William Church was impressed when he met Rachel Reeves, the UK's new Chancellor, when she visited his shoe factory, Joseph Cheaney & Sons, in Northamptonshire last year.
"We had a chat with her and took her round the factory," the joint managing director told The National.
"She's clearly a very capable lady and she means business for business. She comes suitably qualified in that she worked at the Bank of England and has a background that significantly underpins her current brief."
Star of generation
That chimes with what Ms Reeves' friends have told The National, that she was regarded as a woman who was “already marked out as a star of her generation” from her undergraduate days at the University of Oxford.
The peer John Woodcock, who has known Ms Reeves since they were students in the Labour Party, described her as “warm in person, a really acute sense of humour and a great to be around”.
Getting the British economy growing is massively important
Andrew Harrop,
Fabian Society
“But Rachel’s also been able to build up a sense of loyalty, friendship and respect within the Labour family and beyond it,” said Mr Woodcock, who is the government’s independent adviser on political violence.
“The Treasury is buzzing with a new leadership now, with Rachel wanting to roll up her sleeves for the structural changes that can that can deliver growth, which the country is crying out for.”
It was “no accident” that the transformation of Labour's economic fortunes and credibility “was mapped out during her time” as shadow chancellor.
Andrew Harrop, secretary general of the Fabian Society, the Labour think tank, described her as a “very serious-minded, hard-working, diligent person”.
“She’s in politics because of the issues she cares about rather than the political game and she's got that studious, academic economist style that means that she's very well equipped to be Chancellor.”
A senior Labour insider also described her as “rigorous” and surrounded by good advisers who are not sycophantic and challenge her decisions.
“She has a good team of people around her who are very thoughtful, very engaged across the Labour Party, not aloof or remote,” he added.
“Rachel does the work, whereas politics tends to be filled with a lot of show ponies, but she's definitely not one of them. What you see is really what you get.”
Safe investment
Ms Reeves has been in her current brief for a matter of days, following Labour's landslide election victory last week.
"To investors and businesses who spent 14 years doubting whether Britain is a safe place to invest, then let me tell you, after 14 years, Britain has a stable government," she told a gathering of business leaders in her first major speech as Chancellor on Monday.
Ms Reeves added that the government will make the "tough" and "hard choices" to fix the UK's economy, which still suffers from low growth, relatively high interest rates and the worst public debt figures for 60 years.
"The question is not whether we want growth, but how strong is our resolve?" she said.
Business groups have been largely enthusiastic about the arrival of Ms Reeves and her team at the Treasury and most feel they should be given a degree of latitude to spark the "change" the Labour Party outlined in its election manifesto.
Growth the key
As Chancellor her key aim will be to stimulate Britain away from its anaemic growth of 1 per cent GDP which will entail significant reforms, already signalled in her speech on Monday.
Key will be reforming building regulations to stimulate the housing market – Labour has promised to build 1.5 million new homes in its five-year term – but also bringing wind farms onshore.
“Seeing her announcements shows that she is making big changes from the first week because there has to be big reforms,” said Mr Harrop. “Getting the British economy growing is massively important.”
Ms Reeves views economics not merely from the national perspective but from people being “better off in their own lives”, he added, with better pay and job security.
Unlocking private-sector investment was key, said Mr Woodcock. “I know how frustrated investors have been in recent years, those like the UAE who want to bring investment into the UK economy but have felt blocked by the entrenched barriers to economic progress embedded within the system," he said.
“That absolutely means deepening our country's friendship with our allies and partners in the Middle East, with the United Arab Emirates, with Saudi Arabia and Israel.”
Mr Harrop added that as the Gulf was “important both geopolitically and economically”, Ms Reeves “won't want to be reducing our economic ties, particularly in areas where they should be growing”.
'Huge green growth opportunity'
Removing the ban on onshore wind farms would enable Britain to "green our energy supply and help the UK take advantage of a huge green growth opportunity, so it’s welcome to see that being delivered so swiftly", said Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry.
Stella Smith, founder of the tech company Pirkx, which delivers well-being services, said Ms Reeves' first budget should definitely include "funding for growth companies to support job creation and supporting institutional investment for companies after the start-up phase".
Having met Ms Reeves, Ms Smith said the new Chancellor "came across as likeable, diligent, cool, calm and well-intended".
"She really listened and took action," Ms Smith told The National.
For Mr Church, the reintroduction of duty-free shopping for international visitors to Britain, better known to retailers as the "tourist tax", would be an easy win for the new Chancellor in her budget later in the year.
"If we wanted to stimulate an influx of foreign money into our goods and services in London, then to reconsider that tax would definitely create an immediate wave of optimism throughout our sector," he told The National.
He added that "with change always comes optimism", and while Britain's business leaders are prepared to give Ms Reeves a chance to bring about that change, their patience is limited.
Good neighbours
Key to successful government in Britain is the relationship between prime minister and chancellor.
Ms Reeves’ relationship with Keir Starmer was “very close”, said the Labour insider.
“You're not going to see much drama or tensions between the two and that will be the cornerstone of their whole political project,” he added. “They're not on that performative side of politics which leaves them a bit cold, so I would expect quite a tight operation centre.”
Mr Harrop added that, after 14 years of sometimes chaotic Conservative rule, “we basically have two competent grown-ups in the room”.
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ferrari
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Kamindu Mendis bio
Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis
Born: September 30, 1998
Age: 20 years and 26 days
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team
Batting style: Left-hander
Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
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.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
RESULTS
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 1 (PA) $49,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner RB Frynchh Dude, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
7.05pm Al Bastakiya Trial – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner El Patriota, Vagner Leal, Antonio Cintra
7.40pm Zabeel Turf – Listed (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,000m
Winner Ya Hayati, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm Cape Verdi – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Althiqa, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
8.50pm UAE 1000 Guineas – Listed (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Soft Whisper, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Bedouin’s Story, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
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
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Juvenile arthritis
Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Company%20profile
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20Shipsy%3Cbr%3EYear%20of%20inception%3A%202015%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Soham%20Chokshi%2C%20Dhruv%20Agrawal%2C%20Harsh%20Kumar%20and%20Himanshu%20Gupta%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20India%2C%20UAE%20and%20Indonesia%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20logistics%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%20more%20than%20350%20employees%3Cbr%3EFunding%20received%20so%20far%3A%20%2431%20million%20in%20series%20A%20and%20B%20rounds%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Info%20Edge%2C%20Sequoia%20Capital%E2%80%99s%20Surge%2C%20A91%20Partners%20and%20Z3%20Partners%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place playoff
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- 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)
Read more about the coronavirus
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Hydrogen: Market potential
Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.
"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.
Falling costs of renewable energy and electrolysers used in green hydrogen production is one of the main catalysts for the increasingly bullish sentiment over the element.
The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.
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
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
