Feedback on feedback
In reference to Nic Ridley's op-ed My feedback for feedback-obsessed companies is to stop hounding me for my feedback (July 27): As much as I agree with the writer, the case can be made for the contrary, where feedback is essential for improvement. We can only learn from what we’re told. But it could in fact be a human experience deployed across online channels instead of faceless surveys or AI (to almost replicate the in-person retail experience). A real conversation between people might build a better experience, one that is warmer and more personal.
Jon Ivan-Duke, Dubai
Jack Smith did a tremendous job
With regard to the piece Who is US special counsel Jack Smith? (August 2): Well done to Jack Smith and his team for a thorough investigation and that 45-pages long report on Donald Trump's indictment. He is now the first federal prosecutor to secure an indictment against any US president ever.
Gillian Bell, Dubai
Following in Ronaldo's footsteps
With regard to John McAuley's report Former Liverpool striker Sadio Mane joins Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr (August 1): Good move. At least he will be respected and appreciated there.
Hamza Salim, Dubai
The nuisance of notifications
About Marwa Hassan's article When is the best time to send a work email? (August 1): The closer you send it to when that person starts work is the best way, because it will be at the top of their inbox.
Paul Deguglielmo, Inglewood, California, US
Overcoming childhood fears
With reference to Nivriti Butalia's op-ed Safety in numbers: more children should be taught to swim (July 24): For someone who has, since childhood either been encouraged to learn by being signed up for lessons or forced herself as an adult to take lessons, it pains me to say that I still struggle to get over the fear of swimming. And I agree with the absolutely valid line in the piece about this being a life skill and a survival skill that needs to be more widely encouraged, like running or cycling, with better accessibility and affordability.
Afshan Ahmed, Dubai
The obstacle course of obtaining a Schengen visa
I write with regard to Hayley Skirka's article European visa pre-approval and €7 fees – will the EU's new rules for travellers take off? (July 25): There are so many other countries on other continents to explore – it's too much of a hassle to spend months stressing about a holiday that may need to be cancelled at the last minute because a visa didn't come through. I do my best to avoid jumping through hoops for a visa.
Amaka Olele, Dubai
Brahmastra%3A%20Part%20One%20-%20Shiva
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAyan%20Mukerji%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERanbir%20Kapoor%2C%20Alia%20Bhatt%20and%20Amitabh%20Bachchan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Avatar%20(2009)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJames%20Cameron%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESam%20Worthington%2C%20Zoe%20Saldana%2C%20Sigourney%20Weaver%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Results:
Men's wheelchair 800m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 1.44.79; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 1.45.88; 3. Isaac Towers (GBR) 1.46.46.
