained and involved at the same time ? for example, in gaming, we'll give users a way to play with the brand." Content on the portal will be generated through deals it has with press agencies such as the Agence France-Presse and user-generated content, Mr el Sayad said. It also aims to leverage its strong digital portfolio offerings such as Hotmail and Messenger with its MSN Arabia brand.

About 28 million internet users in the region use a Hotmail account for e-mail and almost 21 million are Messenger users, he said. MSN Arabia's strategy to create localised versions of a portal takes a page from the playbook of its main rival, Yahoo Maktoob. This month, Rich Riley, the senior vice president of Yahoo's European, Middle East and African regions, said the online giant would customise core features of its websites for the Arab world. But MSN Arabia faces a challenge. The website has about 777,000 daily unique visitors from the region, lagging its rival Yahoo Maktoob with 1.1 million hits a day, figures from Nielsen Online show. Regional figures for Google were not available.

Mr el Sayad welcomes the Yahoo Maktoob competition and said more players would help grow the market for everyone. Online advertising is expected to more than triple its share of the ad sector in the region from 4 per cent last year to 13.4 per cent by 2014, according to recent research by the consultancy Booz and Company. The sector was worth about US$90 million (Dh330.5m) last year in the region, up from $65m in 2008. "We've been there since it all started," Mr el Sayad said.

"We know the numbers that are out there. "We know each and every person at every ad agency. We still like to think that we're the preferred network when it comes to advertising." MSN Arabia is a joint venture with LINKdotNET, the internet services subsidiary of Orascom Telecom, and the Microsoft Network. dgeorgecosh@thenational.ae

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Profile of RentSher

Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE

Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi

Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE

Sector: Online rental marketplace

Size: 40 employees

Investment: $2 million

Gitex 2018

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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)

It Was Just an Accident

Director: Jafar Panahi

Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr

Rating: 4/5

Results

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,600m; Winner: RB Kings Bay, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)

7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: AF Ensito, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash

8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: AF Sourouh, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

8.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Baaher, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel

9pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Mootahady, Antonio Fresu, Eric Lemartinel

9.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Dubai Canal, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar

10pm: Al Ain Cup – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Harrab, Bernardo Pinheiro, Majed Al Jahouri

OPENING FIXTURES

Saturday September 12

Crystal Palace v Southampton

Fulham v Arsenal

Liverpool v Leeds United

Tottenham v Everton

West Brom v Leicester

West Ham v Newcastle

Monday September 14

Brighton v Chelsea

Sheffield United v Wolves

To be rescheduled

Burnley v Manchester United

Manchester City v Aston Villa

While you're here

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Naga

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GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

LEADERBOARD

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One-off T20 International: UAE v Australia

When: Monday, October 22, 2pm start

Where: Abu Dhabi Cricket, Oval 1

Tickets: Admission is free

Australia squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Darcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Peter Siddle

Dengue%20fever%20symptoms

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What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

SPAIN SQUAD

Goalkeepers Simon (Athletic Bilbao), De Gea (Manchester United), Sanchez (Brighton)

Defenders Gaya (Valencia), Alba (Barcelona), P Torres (Villarreal), Laporte (Manchester City), Garcia (Manchester City), D Llorente (Leeds), Azpilicueta (Chelsea)

Midfielders Busquets (Barcelona), Rodri (Manchester City), Pedri (Barcelona), Thiago (Liverpool), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Ruiz (Napoli), M Llorente (Atletico Madrid)

Forwards: Olmo (RB Leipzig), Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Morata (Juventus), Moreno (Villarreal), F Torres (Manchester City), Traore (Wolves), Sarabia (PSG)