A reader praises Google's self-driving car, saying it doesn't need to "talk" to other vehicles. Karen Bleier / AFP
A reader praises Google's self-driving car, saying it doesn't need to "talk" to other vehicles. Karen Bleier / AFP

Self-driving cars don't need to talk



Mandatory safety belts will reduce road death toll

I am writing in reference to Road death toll cuts average life expectancy (April 14).

Mandatory seat belts and mandatory child safety seats, hand in hand with speed enforcement, could help reduce the number of people who die on UAE roads.

The suggestion of publishing the locations of speed cameras is not going to help the situation. People will slow down when they come to the radars and then speed up again once they are past them.

Teri Adams, Dubai

Mandatory seat belts for all car drivers and passengers would drastically reduce the road toll.

Why do some people let their children move about freely in their cars? Wearing seat belts could save whole families in the case of an accident.

Andrea Williams, Dubai

Marriage is key to a stable society

I am writing in reference to the blog post Our mixed up thinking about marrying foreigners (April 11).

The problem is not marriage between foreigners and Emiratis, but the growing unmarried population in theUAE.

A society can't function when there is such an imbalance; where people are marrying late or opting out of the culture of marriage.

A working marriage is a sign of a stable society.

Marriage should be encouraged, but the trend of hyper-expensive weddings should not.

A Khaliq, Dubai

Self-driving cars don't need to talk

I see no reason that cars have to be able to "talk" to each other before they can be autonomous (Shift in vehicle development, April 14).

Google's driverless cars have driven half a million miles safely without doing so.

Such communication would be helpful, but cars can't be dependent on it.

If these cars can't reliably sense their environment and navigate through it, then their "conversations" will just be the blind leading the blind.

B Sweezy, US

Pakistanis must use vote wisely

May 11 is election day in Pakistan. It is a day when responsible citizens, including expatriate Pakistanis in the UAE, have the constitutional right for their voices to be heard and become part of the "will of the majority" that will govern the country.

Although voting is said to be the cornerstone of democracy, too few Pakistani people exercise their right to vote.

The system is designed for citizen participation and those who excuse themselves from this right, citing their sense of futility, are delegating their fate to the hands of others.

As a responsibility to help improve the way of life for future generations, voting is an ethical choice. It propels an opportunity for every individual to be mindful and become part of the solution and not the problem.

Informed voters are the backbone of the electoral process. Voters who take time out to read the issues, study the candidates and decide the future of the nation are the ones who are going to bring back the shattered state of Pakistan from oblivion to a better and brighter place.

Those who vote out of hate, anger and ignorance will get what they vote for. It's a process of engagement not only with oneself but collectively with the entire nation. Moreover, if done correctly, it's an educational and knowledge-gathering experience.

All that yelling in front of the TV s will not change a thing inPakistan unless citizens take to the polls and decide to make voting important.

Bilal Farooq, Abu Dhabi

Support for law change on debts

I am writing in reference to the decriminalisation of bounced cheques (Direct debit system to arrive in June, April 10).

I'm no lawyer, but it would seem that regardless of whether the banks are reticent or not, the law should be changed to avoid putting people in jail who do not belong there.

Debtors' prison is an anachronistic idea that does not match the progressive nature of the UAE.

Donald Glass, US

Quick resales may fuel property crash

Flipping is the fuel of bubbles and crashes, and I think it's time it became illegal (Call for curb on home 'flippers', April 15).

In many countries, you have to hold the property until the keys are handed over and it's fully paid for. Bassem P Fakhry, Dubai

Director: Romany Saad
Starring: Mirfat Amin, Boumi Fouad and Tariq Al Ibyari

Types of bank fraud

1) Phishing

Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.

2) Smishing

The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.

3) Vishing

The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.

4) SIM swap

Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.

5) Identity theft

Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.

6) Prize scams

Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

57%20Seconds
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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. 

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

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

The biog

Mission to Seafarers is one of the largest port-based welfare operators in the world.

It provided services to around 200 ports across 50 countries.

They also provide port chaplains to help them deliver professional welfare services.

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The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

Specs

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

Election pledges on migration

CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections" 

SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom" 

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

Five expert hiking tips
    Always check the weather forecast before setting off Make sure you have plenty of water Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon Wear appropriate clothing and footwear Take your litter home with you
RESULTS
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