Have you ever wondered how native plants thrive in the UAE? How they can be so lush, green and plentiful, growing in direct sunlight, often with no water or fertiliser, while rooted in salty, sandy soil? Lina Yousef, who has an undergraduate degree in botany and a doctorate in soil science, sure has.
“If you're driving along the roadside and it's complete desert, you're going to see all these shrubs, super-green shrubs, by the way … like neon,” says Yousef, who is Palestinian-American and works as an assistant professor of chemistry at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi. “How do these plants survive? The chemicals they produce play a very big role in regulating their growth.”
Yousef calls it “a miracle” that the plants grow in such harsh conditions, without any input or support. It’s all part of the “awe” that drew her to study the biochemistry of plants and soil.
“There's so much room in this area with respect to research and discovery,” says Yousef. “It's quite tedious, but it’s so exciting.”
Still, it It wasn’t until Saeed AlKhoori, an Emirati graduate student and an engineer by training, working with Yousef’s research group, came to talk to her about soil that the idea of launching a skincare company was born.
“When he walked into the office, he gave me a little present; he creates his own bath balms, creams and lotions,” she says. “He's so creative, and I could see he's passionate about these things he's making.
“He doesn't come from a plant science background. He's an engineer by training,” says Yousef, “but he's like the dictionary of plants in the UAE. He knows every single plant that grows on the landscape.”
That interest started for AlKhoori when he was a young student and given a school project to sprout a chickpea seed. “You put the chickpea seed on cotton and wait for a few days until it dries, and then it is growing,” he says. “This, to me, was magic. It gave me goosebumps. Watching how nature evolves and exists is just fascinating.”
AlKhoori kept that passion going even as he studied engineering, visiting nurseries and picking out a plant at a time so he could learn all about it.
Watching how nature evolves and exists is just fascinating
Saeed AlKhoori
So Yousef and AlKhoori filed a patent through the university. When he graduated, they made a successful pitch to Catalyst, a business accelerator based in Masdar City, and De L’Arta was born.
That was two years ago, and Yousef’s sister, Sarah, has since joined the company, overseeing the marketing and communications side.
Earlier this year, the company produced its first farm-to-lab-to-market product created from a plant native to the UAE. Tetraena qatarensis not only grows abundantly but it’s a perennial, meaning once grown the shoots can be continuously harvested.
De L'Arta's Tq line, comprising a face wash, face cream and face mask, uses the Tetreana qatarensis plant, which has “wound-healing properties”, says Yousef, and hydrates, nourishes and protects skin from premature ageing.
The line is gender-neutral and suitable for all skin types. The face wash has a light consistency, gentle, clean smell and leaves no residue. The cream is rich and nourishing, as is the mask. A serum and a lip balm are up next.
Before he partnered with Yousef, AlKhoori was making his products with a focus on their consistency, without understanding how any of the active ingredients worked together. Yousef taught him how to connect science to cosmetic formulation.
“I didn’t understand how a small amount of biomass could give you a massive change in your skin,” AlKhoori says. “And how a little concentration can have a greater effect than a higher concentration.
When Yousef and AlKhoori explored the various phytochemicals of UAE plants, it turned out several had high antioxidant levels. Out of curiosity, they sent some extracts to a laboratory in France that focused on skin.
“The information that came back was very, very interesting,” says Yousef. “A lot of these extracts have wound-healing and anti-ageing properties so they induce collagen production in the skin, and depigmentation potential, for when you get dark spots. It made sense to incorporate these extracts into skincare while also highlighting the beauty of the native plants that grow here in the UAE.”
The founders have also been vigilant about ensuring every aspect of their production is steeped in sustainability. Everything in their product is made in the UAE. The aluminium packaging is minimal, and a plastic pump for the face wash is sold at an additional cost.
Tetraena qatarensis not only grows abundantly but is also a perennial, meaning once grown the shoots can be continuously harvested.
Another sustainability bonus of this work? The team at De L’Arta has seen soil composition improving “drastically” at their farm in Masdar City. The amount of organic carbon in the soil has increased and salinity has gone down, showing that the plant can be farmed alongside edible crops.
“Honestly, for us, it's a win-win,” said Yousef. “You're using this plant for cosmetics and health, but at the same time you're also restoring land.”
Tq is just the beginning for De L’Arta. New lines featuring products derived from other plants are on the way, including some that grow in the mangroves.
“We're thinking about introducing a coastal line in the very near future,” says Yousef. “We're also looking at other plants that can grow in this heat. We are working on a collection right now for which the actives are coming from a tree, and it's going to be a very cool, refreshing, range.”
Tq by De L’Arta is available at Faces in Mall of the Emirates, Dubai, and can also be ordered online from delarta.com
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
The specs: 2018 Genesis G70
Price, base / as tested: Dh155,000 / Dh205,000
Engine: 3.3-litre, turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 370hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 510Nm @ 1,300rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.6L / 100km
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
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
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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
