Feeling world-weary? Here are five reasons to be optimistic about the future


Daniel Bardsley
  • English
  • Arabic

As climate change wreaks havoc, plastic pollution blights oceans and biodiversity losses pile up, it is all too easy to fear for the future.

But amid the gloomy forecasts there is hope on the horizon as society bands together to successfully tackle issues that once plagued the planet.

From acid rain to precipitous declines in whale populations, progress has been made in helping the environment to recover.

The biggest eco-threat of all – climate change – is proving hard to resolve because everything from transport to energy generation is tied up with burning fossil fuels.

The likes of acid rain and smog were easier to solve, according to Prof Niklas Hoehne, founder of the NewClimate Institute for Climate Policy and Global Sustainability, a think tank in Germany.

"For climate change, we need to transform every corner of our society," he said. "I think we have 90 per cent of the solutions already. That’s not a problem – it’s political will and change in society."

While many challenges clearly lie ahead, previous environmental success stories demonstrate where there is a will there is a way.

A solution to acid rain

The burning of coal, oil and natural gas by power stations released nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere, turning rain acidic. Photo: Reuters
The burning of coal, oil and natural gas by power stations released nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere, turning rain acidic. Photo: Reuters

Turn the clock back several decades and acid rain was often in the news. Almost in the way that climate change is now.

Mirroring the present-day antics of climate change groups such as Extinction Rebellion, back in the 1980s acid rain campaigners climbed smoke stacks and unfurled banners to raise awareness.

Evidence of the problem was clear for all to see. Sections of attractive historical buildings in Europe were left looking like melting ice sculptures because elaborately carved stonework was dissolving away.

Forests were destroyed because the acid rain left soil bereft of nutrients, with high levels of dissolved aluminium, which harmed plant life. Aquatic creatures suffered too.

The issue resulted from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas by power stations, releasing nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide, turning rain acidic.

At least in Europe and North America, the problem has largely been eliminated and soils are recovering.

"Acid rain was about [emissions from] a small number of large industrial installations. There are clear technologies to get rid of the sulphur in the exhaust stream," said Prof Hoehne.

He added that two approaches were taken.

The Acid Rain Programme from the US Environmental Protection Agency set an aim of cutting sulphur dioxide emissions from power plants in central and midwest parts of the country by half between 1980 and 2010.

In Europe regulations were introduced mandating the use of cleaner ways to burn fossil fuels. These helped to significantly reduce the scale of the problem, although some plant and animal communities will take longer to recover.

Mirroring the situation with air pollution as a whole, acid rain is today a key environmental issue in parts of Asia, with areas in China and India among those affected.

Saving the whales

Significant steps have been taken over the years to safeguard the world's whale population. Photo: PA
Significant steps have been taken over the years to safeguard the world's whale population. Photo: PA

"Save the Whales" campaign resonated powerfully in the 1970s as activists tried to prevent the large-scale slaughter of the world’s biggest mammals.

While whaling still goes on, it happens on a much smaller scale now. Some whale populations are recovering.

Commercial whaling began in the 1860s with the use of steamships and explosive-grenade harpoons and "almost totally wiped out" many of the largest whale species, according to WWF.

In 1966 a ban on hunting blue and humpback whales came into force. And in 1986, a global moratorium on commercial hunting was brought in by the International Whaling Commission.

Norway, Iceland and Japan in particular have continued to hunt whales and campaigners still unfurl banners from speedboats to highlight their calls for the practice to end.

The numbers worldwide are a fraction of the 1960s peak, a decade when more than 700,000 whales were killed.

Many whale populations have increased in numbers.

For example, some humpback whale populations are now at "pre-exploitation levels", according to Dr Kirsten Thompson, a lecturer at the University of Exeter in the UK.

"The moratorium, it shows that species-focused conservation does work, and for certain species, it works really well," she said.

"It doesn’t mean these animals and populations aren’t facing a whole myriad threats – ocean noise, pollution, ship strikes and other threats are continuing."

According to the IWC, Southern Atlantic populations of the humpback whale have shown "strong recovery", increasing by about 10 per cent a year. Southern right whales have increased almost as fast.

Blue whale populations are also growing slowly, although the species remains listed as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

"It’s very patchy, but it’s a very good message to send to policymakers that if you do implement conservation policies, those policies will work, but you obviously have to … monitor these populations in detail and find how it’s working," Dr Thompson said.

Rebuilding the ozone layer

The late Kofi Annan, a former United Nations secretary general, hailed efforts to heal damage to the ozone layer. Antonie Robertson / The National
The late Kofi Annan, a former United Nations secretary general, hailed efforts to heal damage to the ozone layer. Antonie Robertson / The National

The global effort to stop the release of substances that destroy the ozone layer in the atmosphere is seen as one of the biggest environmental success stories of all time..

By the early 1980s it was apparent that a major "hole" had developed in the ozone layer in the stratosphere (which sits above the troposphere, the atmosphere’s lowest layer).

Chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), used as refrigerants and aerosol propellants, were responsible for the destruction of the layer, which protects against the sun’s most harmful ultraviolet rays.

At the beginning of 1989, however, things changed with the coming into force of the Montreal Protocol, a universally ratified treaty that covered the production and use of nearly 100 substances that harm the ozone layer.

Applying to all UN member states, the protocol mandated a phase out in the use of CFCs, but in the end a faster reduction was achieved.

The release of CFCs and other chemicals that deplete the ozone layer has been cut by about 98 per cent compared to before the protocol.

The late Kofi Annan, a former United Nations secretary general, described the protocol “the most successful environmental treaty in history”. Indeed he even suggested that it could be the most successful international agreement of any kind to date.

Solving the ozone problem was easier than dealing with climate change for several reasons, including that the problem and its causes were clearly identified.

Only a limited number of industries were affected and alternatives to the harmful chemicals were available which were often manufactured by the companies that made the banned chemicals. So, vested commercial interests were less of an issue.

There continues to be close monitoring of the quantities of ozone-depleting chemicals in the atmosphere, and this has identified breaches of the treaty, such as the unauthorised release of ozone-destroying substances in the Far East, which has been dealt with.

Cutting through the smog

In the mid-20th century, terrible smogs afflicted parts of the US and Europe because of industrial emissions.

Today, while air quality remains a major concern, particularly in larger cities, such acute air pollution is largely absent from Europe and North America.

A notorious example in the US is the Donora Smog of 1948, which hit the Donora and Webster areas in Pennsylvania.

These communities were affected by pollution from two industrial facilities (an American Steel and Wire plant and the Donora Zinc Works), as well as coal-burning furnaces in people’s homes, and boats on the nearby river.

At least 20 people died at the time and, in the following decade, rates of cancer and heart disease increased.

Parts of Europe experienced similar smog, the events nicknamed pea-soupers because the choking air had a sinister green tinge.

Among the worst happened in London in December 1952, when the city was engulfed in smog so thick that people could not find their way even in areas they knew well.

Blamed for at least 4,000 deaths, the 1952 event was largely caused by domestic coal burning, which releases particulate matter that allow fog to form. Paris too suffered extreme smogs.

Clean Air Acts passed on both sides of the Atlantic from the 1950s onwards played a significant part in reducing the threat, forcing factories and homes to burn cleaner fuel.

"The question was to find what was emitting the smog and stop them from doing it … It was done a lot by regulation," said Prof Hoehne.

While air pollution still causes many deaths in western nations, acute events of the kind seen in the middle of the 20th century are less of an issue.

But demonstrating that environmental problems are rarely solved once-and-for-all, industrial plants, road traffic and domestic fuel burning are leading to pollution in developing countries comparable to that once seen in the US and Europe.

"Reports regarding air pollution have indicated that levels of pollutants similar to those estimated to have occurred in Donora are currently present in some rapidly industrialising regions of China and India," Professor Elizabeth Jacobs, of the University of Arizona, and two other researchers wrote in the American Journal of Public Health in 2018.

Driving out leaded petrol

Moves to phase out unleaded petrol and reduce vehicle emissions began in the 1970s. Photo: PA
Moves to phase out unleaded petrol and reduce vehicle emissions began in the 1970s. Photo: PA

It may seem hard to believe now, but many of today’s adults used to walk to school beside roads where vehicles gave off fumes that contained lead, a metal that impairs the brain development of youngsters.

Today, the use of leaded fuel is banned everywhere, with Algeria the last country to phase out its sale, albeit only as recently as 2021.

There is little doubt that the ban was needed. Introduced in 1922 as a petrol additive to improve engine performance, tetraethyllead caused "a century of deaths and illnesses that affected hundreds of millions and degraded the environment worldwide", Inger Andersen, the UN Environment Programme’s executive director, said when Algeria’s ban came in.

Ms Anderson’s uncompromising verdict is backed up by plenty of evidence. Having lead in petrol has been found to result in heart disease, strokes and cancer, to reduce IQs, and to contaminate water, air, soil and even dust.

The phase out of leaded petrol began in the 1970s, when the US, for example, started to restrict its use, but Japan became the first country to eliminate it entirely, in 1986.

Further bans followed in the 1980s and 1990s, and by 2002 most of North and South America and Europe had outlawed its sale, as had India, China, Australia and a number of other countries.

In the coming few years, amid continuing campaigning, much of Africa followed suit, with just a few nations holding out, with Algeria the final player to fall into line in 2021.

According to the UNEP, more than 1.2 million lives a year have been saved by eliminating leaded petrol.

While lead in petrol is now a thing of the past, vehicle exhausts continue to release large quantities of pollutants that harm health, among them nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.

Road transport is also a key contributor to climate change, accounting for around a quarter of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, the UNEP states.

Transitioning to electric vehicles, ideally powered by electricity generated using renewable sources, is regarded by campaigners as essential if the world is to limit climate change.

When it comes to lead, the UNEP says restrictions are still needed on its use in batteries, paints and household items.

THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

RESULTS

5pm: Maiden | Dh80,000 |  1,600m
Winner: AF Al Moreeb, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)

5.30pm: Handicap |  Dh80,000 |  1,600m
Winner: AF Makerah, Adrie de Vries, Ernst Oertel

6pm: Handicap |  Dh80,000 |  2,200m
Winner: Hazeme, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle

6.30pm: Handicap |  Dh85,000 |  2,200m
Winner: AF Yatroq, Brett Doyle, Ernst Oertel

7pm: Shadwell Farm for Private Owners Handicap |  Dh70,000 |  2,200m
Winner: Nawwaf KB, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi

7.30pm: Handicap (TB) |  Dh100,000 |  1,600m
Winner: Treasured Times, Bernardo Pinheiro, Rashed Bouresly

1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List
James Mustich, Workman

Dr Graham's three goals

Short term

Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines


Intermediate term

Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations


Long term

A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness  

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key recommendations
  • Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
  • Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
  • Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
  • More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

Five hymns the crowds can join in

Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday

Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir

Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium

‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song

‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar

‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion

‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope

The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’

There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia

The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ

They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening 

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWest%20Asia%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Bahrain%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Jebel%20Ali%20Dragons%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%201%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Harlequins%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%202%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%20III%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDubai%20Sevens%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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About Krews

Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi

Based: Abu Dhabi

Founded: January 2019

Number of employees: 10

Sector: Technology/Social media 

Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support

 

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'

Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines: 

Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

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

LA LIGA FIXTURES

Friday Valladolid v Osasuna (Kick-off midnight UAE)

Saturday Valencia v Athletic Bilbao (5pm), Getafe v Sevilla (7.15pm), Huesca v Alaves (9.30pm), Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid (midnight)

Sunday Real Sociedad v Eibar (5pm), Real Betis v Villarreal (7.15pm), Elche v Granada (9.30pm), Barcelona v Levante (midnight)

Monday Celta Vigo v Cadiz (midnight)

World Cup warm up matches

May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff

May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval

May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff

May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval

May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff

While you're here
One in nine do not have enough to eat

Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.

One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.

The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.

Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.

It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.

On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.

Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.

 

'Panga'

Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta

Rating: 3.5/5

if you go
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

HOW%20TO%20ACTIVATE%20THE%20GEMINI%20SHORTCUT%20ON%20CHROME%20CANARY
%3Cp%3E1.%20Go%20to%20%3Cstrong%3Echrome%3A%2F%2Fflags%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E2.%20Find%20and%20enable%20%3Cstrong%3EExpansion%20pack%20for%20the%20Site%20Search%20starter%20pack%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E3.%20Restart%20Chrome%20Canary%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E4.%20Go%20to%20%3Cstrong%3Echrome%3A%2F%2Fsettings%2FsearchEngines%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20in%20the%20address%20bar%20and%20find%20the%20%3Cstrong%3EChat%20with%20Gemini%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20shortcut%20under%20%3Cstrong%3ESite%20Search%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E5.%20Open%20a%20new%20tab%20and%20type%20%40%20to%20see%20the%20Chat%20with%20Gemini%20shortcut%20along%20with%20other%20Omnibox%20shortcuts%20to%20search%20tabs%2C%20history%20and%20bookmarks%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Opening weekend Premier League fixtures

Weekend of August 10-13

Arsenal v Manchester City

Bournemouth v Cardiff City

Fulham v Crystal Palace

Huddersfield Town v Chelsea

Liverpool v West Ham United

Manchester United v Leicester City

Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur

Southampton v Burnley

Watford v Brighton & Hove Albion

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton

Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

The Bio

Name: Lynn Davison

Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi

Children: She has one son, Casey, 28

Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK

Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Favourite Author: CJ Sansom

Favourite holiday destination: Bali

Favourite food: A Sunday roast

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Fighter profiles

Gabrieli Pessanha (Brazil)

Reigning Abu Dhabi World Pro champion in the 95kg division, virtually unbeatable in her weight class. Known for her pressure game but also dangerous with her back on the mat.

Nathiely de Jesus, 23, (Brazil)

Two-time World Pro champion renowned for her aggressive game. She is tall and most feared by her opponents for both her triangles and arm-bar attacks.

Thamara Ferreira, 24, (Brazil)

Since her brown belt days, Ferreira has been dominating the 70kg, in both the World Pro and the Grand Slams. With a very aggressive game.

Samantha Cook, 32, (Britain)

One of the biggest talents coming out of Europe in recent times. She is known for a highly technical game and bringing her A game to the table as always.

Kendall Reusing, 22, (USA)

Another young gun ready to explode in the big leagues. The Californian resident is a powerhouse in the -95kg division. Her duels with Pessanha have been highlights in the Grand Slams.

Martina Gramenius, 32, (Sweden)

Already a two-time Grand Slam champion in the current season. Gramenius won golds in the 70kg, in both in Moscow and Tokyo, to earn a spot in the inaugural Queen of Mats.

 

Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier

Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman

The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August

 

Group A

Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar

Group B

UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia

 

UAE group fixtures

Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran

Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait

Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi

 

UAE squad

Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, Alishan Sharafu, Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Ayaz, Zahoor Khan, Chirag Suri, Sultan Ahmed

The specs

Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic

Power: 375bhp

Torque: 520Nm

Price: Dh332,800

On sale: now

Company name: Play:Date

Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day

Founder: Shamim Kassibawi

Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US

Sector: Tech 

Size: 20 employees

Stage of funding: Seed

Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund

The biog

Favourite book: Animal Farm by George Orwell

Favourite music: Classical

Hobbies: Reading and writing

 

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
The%20specs
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Updated: January 20, 2023, 10:35 AM`