Now, I know I wouldn't want to come face to face with a lion, but when I read the story in our newspaper last Sunday about the rescued young lions in Al Ain, my heart sank.
The tawny lions, brother and sister, had been brought to Al Ain Zoo after being rescued by officers from the Ministry of Water and Environment.
The details weren't entirely clear. What was clear was that the two cubs - each under two years old - had been horrifically mistreated, their claws removed and teeth filed down, exposing the pulp and causing infection in the bone.
Why would someone do this? To keep them as pets? What love could you expect from an animal that you have hobbled like this? Almost as pertinent a question is how could someone willingly inflict this extended pain on another creature, human or animal?
In a larger sense, what is upsetting about the story is the fact that, having flown a specialist, Gerhard Steenkamp, over from South Africa to deal with the lions' condition, one of the vets at Al Ain Zoo, Dr Arshad Toosy, said that he has seen no sign of the number of exotic pets in the country going down.
What I find hard to understand is how the leap in logic occurs between being an animal lover and actually wanting to own a lion. Taking my cat (something of a wild animal in itself, being a lively Arabian Mau) to the vet one day, I learnt from the receptionist that most of the cheetahs they see there are malnourished and die prematurely because their diet is so specialised; and when not properly trained are extremely dangerous. The cheetah found wandering the streets of Karamah with a broken paw this week could, without its injury, have taken a person down as easily as it would take an oryx.
It's not just big cats: one friend told me that, walking along the Corniche one day, she saw a man with a monkey on a lead.
Cute? Maybe.
Dignified? Definitely not.
My own cat, rescued with its siblings as a starving kitten after being abandoned by its mother, lives with me in an Abu Dhabi apartment on the 17th floor, and I know in my heart this is wrong. When I move at the end of the month, I will find a place with a garden. He'll be able to kill birds, chase mice and generally be the Platonic ideal of a cat. His life might be shorter, but at least it will be a cat's life.
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Frida%20
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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.
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20CarbonSifr%3Cbr%3EStarted%3A%202022%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Onur%20Elgun%2C%20Mustafa%20Bosca%20and%20Muhammed%20Yildirim%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Climate%20tech%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%241%20million%20raised%20in%20seed%20funding%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Vikram%20Vedha
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Gayatri%2C%20Pushkar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hrithik%20Roshan%2C%20Saif%20Ali%20Khan%2C%20Radhika%20Apte%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
The%20stats%20and%20facts
%3Cp%3E1.9%20million%20women%20are%20at%20risk%20of%20developing%20cervical%20cancer%20in%20the%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E80%25%20of%20people%2C%20females%20and%20males%2C%20will%20get%20human%20papillomavirus%20(HPV)%20once%20in%20their%20lifetime%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EOut%20of%20more%20than%20100%20types%20of%20HPV%2C%2014%20strains%20are%20cancer-causing%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E99.9%25%20of%20cervical%20cancers%20are%20caused%20by%20the%20virus%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EA%20five-year%20survival%20rate%20of%20close%20to%2096%25%20can%20be%20achieved%20with%20regular%20screenings%20for%20cervical%20cancer%20detection%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EWomen%20aged%2025%20to%2029%20should%20get%20a%20Pap%20smear%20every%20three%20years%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EWomen%20aged%2030%20to%2065%20should%20do%20a%20Pap%20smear%20and%20HPV%20test%20every%20five%20years%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EChildren%20aged%2013%20and%20above%20should%20get%20the%20HPV%20vaccine%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Jersey 147 (20 overs)
UAE 112 (19.2 overs)
Jersey win by 35 runs