I don't blame the acting principal of a school near a corner where a boy was recently killed for being concerned for his students (Safety plea after boy, 9, dies at killer junction, March 19). School officials should be doing that.
But putting an overpass or underpass right at a corner where there is already a traffic signal is simply not a reasonable solution. In this case, there weren't even any pedestrians involved; this was a two-car crash.
From your story and other accounts I understand that the killed 9-year-old was thrown from his car, and that an infant in the other car had a broken leg.
So: were seat belts being worn? If not, why not? Would they have prevented this tragedy?
Carl Copeland, Abu Dhabi
A pedestrian overpass would be helpful. But so would a speed camera. Reducing the camera tolerance of speeds above the posted limit to 10 per cent nationwide would be a solution.
Aaron Smith, Abu Dhabi
The death of a little boy at a busy corner, and the comments of the people who live or work nearby, make me wonder if this corner is more dangerous than others with the same traffic density.
If so, then the signals there need to be improved, or the speed limit should be better enforced, or both, or else something else is wrong at that location.
Although I rarely go to that part of town, I hate to think that more accidents are waiting to happen.
Delphine White, Abu Dhabi
iPad is a triumph of marketing
Some people in the UAE are evidently willing to pay vastly inflated prices to be the first to get the new model of iPad (Pay twice the price and an iPad is yours, March 19).
Of course, other people are cheerfully ready to collect big profits.
Considering that three short years ago an iPad was only a rumour, this is a true triumph of marketing.
But you have to wonder about the people who are so eager to pay double the already-high real price. As our machines get smarter, some of us seem to get dumber.
Fred Wynn, UK
Groupon clients need patience
Groupon's chief goes amid more complaints (March 19) is hardly a surprise.
Add me to the list of dissatisfied customers. But at last I seem to have got to someone capable of handling the problem.
I ordered four cameras in November, and last week I finally received two of them. I have to wait for the other two because they didn't have the colours I ordered.
Call me picky but after waiting nearly four months, I can wait a week or two more to get what I want, instead of making it easy on them by settling for what's available now.
The person I spoke to placed the blame firmly on the logistics companies they have dealt with.
Donald Glass, Abu Dhabi
Pay for your unit only after it's built
I refer to Dubai buyers battle Dubai Sports City builders (January 20).
A developer should be able to fund his construction. This kind of reliance on investors' money happens too often in Dubai. Elsewhere in the world, you put 5 or 10 per cent down and pay the rest when the developer delivers the unit.
This gives them more incentive to finish the job, and assures the investor of a better quality product, because you don't have to pay until you've seen it.
Alan Godfrey, Dubai
A tricky decision for Mauritania
I agree with your editorial (Libyan justice for Senoussi relies on fair proceedings, March 19) that Muammar Qaddafi's intelligence chief Abdullah Al Senoussi should be delivered to Libya.
However, I fully understand the concerns of governmental and non-governmental organisations that he could be killed at the hands of the regime's victims if that happens.
Mauritania's decision will be politically and legally difficult.
Gaye Caglayan, Dubai
Oman has to get along with all
Sultan Qaboos of Oman is closely involved in trying to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and safe (Oman urges peace talks as tensions rise over Iran's nuclear ambitions, March 19).
Oman seems to enjoy cordial relations with both Iran and western countries.
The long-term security and prosperity of Oman depend on the maintenance of normal relations in both directions.
Having a pragmatic peacemaker in the region is certainly good for hikers, British sailors, French aid workers and any others who get in trouble in the region.
Dilara Akay, Turkey
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
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: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 1 (Martinez 18' pen)
Juventus 2 (Dybala 4', Higuain 80')
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
Results
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh195,000 1,400m | Winner: ES Ajeeb, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer)
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m | Winner: Al Shamkhah, Royston Ffrench, Sandeep Jadhav
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m | Winner: Lavaspin, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
8.15pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,200m | Winner: Kawasir, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 1,600m | Winner: Cosmo Charlie, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
9.20pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m | Winner: Bochart, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 2,000m | Winner: Quartier Francais, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.