The problem with local cultural museums (Emiratis call for more local culture museums, June 16) is not the volume of such sites, but the interpretation they offer.
I just returned from a weekend in Dubai and was disappointed by the lack of signage within the Bastakiya and Al Shindagha heritage areas.
Emerging from Al Ghubaiba Metro station, there is no directional signage to the sites. There is no interpretive boards about the significance of the district, and no guide maps.
There is obviously extensive reconstruction work being undertaken at Al Shindagha and in time these issues might be addressed. But right now, poor standards in signage, late opening hours and a lack of interpretive kiosks do no favours for those valiantly trying to promote UAE heritage.
Surely an organised walking (or buggy) tour of the whole area would be a good start. Guided tours of the individual sites and other interactive elements such as a traditional dates and coffee welcome and an escorted dhow or abra ride would help enrich the understanding of these areas.
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is a shining example of the deep knowledge that can be gained from engaging Emirati guides to provide their unique cultural perspective.
Ian Mason, Abu Dhabi
An easier way to find an address
I was really happy to read the report UAE website takes pain out of locating a business (June 18).
I have been waiting years for someone to apply GPS technology to the problem of street addresses.
The confusion is awful, especially if you live, as I do, in a nondescript building without a distinctive retail shop at street level.
Michael Khoury, Abu Dhabi
High praise for education funds
Applause. Encore. The budget increases announced this week are a true investment in the UAE's future (Abu Dhabi's multibillion dirham look to the future, June 14.)
Hopefully, the career guidance provided by Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) and the universities will lead secondary students into high-need areas.
Jerry McDonald, Abu Dhabi
Help debtors dig out of depression
Suicide among in the Indian community in UAE has alarmingly increased this year (Two Indians a week take their own lives, May 27).
Dozens of Indians have already committed suicide this year. But still the Indian embassy in the UAE, and the Indian government in New Delhi, have not spent enough time determining to prevent these tragic deaths.
In my opinion, most of these suicides are due to financial problems generated because of low salaries and mounting debt. Several banks in the UAE are giving loans and credit cards without looking into a person's income source and family status. As such, people earning low incomes are taking out big loans to bring family members here, or are living lavishly by using more than one credit card collected from different banks to pay their bills.
These people are not being responsible for their own finances, and are forgetting to remit debit instalments in due course. But they are also being preyed upon by unscrupulous bankers.
This cycle of debt and failure to dig out leaves some people, including Indian expatriates, with an impossible choice: run away, risk prison or commit suicide in order to avoid court order and prison terms.
It's a vicious cycle that the government needs to help to change.
KP Muhammad, Abu Dhabi
Time commuting is time wasted
Your story Commuters give up the daily slog to Abu Dhabi (June 18) was of special interest to me, as a recovering long-distance commuter.
In Chicago, I made a 75-minute motorway trip twice a day, for many years, to get to work. And twice a day, I hated every minute of it.
Here in the UAE, I work with some people who commute from homes in Dubai to our office in Abu Dhabi. I have seen their homes, in some cases, and they are certainly nicer than I can afford on the same salary here in Abu Dhabi.
But I am still much happier with a five-minute taxi trip from my modest flat to my office.
Joe Learoyd, Abu Dhabi
A midday break to benefit everyone
Enforcement of the law protecting workers who are out in the sun this summer period is commendable.
But perhaps the rule should be applied to others working outside. Mawaqif inspectors, for instance, are out all day. Why not give them a respite? While we're at it, how about a summer free of Mawaqif parking fees? That would be a true win-win.
Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Greatest Royal Rumble match listing
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
The%20Boy%20and%20the%20Heron
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EHayao%20Miyazaki%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Soma%20Santoki%2C%20Masaki%20Suda%2C%20Ko%20Shibasaki%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
THE SPECS
GMC Sierra Denali 1500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Price: Dh232,500
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
GROUPS AND FIXTURES
Group A
UAE, Italy, Japan, Spain
Group B
Egypt, Iran, Mexico, Russia
Tuesday
4.15pm: Italy v Japan
5.30pm: Spain v UAE
6.45pm: Egypt v Russia
8pm: Iran v Mexico
The biog
Name: Atheja Ali Busaibah
Date of birth: 15 November, 1951
Favourite books: Ihsan Abdel Quddous books, such as “The Sun will Never Set”
Hobbies: Reading and writing poetry
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Look north
BBC business reporters, like a new raft of government officials, are being removed from the national and international hub of London and surely the quality of their work must suffer.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Schedule for Asia Cup
Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
The Laughing Apple
Yusuf/Cat Stevens
(Verve Decca Crossover)
The years Ramadan fell in May
The Vines - In Miracle Land
Two stars
SERIES SCHEDULE
First Test, Galle International Stadium
July 26-30
Second Test, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
August 3-7
Third Test, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 12-16
First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
August 20
Second ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 24
Third ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 27
Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
August 31
Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
September 3
T20, R Premadasa Stadium
September 6
