Why is Abu Dhabi adopting second rate "fixed time" technology at pedestrian crossings? The city should go for the latest adaptive technology based on actual demand, not a fixed timer. Why should drivers have to wait for the pedestrian crossing interval if there are no pedestrians? Why should the pedestrians have to wait for the vehicle when there are no cars? How often in Abu Dhabi does one approach an empty junction but find a 500m queue elsewhere? on The latest systems sense traffic flows on approaches and work out the most efficient operation in real time. This is coupled with push buttons for pedestrians and sensors which detect people on the crossing. These represent the latest technologies and make operations far more efficient. By definition, a fixed counter is a fixed counter. This is inefficient and causes delay and frustration. Ford Desmoineau, Abu Dhabi
In reference to Trapped street cats face a quick death (February 7), the cats can be sterilised so they don't breed. This will reduce their numbers. If you kill all the cats, the vermin population will increase tremendously. This has already happened in Bastakiya area in Dubai. They exterminated the cats and now have many rat traps on the ground. Lizzy Morris, Dubai
The real issue underpinning this emotive topic is that cats are fluffy and cute. The phrase "healthy street cats" hides the fact that what we are really dealing with is "feral cats". How would readers of this article respond to "an emirate-wide ban on killing healthy street rats"? Vermin are vermin. How do you know that the street cat is healthy unless you catch and test and inoculate it? Who pays for this luxury? The next time healthy street cats are mating in your back garden at 3am or urinating over your children's play mat, I'm sure fluffy and cute won't be the first image that springs to mind. Eradicate them all. DV, Dubai
Cats are our friends. People first adopted dogs, then cats and later other home animals. Today cats are helping people fight against rodents. So they are saving our climate from pesticides. Economically, we are saving money.
Why is the cat population increasing? Because the urban reality that is over crowded apartment towers favours the population of rats and mice. This means more food for cats. This is a biological natural balance. If we kill cats tomorrow, the rats and mice will contaminate us and our food. So stop killing cats for the betterment of our environment. Getacheu Gebries, Dubai
I refer to the business article 'VIP investor' sues Damac (January 17). Compared to Lothar Hardt, I am a small time investor in Damac. I invested Dh500,000 at the end of 2006 and am still waiting for the project to commence (Lotus 1). The current financial turmoil has left me penniless (unemployed for many months) and I have begged Damac to return the money but they will not listen and have refused. I do not have any funds to take them to court. I can only pray for Mr Hardt's success and hopefully the judge will open the way for small timers to get their money back. I have confidence in the UAE justice system. Terry Shaffi, UK
In reference to Sultan Al Qassemi's opinion article Book that proves some Emiratis are more equal than others (February 6), I agree with the writer that the right to hold the Kholasat Qaid or Family Book should be extended more widely. Sultan is a bold person who does not shy away from crucial issues. The fact that the UAE is making welcome and necessary changes to its citizen ID laws also shows that changes have been a bit slow, albeit much faster than in some other GCC nations. Given the fact that the UAE (and by extension GCC) have small populations, such citizen laws should have been much more liberal. One reason many foreign-educated locals prefer to reside abroad despite national wealth is exactly such strictures. Expats should be incentivised to come back home and contribute to national development. Athar Mian, Abu Dhabi
Italian chef Andrea Berton produced an extraordinary meal at the first Gourmet Abu Dhabi dinner on Saturday night. The staff at the Intercontinental Hotel were excellent. It was a meal to equal any I have had in Europe or anywhere else. Gourmet Abu Dhabi is a fantastic event which is getting better every year.
Kris Webb, Abu Dhabi
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now
Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
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"
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order 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
Top 10 most polluted cities
- Bhiwadi, India
- Ghaziabad, India
- Hotan, China
- Delhi, India
- Jaunpur, India
- Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Noida, India
- Bahawalpur, Pakistan
- Peshawar, Pakistan
- Bagpat, India
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
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.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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 PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
More coverage from the Future Forum
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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
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
