What a tragedy and a shameful waste of life (A grim harvest of dugong, March 5). Dugongs are such precious, peaceful creatures. I am tired of hearing about the pollution, senseless killings and constant damage that man inflicts on our oceans. All this because we are always chasing a profit, regardless of the consequences. When will we wake up to ourselves and stop the carnage?
Sylvia Davey, Dubai
It’s sad that fishing nets contributed to 85 per cent of deaths of Abu Dhabi’s dugongs in the past five years.
According to Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, most of the deaths have been caused by a certain type of fishing net, which is banned in this country.
I wonder how fishermen can use them openly if they are illegal. Clearly, the regulations need to be enforced. A lack of it will cause irreparable damage to our environment that will harm all of us in the long term.
Andrea Richardson, Dubai
Tinted windows at the root of all road troubles
Thank you for highlighting what I see as a major explanation for bad driving and bad drivers in the UAE (Dark window tints are a clear danger, March 4). Forget about drivers with ADHD, not enough radars, race cars on the road: it's over-tinting on windows that is at the heart of the matter.
Not being able to make eye contact with other drivers – or with pedestrians and cyclists – dehumanises the driving experience. Hiding behind the cloak of anonymity, queue-jumping, use of excessive speed, lane swerving and flagrant disregard for safety and the rights of others becomes easy for those who believe – and it appears there are many – that the road has been created only for them. Additionally, laws concerning mobile phone use and child and adult seat belts are unenforceable with heavily tinted windows.
I don’t buy the “keep it cool” rationale for tinted windows since any decent air-conditioning unit will cool a car very quickly even in extreme temperatures.
Driving on public roads is, by definition, a public and not a private activity. Laws for the safety of the public must therefore be enforced.
Although I’m glad to learn that there’s a potential Dh500 fine for over-tinting of windows, I’d like to see the fine increased, and stiffer penalties and business closures for car shops providing service that exceeds the legal limit. Let’s expose the “black raiders of the roads” and make our roads safer.
L Kelley, Dubai
Arabic teaching has to improve
With regard to your article Arabic 'at risk of becoming foreign language' (March 3), I think the biggest problem is with the curriculum and the method in which Arabic is taught to children. More realistic goals should also be set.
For instance, my child, who is just learning Arabic, is being made to write sentences when she doesn’t have enough Arabic vocabulary to do so.
The power of language is in the ability to communicate. Why teach modern standard Arabic when no one uses it in their daily conversations?
We live in the Gulf, so they should teach children to speak in the Gulf or Emirati dialect.
I think the KHDA and the Ministry of Education should also figure out the number of expatriate students that have achieved any level of fluency in Arabic.
My child goes to a school that teaches Arabic five to six times a week, each session lasting for an hour. If she is dedicating that much time on a foreign language, I’d expect her to be able to hold a simple conversation. But that does not happen in most cases.
I think we are missing out on a huge opportunity to build the next generation of Arabic speakers.
Name withheld by request
Did Magna Carta achieve its goal?
The video showing Queen Elizabeth marking the anniversary of the Magna Carta is poignant (Queen Elizabeth marks 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, February 25). The Magna Carta established the groundwork for democracy as we know it. However, the abiding principle of equality has yet to be realised in so many nations, including the one where it was first introduced.
Robin Shake, Dubai
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.8-litre%204-cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E190hp%20at%205%2C200rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20320Nm%20from%201%2C800-5%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206.7L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh111%2C195%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETamer%20Ruggli%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENadine%20Labaki%2C%20Fanny%20Ardant%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
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
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
