What is a Ramadan calendar and where can you get one?


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For centuries, Advent calendars have helped people count down to Christmas.

More recently, the same experience has been created for those observing Ramadan, which is expected to fall on March 23 in the UAE.

On each of day of the holy month, the calendars will reveal a riddle, story or a gift, from chocolates to small beauty products. The Advent calendar-style countdown to Eid Al Fitr can make for great seasonal gift ideas, or as an engaging activity for children.

Here, The National rounds up some of the Ramadan calendars you can check out.

Bateel

Noor Calendar by Bateel; Dh395. Photo: Bateel
Noor Calendar by Bateel; Dh395. Photo: Bateel

The Saudi brand's Noor Calendar features 30 drawers filled with a selection of Bateel sweets.

Best as a gifting option, you can customise the calendar and choose from a variety of wrapped plain dates, or khidri dates with candied lemon and orange peel or khidri dates with almonds.

Dh395; available on bateel.com

L'Occitane

The French cosmetics brand tapped Jordanian illustrator Aya Mobaydeen to design its Ramadan calendar, which has boxes in different sizes, each housing a small beauty product.

Once opened and flipped, the boxes reveal parts of an illustration of a village. Aside from the products, the boxes also have questions, as an ode to Ramadan fawazeer (riddles) traditions. The riddles are part of a digital game where customers have the chance to get more treats from L'Occitane.

Products include an almond soap, facial serum, pillow mist and shower gel tucked randomly inside the cardboard boxes.

Dh349; available on ae.loccitane.com

Ferrero Rocher

Ferrero Rocher; Dh99.75; Photo: Ferrero Rocher
Ferrero Rocher; Dh99.75; Photo: Ferrero Rocher

The Italian chocolatier has a Ferrero Collection in the style of a Ramadan calendar, with 30 pieces of its signature hazelnut treats for each day of the holy month.

Dh99.75; available on spinneys.com

Myriam K

Founded by UAE resident Myriam Keramane, the cosmetic brand is known for its hair care products, from oils to supplements. Some of its most famous items will be featured in the seven-day Ramadan calendar gift set, including hair perfume, vegan hair supplement, hair mask and beard oil.

Dh725; available on ounass.ae

Kinder

Specifically created for children, the chocolate brand's Ramadan range includes a house-shaped calendar. Flipping a window open reveals a sweet treat, accompanied by a suggestion of a good deed based on Ramadan values.

Dh36.25; available on carrefouruae.com

Candylicious

The pink and green sweet box from the candy chain opens with a pop-up Ramadan village and an illustration of the Dubai skyline as the backdrop. Thirty chocolates and candies are included in the limited-edition calendar, suggested to be taken every day after iftar.

Dh149; available at all Candylicious stores

The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
Edited by Sahm Venter
Published by Liveright

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Know your cyber adversaries

Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.

Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.

Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.

Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.

Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.

Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.

Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.

Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.

Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.

Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.

Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.

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Sreesanth's India bowling career

Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40

ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55

T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12

Temple numbers

Expected completion: 2022

Height: 24 meters

Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people

Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people

First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time

First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres  

Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres

Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor 

Tesalam Aleik

Abdullah Al Ruwaished

(Rotana)

Dates for the diary

To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:

  • September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
  • October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
  • October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
  • November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
  • December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
  • February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

If you go

The flights

There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.

The trip

Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.

The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.

 

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

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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

Janet Yellen's Firsts

  • In 2014, she became the first woman to lead the US Federal Reserve 
  • In 1999, she became the first female chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers 
How The Debt Panel's advice helped readers in 2019

December 11: 'My husband died, so what happens to the Dh240,000 he owes in the UAE?'

JL, a housewife from India, wrote to us about her husband, who died earlier this month. He left behind an outstanding loan of Dh240,000 and she was hoping to pay it off with an insurance policy he had taken out. She also wanted to recover some of her husband’s end-of-service liabilities to help support her and her son.

“I have no words to thank you for helping me out,” she wrote to The Debt Panel after receiving the panellists' comments. “The advice has given me an idea of the present status of the loan and how to take it up further. I will draft a letter and send it to the email ID on the bank’s website along with the death certificate. I hope and pray to find a way out of this.”

November 26:  ‘I owe Dh100,000 because my employer has not paid me for a year’

SL, a financial services employee from India, left the UAE in June after quitting his job because his employer had not paid him since November 2018. He owes Dh103,800 on four debts and was told by the panellists he may be able to use the insolvency law to solve his issue. 

SL thanked the panellists for their efforts. "Indeed, I have some clarity on the consequence of the case and the next steps to take regarding my situation," he says. "Hopefully, I will be able to provide a positive testimony soon."

October 15: 'I lost my job and left the UAE owing Dh71,000. Can I return?'

MS, an energy sector employee from South Africa, left the UAE in August after losing his Dh12,000 job. He was struggling to meet the repayments while securing a new position in the UAE and feared he would be detained if he returned. He has now secured a new job and will return to the Emirates this month.

“The insolvency law is indeed a relief to hear,” he says. "I will not apply for insolvency at this stage. I have been able to pay something towards my loan and credit card. As it stands, I only have a one-month deficit, which I will be able to recover by the end of December." 

Updated: March 16, 2023, 4:12 AM`