ABU DHABI // While farmers say the rain of the past month has been a boon for their crops, for fishermen the unsettled weather has brought nothing but misery.
"We haven't seen rain like this in 30 years," said Yousef Qassem Hassan, a farmer in Al Gharbia for the past 15 years.
"There is much more rain than usual but it's good because it changes the quality of the dates."
His 300 date palm trees have received much-needed water, ridding them of bugs. "I hope there will be more rain because it kills diseases and insects that enter the trees' roots," he said. "It cleans the soil and gets rids of worms."
And the watermelons, melons, onions, parsley and tomatoes on his 1.155 hectare farm have thrived. "This means tastier produce," he said.
Rashid Sleem Al Kaitbi, an organic farmer in Al Ain, agreed. "There is a lot of dust and sand in the UAE so this rain just cleaned it," he said. "It's very good because it washed my whole farm."
He said 20 years ago there was generally much more rain than these days, which saved him having to irrigate so much. "It's the first time I've seen so much rain, especially so close to summer," he said. "It's weird but thank God."
The soil on his 3.35 hectare farm, which grows tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, aubergines and 300 date palm trees, has been cleansed of salt and diseases, he said. "I'm very happy."
And the rain could not have come at a better time for Naoufal Mohammad, a farmer in Al Ain. "During this time of the season, it's good, especially in open fields because it washes off the soil and balances it out," he said. "It provides clean water, collects the salt and washes it away."
He said it was the most rain he had witnessed in the past four years.
"We usually get more rain in the mountainous side of Oman, but not a lot in Al Ain," he said.
For Kamal Azzam, the manager of a 5.2 hectare farm in Sweihan, the weather has been "perfect. We haven't seen this rain in 10 years".
"There is much more than last year, by far, and we're loving it," he said.
But fishermen were more concerned with the wind. "Big ships stay out to sea for days so if there's a storm, they can't go out and they have to be careful," said Ali Al Mansouri, a fisherman and manager of the Abu Dhabi Fishermen Cooperative Society. "When there is a storm, we go to any island nearby to hide, the opposite side of the wind direction."
And it has hurt catches. "The price of a kilo of hammour last week was Dh17," he said. "This week, it's Dh34 because we couldn't get as much.
"Some boats can bring three tonnes of fish every four to five days. But with strong wind, they can stay docked for up to 20 days."
About 100 fishermen plan to go out to sea after Tuesday, when the weather is expected to be calmer.
"This is the sea, it's the most dangerous job in the world and it's very hard to predict wind direction and speed," he said.
Mohammed Al Zaabi, a fisherman in Abu Dhabi, was not too pleased with the weather either. "I can go out to sea with a wind speed of up to 20kph," he said.
"But more than that, we cannot because there are too many waves and we cannot work that way."
But Seif Saeed, a fisherman in Umm Al Quwain for about 40 years, is more sanguine. "I like this weather because there's no sun and no heat," he said. "I managed to get 200 kilograms of fish today. I have three boats, which helps, but if the wind gets stronger, it's not good for us."
cmalek@thenational.ae
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Results
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 (PA) US$100,000 (Dirt) 2,000m, Winner Bandar, Fernando Jara (jockey), Majed Al Jahouri (trainer).
7.05pm Meydan Classic Listed (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,600m, Winner Well Of Wisdom, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m, Winner Star Safari, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby.
8.15pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner Moqarrar, Fabrice Veron, Erwan Charpy.
8.50pm Nad Al Sheba Trophy Group 2 (TB) $300,000 (T) 2,810m, Winner Secret Advisor, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
9.25pm Curlin Stakes Listed (TB) $175,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner Parsimony, William Buick, Doug O’Neill.
10pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m, Winner Simsir, Ronan Whelan, Michael Halford.
10.35pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m, Winner Velorum, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby.
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.
What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women & the Food That Tells Their Stories
Laura Shapiro
Fourth Estate
Saturday's results
Brighton 1-1 Leicester City
Everton 1-0 Cardiff City
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Watford 0-3 Liverpool
West Ham United 0-4 Manchester City
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The biog
Name: Mohammed Imtiaz
From: Gujranwala, Pakistan
Arrived in the UAE: 1976
Favourite clothes to make: Suit
Cost of a hand-made suit: From Dh550
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EHigh%20fever%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EIntense%20pain%20behind%20your%20eyes%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESevere%20headache%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ENausea%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EVomiting%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESwollen%20glands%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ERash%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIf%20symptoms%20occur%2C%20they%20usually%20last%20for%20two-seven%20days%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The bio
His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard
Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece
Favourite movie - The Last Emperor
Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%20Supercharged%203.5-litre%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20400hp%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20430Nm%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh450%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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.