I'm concerned about the security of all the personal data that is requested by the Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA) when I try to register on their website for an ID card. Sometimes, the pages come up with other people's data already filled in.
Following the recent (and ongoing) problems with the loss of many people's UAE bank details, I am not convinced that the necessary safeguards are in place to protect against identity fraud.
Mark Tollerton, Abu Dhabi
Early in 2006, when the EIDA was first set up, staff at the Armed Forces Technical Studies Institute were required to register for the new ID cards. We queued at the officers' club to submit our personal data, and then there was another session at the EIDA for fingerprinting. We paid Dh500, and we were told that we would be contacted when the cards were ready for collection. I am still waiting for the call. Can I have my card now, please?
Philip Bowler, Abu Dhabi
I had some trouble registering online, but I tried to log on late one evening on the EIDA website ? and it worked first time. I booked an appointment and proceeded to enter the details of each family member. Two days later, I went along to the almost empty Al Rashidiya registration centre, and the process was over very quickly. The staff were really helpful and were able to answer all my questions and clear any doubts.
So, though it is unsocial, log on at night and it might not be such a headache after all, and choose another centre to pick up the forms. I also found the Al Rashidiya post office quite empty today, so you can always pick up and drop off forms from there.
Sheila Watts, Dubai
I have a question: Are employers obliged to get ID cards for their employees? If yes, then what is the procedure? Please help, I am an employer.
Seif Sultan, Sharjah
How about recycling for the general population, "UAE is most wasteful" (Oct 30)? I see some limited recycling options for businesses, but none for residents ? at least none for me. I am throwing out plastic bottles, aluminium cans, glass bottles, newspapers, cardboard boxes and everything else.
Every day while I was living in California, I recycled well over 50 per cent of my waste. Here, it is zero per cent. A real shame.
Bruce Purcell, Abu Dhabi
Your coverage of the Mr Tennis vs Essam al Ghalib debate has been fair and well balanced, "A goal for Saudi, and a culture clash for the spectators" (Oct 28). The subject is of course extremely topical, relevant and emotive.
The issue is underpinned by two points: firstly, there is a symbiotic relationship between westerners and the Arab world, and secondly, there is a great Arabic proverb: "When you are the stranger you must be well mannered." There would have been no misunderstanding had both individuals acknowledged these two points.
Roger Warren, Abu Dhabi
In the article "Common sense vs procedure: our banks are a disgrace" (Oct 31) , The National should have published the name of the bank that provided such bad service to the writer,
and the exact dates on which he encountered the bitter experience. Only when the name of the bank is published will they bother to give a reply to try and save face.
Sheik Abdullah, Ras al Khaimah
Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
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
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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.
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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
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
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- 600-seat auditorium
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
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4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications