ABU DHABI // Removals companies have had a bumper few months as hundreds make the move from Dubai to the capital.
The Box in Dubai has had its busiest month on record.
"We had an increase in the second quarter of the year in moves from Dubai to Abu Dhabi of around 20 per cent," said Lisa Jackson, sales and operations manager for the company.
"Usually for us things quiet down and are pretty slow during Ramadan, but this year it was actually the busiest month we've had."
Staff worked day and evening shifts to keep up with demand. The company had a year-on-year increase of 25 per cent in July and August, and an increase in their storage usage by 50 per cent.
"What that shows is that more people are on the move, generally. Whether that be Dubai to Abu Dhabi, or just moving within the city they are in," Ms Jackson said.
Another Dubai company, Easytruck, had marked increases as well. "We are up substantially over last year, but it is a mixture of factors for us because we've scaled up our business substantially," said Chris Humphrey, co-founder of the company.
"We have seen around a 25 per cent increase in moves from May, compared with the same time last year" said Mahreen Khan, sales manager for Easytruck.
"I would say around 60 per cent of our Dubai clients have been moving to Reem Island."
Ms Khan said the majority of people moving from Dubai to Abu Dhabi are families. Although the company could not say if the housing decree was linked to the increased number of moves, staff said the main reason for relocation was job circumstances.
'The%20Alchemist's%20Euphoria'
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
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Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
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Name: Lynn Davison
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Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
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Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
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Started: 2019
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