Aren't they great, those people over at Emirates Airline?
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Never ones to make a drama out of a crisis, as the old insurance industry slogan went.
I (recently) found myself on an enforced and elongated stay in London and, due to a number of things forgot to postpone my booked return flight to the UAE. Then, suddenly having to be back in Dubai, was faced with stumping up for a new ticket for the return trip.
My own fault, I know, but the kind of thing that could happen to anyone in extremis.
I explained my extenuating circumstances to the London booking office of Emirates, and was cheered to get an email from Boutros Boutros, the veteran communications adviser to Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the head of the airline.
Not only was my ticket reinstated, but the check-in staff at Heathrow (thank you, Maria Bissett) had been made aware of my circumstances, and were thoroughly sympathetic and helpful.
Emirates has been one of the fastest-growing airline in the world for the past several years, but it's pleasing to know that in all its world-beating expansion, it has not lost the all-important human touch.
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While in London, I had an awful glimpse into the practical realities of a collapse of the euro. It was a preview of financial anarchy.
Portobello Road street market, in Notting Hill in the west of the city, is as cosmopolitan as can be on a Saturday afternoon. The locals are cosmopolitan any day of the week, but on Saturday the street has become a "must see" for the French, Germans, Dutch, Spanish and other euro-zone tourists who flock there.
With increasing numbers of Asian and American tourists thrown in, Portobello is a Tower of Babel, as well as a microcosm of the world financial system.
A couple of weeks ago, after a downward plunge in the price of German bonds seemed to presage the end of the currency, the queues at the local ATM were longer than ever, mainly with tourists trying to get sterling on their euro-denominated bank cards. I joined the back of a long queue, but noticed lots of consternation at the front, with many people walking away with no money.
I asked a Dutch tourist what was happening. "They are not giving sterling out if you have a euro cash card," he said. I stood there watching for another 20 minutes, and it was true: if you had a sterling card, you got your cash; if a euro card, nothing.
For the rest of that day, in that one part of London, the forex market had collapsed and the euro and sterling were not "fungible", as the currency dealers call it. The UAE financial authorities will be pleased to know, however, that my dirham-denominated cash card still produced a healthy flow of sterling.
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Back in Dubai, I notice some worrying developments in the hydrology of the Marina area, where I live.
The Infinity building (known locally as the "Twisty Tower") has suddenly had a swimming pool dug next to it, or at least that's what it looks like from my 44th-floor balcony.
Just a few weeks ago, the site was definitely earmarked by the developer Arabtec for a multi-storey car park, maybe even another high-rise. You could see the deep and elaborate foundations taking shape every day, and hear the work going on around the clock.
Now it's a big, flooded hole in the ground. Definitely a swimming pool, if they can fish out all the flotsam and jetsam - timber, cement bags, builders' equipment - swirling around in it.
It's the second such disconcerting event in the past couple of months. In late summer, the undeveloped plot in front of my building (which had been used as an ad hoc car park for the Marina Walk) was transformed overnight into a vast lake, with a few vehicles abandoned in the middle of it.
The coming winter rains will make the situation worse. Somebody from the Municipality should find the obvious hole in the Marina wall, and put their finger in it, like the little Dutch boy and the dyke. Or whatever engineers use these days.
* Frank Kane
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
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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Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.
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RESULTS
Dubai Kahayla Classic – Group 1 (PA) $750,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
Winner: Deryan, Ioritz Mendizabal (jockey), Didier Guillemin (trainer).
Godolphin Mile – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
Dubai Gold Cup – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (Turf) 3,200m
Winner: Subjectivist, Joe Fanning, Mark Johnston
Al Quoz Sprint – Group 1 (TB) $1million (T) 1,200m
Winner: Extravagant Kid, Ryan Moore, Brendan Walsh
UAE Derby – Group 2 (TB) $750,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Rebel’s Romance, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
Dubai Golden Shaheen – Group 1 (TB) $1.5million (D) 1,200m
Winner: Zenden, Antonio Fresu, Carlos David
Dubai Turf – Group 1 (TB) $4million (T) 1,800m
Winner: Lord North, Frankie Dettori, John Gosden
Dubai Sheema Classic – Group 1 (TB) $5million (T) 2,410m
Winner: Mishriff, John Egan, John Gosden
England-South Africa Test series
1st Test England win by 211 runs at Lord's, London
2nd Test South Africa win by 340 runs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
3rd Test July 27-31 at The Oval, London
4th Test August 4-8 at Old Trafford, Manchester
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
The permutations for UAE going to the 2018 World Cup finals
To qualify automatically
UAE must beat Iraq.
Australia must lose in Japan and at home to Thailand, with their losing margins and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
Saudi Arabia must lose to Japan, with their losing margin and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
To finish third and go into a play-off with the other third-placed AFC side for a chance to reach the inter-confederation play-off match
UAE must beat Iraq.
Saudi Arabia must lose to Japan, with their losing margin and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
MATCH INFO
Europa League semi-final, second leg
Atletico Madrid (1) v Arsenal (1)
Where: Wanda Metropolitano
When: Thursday, kick-off 10.45pm
Live: On BeIN Sports HD
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FIXTURES
Thursday
Dibba v Al Dhafra, Fujairah Stadium (5pm)
Al Wahda v Hatta, Al Nahyan Stadium (8pm)
Friday
Al Nasr v Ajman, Zabeel Stadium (5pm)
Al Jazria v Al Wasl, Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium (8pm)
Saturday
Emirates v Al Ain, Emirates Club Stadium (5pm)
Sharjah v Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, Sharjah Stadium (8pm)
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
Results:
5pm: Baynunah Conditions (UAE bred) Dh80,000 1,400m.
Winner: Al Tiryaq, Dane O’Neill (jockey), Abdullah Al Hammadi (trainer).
5.30pm: Al Zahra Handicap (rated 0-45) Dh 80,000 1,400m:
Winner: Fahadd, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi.
6pm: Al Ras Al Akhdar Maiden Dh80,000 1,600m.
Winner: Jaahiz, Jesus Rosales, Eric Lemartinel.
6.30pm: Al Reem Island Handicap Dh90,000 1,600m.
Winner: AF Al Jahed, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel.
7pm: Al Khubairah Handicap (TB) 100,000 2,200m.
Winner: Empoli, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap Dh80,000 2,200m.
Winner: Shivan OA, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi.
MATCH DETAILS
Manchester United 3
Greenwood (21), Martial (33), Rashford (49)
Partizan Belgrade 0
Wonka
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
FORSPOKEN
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Assassin's%20Creed%20Mirage
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Starfield
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Scorebox
Sharjah Wanderers 20-25 Dubai Tigers (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries Gormley, Penalty
Cons Flaherty
Pens Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons Caldwell 2
Pens Caldwell, Cross