I write to you in reference to Ramola Talwar Badam's piece Coronavirus: Indian nurses tell of emotional farewells after answering 'call to serve' in UAE (May 11): I just want to say thank you to all the nurses for their service. We are so proud of all of you.
Prajwal Shetty, Dubai
Lessons from Kerala: preparedness of health care services
With reference to the op-ed by Johaan Chacko Coronavirus: What Kerala can teach us all about flattening the curve (May 8): this was an incisive piece. An important point made by the writer was that Kerala was well prepared to fight Covid-19 as it had ramped up its health services over a period of time, with "hospital bed availability rates that resemble high-income countries more than those of the developing world".
Covid-19 should also lead nations to introspect on how much they are spending on the health care of its citizens. As people were infected by the virus in many countries, they were traumatised about whether they would be admitted to the hospital, permitted a bed or a ventilator. Many patents died trying to find a bed in a hospital. Doctors in Europe had to make hard decisions about which patient to give the limited ventilators to. These are agonising thoughts.
Many countries spend as low as one or two per cent of their gross domestic product annually on health care. India, for instance, spends about 1.28 per cent of its GDP on public health, according to the latest National Health Profile data. The US spends 18 per cent of its gross domestic product, which is over $10,000 per person a year.
There is also a desperate shortage of ICU beds and ventilators. After the Covid-19 challenge, every country should ensure that it spends at least five per cent of its GDP on public health so that in an emergency there are adequate hospitals, beds, staff and protective equipment.
Nations spend billions of dollars on arms every year. We need to ponder afresh. Fighting a contagious, galloping disease to save human lives, is an important battle too.
Rajendra Aneja, Dubai
Has some of the sheen worn off holidays and long weekends?
With regard to your report Eid holiday dates announced for public-sector workers (May 11): as much as people were looking forward to a long weekend, annual holidays and a break from work, in these globally desperate times with unemployment rates soaring and a lot of people trying to secure a job to go to work, long weekends seem to have diminished somewhat in meaning.
Omer Faruk, Singapore
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
Henrik Stenson's finishes at Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship:
2006 - 2
2007 - 8
2008 - 2
2009 - MC
2010 - 21
2011 - 42
2012 - MC
2013 - 23
2014 - MC
2015 - MC
2016 - 3
2017 - 8
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place playoff
Austrian Grand Prix race timings
Weekend schedule for Austrian Grand Prix - all timings UAE
Friday
Noon-1.30pm First practice
4-5.30pm Second practice
Saturday
1-2pm Final practice
4pm Qualifying
Sunday
4pm Austrian Grand Prix (71 laps)
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHenry%20Cavill%2C%20Freya%20Allan%2C%20Anya%20Chalotra%3Cstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
Get inspired
Here are a couple of Valentine’s Day food products that may or may not go the distance (but have got the internet talking anyway).
Sourdough sentiments: Marks & Spencer in the United Kingdom has introduced a slow-baked sourdough loaf dusted with flour to spell out I (heart) you, at £2 (Dh9.5). While it’s not available in the UAE, there’s nothing to stop you taking the idea and creating your own message of love, stencilled on breakfast-inbed toast.
Crisps playing cupid: Crisp company Tyrells has added a spicy addition to its range for Valentine’s Day. The brand describes the new honey and chilli flavour on Twitter as: “A tenderly bracing duo of the tantalising tingle of chilli with sweet and sticky honey. A helping hand to get your heart racing.” Again, not on sale here, but if you’re tempted you could certainly fashion your own flavour mix (spicy Cheetos and caramel popcorn, anyone?).
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
