Skype issues incongruous with UAE's long term plan

Connections and conversations matter all year round, so it is easy to understand why some people became frustrated after learning that Skype had been blocked in the UAE. The move, made a fortnight ago, is the second time the service has been suspended and follows a period of confusion over the regulations. Etisalat has said the service was blocked because it was providing an unlicensed Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service and has pointed phone users in the direction of its own licensed service, which – like that operated by du – is available for a monthly fee. As our postbag shows, this has prompted plenty of discussion among our readership.

Calling services provided by social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Viber, Snapchat and Facebook are currently unavailable in the UAE, which meant Skype, which has 70 million users worldwide, was frequently used both for individual and business purposes. If it wasn’t the only choice, it was certainly a very popular option for many people.

International communications are central to a knowledge-based economy. Smartphones have, in a short space of time, reinvented the way we live our lives. In a country where internet usage exceeds 90 per cent of the population, being part of a global conversation means being connected. While there are obvious revenue benefits to introducing a monthly charge for VoIP services, there are also drawbacks. This week, Younis Haji Al Khoori, Ministry of Finance under-secretary, extolled the virtues of VAT – recently implemented in the UAE – for increasing productivity and attracting highly-qualified labour. The economic boon that Skype offers is analogous. It is for this reason – to improve business confidence and spur digital innovation – that Saudi Arabia lifted its own ban on video calling apps in September last year.

The UAE is already making good on its plans to become a global nucleus of innovation. The wheels are already in motion for the UAE Centennial Plan 2071. Global start-ups have begun signing up to Dubai’s Area 2071, buoyed by a $275m investment fund. A UAE space probe is expected to reach Mars in 2021, when this country celebrates its 50th birthday. After the World Economic Forum ranked Dubai among the world’s top data-driven cities, the creative Dubai Design District hub is trialling advanced smart city technologies. Appointed to the UAE cabinet late last year, Omar Al Olama, 27, is the world’s first Minister of Artificial Intelligence.

Technological solutions will propel the UAE’s shift to a post-oil, knowledge-based economy, creating jobs, wealth and prosperity. To fully reap the rewards, following the introduction of VAT – not only to fund local projects, but to spur widespread development –seamless connectivity is vital. Open and smart communication channels will be a vital factor in building smarter cities. While developing our own applications and software is welcome, we must also champion the free movement of information and expertise.

The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: HyperSpace

Started: 2020

Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Entertainment

Number of staff: 210

Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners

From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

Winners

Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)

Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski

Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)

Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea

Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona

Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)

Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)

Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)

Best National Team of the Year: Italy

Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello

Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)

Player Career Award: Ronaldinho

MATCH INFO

Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium, Malayisa
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD

* Second leg in Australia on October 10

About Krews

Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi

Based: Abu Dhabi

Founded: January 2019

Number of employees: 10

Sector: Technology/Social media

Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support

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THE BIO

Mr Al Qassimi is 37 and lives in Dubai
He is a keen drummer and loves gardening
His favourite way to unwind is spending time with his two children and cooking

How to improve Arabic reading in early years

One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient

The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers

Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades

Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic

First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations

Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades

Improve the appearance of textbooks

Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings

Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught

Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar

The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:

Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.

Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.

Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.

Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.

Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.

Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.

(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)

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Company%20Profile

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COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Almnssa

Started: August 2020

Founder: Areej Selmi

Based: Gaza

Sectors: Internet, e-commerce

Investments: Grants/private funding

Profile

Company name: Marefa Digital

Based: Dubai Multi Commodities Centre

Number of employees: seven

Sector: e-learning

Funding stage: Pre-seed funding of Dh1.5m in 2017 and an initial seed round of Dh2m in 2019

Investors: Friends and family

Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

Rating: 5/5

Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.