DUBAI // With the eyes of the world turning to South Africa for football's World Cup, the pride felt by its citizens is just as strong outside the country as it is at home.
An estimated 50,000 South Africans live in the UAE, some of whom have witnessed colossal changes and transformation in their homeland.
Lumkile Zitha spent his childhood in New York, the son of South Africans pursuing an education. Lynne Day was raised in South Africa when it was under apartheid rule, and lived abroad for many years.
While Mr Zitha, 26, and Ms Day, 59, are from different generations and races, and have vastly different experiences, both identify themselves proudly as South African.
Yacoob Abba Omar, the South African ambassador to the UAE, said the number of South Africans here made up probably the fifth-largest community outside the country. "While there are those who have left, almost all South Africans say they will go back and don't sever their links with the country," he said.
South Africans expatriates can be found working in a cross-section of industries, from the service sector to teaching and medical professions.
Ms Day, from Johannesburg, arrived in the UAE in 1996 to take a job in the pharmaceutical industry. She describes herself as one of the "pioneers" within the UAE's South African community, which then amounted to just a few thousand.
"It was a very different type of culture to what I was used to," she said. "Like a lot of people, you come for a few years and think you'll move on. I didn't imagine staying." She works in Dubai, for the South African Business Council. There are now three generations of her family living in the emirate after her daughter moved to the UAE, got married and had two daughters of her own.
Ms Day came from what she described as a conservative family. At university, she began to question the system that was governing her country and became active in anti-apartheid efforts. She joined the African National Congress (ANC), a decision that horrified her parents.
Ms Day left South Africa to live in Australia, Europe and the United States. She returned in time for the 1994 elections, the first since the end of apartheid rule, which saw Nelson Mandela elected president.
Mr Zitha, a graphic designer, is a more recent addition to the UAE's South African community. He moved from Johannesburg to Dubai in 2008. From a Xhosa background - "Mandela's people", he says - Mr Zitha was 13 when he returned to South Africa from the US in 1996.
"My generation, we are in the middle of the transition," he said. "We are not so much affiliated with political parties. We want to see results. It is good to look to the past and take what you can, but also look to the future."
Some expatriates left South Africa because of challenges the country is still facing - high unemployment, crime, HIV infection rates and political corruption. But both Mr Zitha and Ms Day are emphatic about their feelings for their country.
"I always consider South Africa home," Mr Zitha said. "It's a beautiful country." Ms Day describes herself as "100 per cent South African".
"I definitely see myself going back," she said. "I am very passionate about South Africa."
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
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China and the UAE forged even closer links between the two countries during the landmark state visit after finalising a ten-point agreement on a range of issues, from international affairs to the economy and trade and renewable energy.
1. Politics: The two countries agreed to support each other on issues of security and to work together on regional and international challenges. The nations also confirmed that the number of high-level state visits between China and the UAE will increase.
2. Economy: The UAE offers its full support to China's Belt and Road Initiative, which will combine a land 'economic belt" and a "maritime silk road" that will link China with the Arabian Gulf as well as Southeast, South and Central China, North Africa and, eventually, Europe.
3. Business and innovation: The two nations are committed to exploring new partnerships in sectors such as Artificial Intelligence, energy, the aviation and transport industries and have vowed to build economic co-operation through the UAE-China Business Committee.
4. Education, science and technology: The Partnership Programme between Arab countries in Science and Technology will encourage young Emirati scientists to conduct research in China, while the nations will work together on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, renewable energy and space projects.
5. Renewable energy and water: The two countries will partner to develop renewable energy schemes and work to reduce climate change. The nations have also reiterated their support for the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency.
6. Oil and gas: The UAE and China will work in partnership in the crude oil trade and the exploration and development of oil and natural gas resources.
7. Military and law enforcement and security fields: Joint training will take place between the Chinese and UAE armed forces, while the two nations will step up efforts to combat terrorism and organised crime.
8. Culture and humanitarian issues: Joint cultural projects will be developed and partnerships will be cultivated on the preservation of heritage, contemporary art and tourism.
9. Movement between countries: China and the UAE made clear their intent to encourage travel between the countries through a wide-ranging visa waiver agreement.
10. Implementing the strategic partnership: The Intergovernmental Co-operation Committee, established last year, will be used to ensure the objectives of the partnership are implemented.
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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.
