I was up on the freezing roof, and it was the stupidest thing I had ever done.
I walked towards the parched water tank and leaned against it, taking my phone out of my pocket.
21 January 2014, 15.21 blinked on the screen.
My head turned up to the Syrian winter sky. It was a grey day, and the air was thick with the smell of dust and muddy snow — a dirty white blanket covering the short and decrepit buildings of Al-Dablan Street. My eyes travelled across broken windows and looted shops, places I remembered from childhood visits, when my parents had brought my brother and me to Homs. My memories of those trips were hazy, but the images I had of this street were nothing like the abandoned zombie-land it was now. It had been a bustling market place, loud with the cries of bargaining merchants and crowded with fruit vendors, hidden behind carts sagging with mounds of watermelons and peaches and pomegranates. As I stood here on this cold afternoon, looking at the remnants of this city’s liveliest street, I could almost smell the fruit, could taste the grease of the shawarma and the feel the sticky sweetness of the mushabbak on my fingers.
I heaved a great sigh and looked at my phone again, then I dialled a number I knew by heart; I had been staring at it scribbled on a piece of paper for four years.
I didn’t lift the phone up to my ear, but stared at the screen. After a few seconds, the call screen disappeared. I realised I was holding my breath and let it out. Frowning, I dialled again, wondering if he had changed his number. I held the phone to my ear and realised that I still couldn’t get a signal. I rolled my eyes, and held the phone as high as my arm would stretch. A small part of my brain warned me that this could cost me that arm, but I ignored it as the icon on the screen gained another bar. Throwing all caution to the wind, I straightened and walked to the edge of the rooftop, dialled the number and put the phone against my ear. I had already made the decision to call my brother, and my habit of second-guessing myself had always angered me.
Static silence, and then the phone started ringing.
“Allo Marhaba?[1]”
“Iyad?” My voice was hoarse, and I cleared my throat. “Keefak?[2]”
“Fady?” Shock was evident in his voice. The familiar cadence made me forget the last four years, and I rolled my eyes in exasperation.
“No, Iyad, it’s Aunt Zbeideh. Of course it’s Fady, ya hmar[3].”
There was a pause. Then Iyad’s voice replied, “Elhamdella[4], I’m OK–”
“I’m good, yeah, thanks,” I replied before realising he hadn’t even asked. Grimacing at my blunder, I pushed on. “Happy birthday, Akhi. May you have a hundred more.”
“Oh! Thanks Fady.” Iyad gave a small chuckle.
“What’re you doing for your birthday? The weather is nice, isn’t it? Are you having a barbecue?”
“I think I’m just staying home actually. I have work early tomorrow.”
I tried a different tactic. “Well, even if you go out, it’ll never be as great as your 17th birthday.”
I heard him laugh in surprise. “I completely forgot about that! Oh wow. That had been something, hadn’t it? Father, Allah yerhamo[5], wouldn’t look at us for a month.”
“The car had been brand new, so I can’t say I blame him. But man, it was worth it wasn’t it?”
“It definitely ruined my first month as a 17-year-old. Not allowed to go anywhere after 5pm.”
“Yalla[6], admit it. You had fun.”
Iyad laughed again. “I did, I did.”
There was a pause again, then Iyad asked, “How are you doing? Is it cold?”
“Freezing. I’m surprised you can hear me through all the wind that’s blowing around me.”
Nervous and unable to stay still, I paced the edge of the roof, my eyes following my booted feet and my mind a decade away. I looked up and found that, in the distance, I could see purple electricity zigzagging down to earth. No thunder reached me.
“Looks like a storm’s gonna hit in a while, too,” I continued, “but we’re warm indoors. The government made sure the electricity is working where the troops are stationed.”
“I guess that’s better than nothing. Is it bad where you are?”
“It’s not the best place to be right now,” I admitted somewhat reluctantly. I was perpetually afraid these days, as I had been stationed in one of the more tense towns in Syria, where rebel troops had control and the government was trying to reclaim the city. I hadn’t told anyone, however, of the gnawing fear I carried in my stomach. I started my two-year mandatory service four years ago, not knowing that in two years, nobody was being released from service.
“Are you near uncle Hekmat’s farm?”
“Close. It’s OK. We’re not on offensive or anything, just lookouts. We keep our heads down and don’t do anything stupid, so we’re OK.”
Another pause. I leaned on the high parapet of the roof. I had been scared to come up here, but I couldn’t catch a signal inside the building, and I told myself the storm would force any gunmen indoors.
“How’s your job?” I asked.
“It’s OK. I got a promotion a month ago.”
“Oh, you did?” I knew he was a cashier at a supermarket in Abu Dhabi, and I didn’t know he could get promoted. “Mabrook[7],” I continued, “Father and mother would’ve been proud.”
This time, the silence was louder than the thunder moving towards me.
***
I was almost 18 years old when it happened. At home and playing Counter-Strike on Iyad’s computer, I heard a crash from the kitchen. I ignored it; my mother’s shaky hands caused many broken pots in our households.
Then I heard her scream.
Bolting out of the chair and into the hallway, my eyes fell on mother’s form, chest heaving as she drew out long shrieks. Beside her, lying on the floor was my father, eyes wide and fingers scratching at his chest.
“Baba!” My shout brought Iyad running into the hallway, as I threw myself on the floor and tried to stop my father from clawing his throat open. I heard Iyad yell at our mother to call an ambulance, saw him kneel down on, his eyes wide and his face ashen. Holding my father’s struggling fingers in my trembling ones, I looked up.
“What do we do? Iyad, what do we do?” I asked as the phone crashed to the floor of the living room, accompanied by a wail from my mother. My vision blurred, as I shook his father’s shoulders. I blinked and saw the white of his eyes. Someone was screaming at the immobile body to wake up, to respond, to say something, to do anything. It was only later, as I became conscious of my raw throat that I realised the screams were mine.
***
I watched by as Iyad quit his last year of business school, and became an accountant in an apartment-turned-office company. For three months, he only went through the motions, taking it one day at a time. Every morning I’d open my eyes as his alarm went off. I could read him clearly, and I knew he was going through the motions. I knew that every morning he would wake up and focus only on getting to work. He’d get to work and focus on getting to his smoking break. He’d come back and focus on the time he’d leave to go home. And once home, he’d sit in front of the television, thinking of nothing, focusing on nothing but getting to bed, through the night, and onto the next day.
He once told me about his nightmares, dreams where he was a disappointment, dreams of sick mothers, dead fathers and starving brothers. All I told him was to read Al-Mo’awethat[8] and go back to sleep.
I could pinpoint the last straw that pushed him away.
I had been in my mother’s room, feeding her mushroom soup, when she asked,
“Where’s your brother, Fady?”
“He’s at work, mama.”
“Always away from home, I never see him anymore. When’s he coming back?”
“Whenever he comes back, mama, I don’t know. Do you need me to do something?”
“If only all sons were like you. Allah ykhaleeli yak[9], always obedient, always here to help me …” I looked up, smiling at my mother’s praise, to see my brother silently backing out of the bedroom door, out of the house, and away from my mother’s tremorous voice.
***
“Iyad, look — ” I started not knowing what I was about to say. Merely thinking of my parents brought acid to my stomach. I hadn’t forgiven Iyad, I couldn’t do it. Bitterness was not the only thing that filled me. Beneath that, there was something else, a slimy black feeling that slithered in my veins; I envied him. I had to take care of a sick mother that couldn’t walk to the bathroom, while he was away, independent and free of responsibility. It seemed to me that the money he sent us was a cheap price to pay for his freedom.
And then my mother passed away, a mere two months after he left us. And for almost four years, I convinced myself it was Iyad’s fault. It was not possible for me to take care of her alone; it was too much for one person.
“You should come to Abu Dhabi.”
“I — what?” The absurd statement took me unawares.
“Come to Abu Dhabi, Fady. My apartment isn’t big but you can have the living room, and –”
“Come to Abu Dhabi? Are you serious?”
“Why not, Fady? I know someone –”
“Runaway like you, Iyad? No. I’m not coming to Abu Dhabi, I won’t run because something went against my plans.”
“You don’t even care for the government! You’re being stubborn and it’s only gonna get you —”
Lightning flashed around me. A second later, a deafening clap made my ribs reverberate, and I watched as a cable pole on the edge of the block leaned dangerously to the side.
I looked at the phone. The call had been cut off. I felt as if I just ran a marathon; out of breath, disappointed, angry and scared. I stared at the screen, wondering if he’ll try to call back. I realised I was hoping he would. The screen read 15.40.
I looked up, resigned to go back inside. I put the phone in my pocket, and as I was turning around, a flash of lightening illuminated the rooftop across the street from me.
I froze, as I registered a rifle, a scope, and a man behind it.
The hair on my arms and the back of my neck was standing, my nostrils flared and my eyes wide. For a moment, everything was quiet, nothing was moving, my heart wasn’t beating, and the sky was holding its breath.
The phone rang.
And then, as if from underwater, I heard the gunfire.
***
[1] Allo Marhaba: Hello.
[2] Keefak: How are you?
[3] Ya hmar: You donkey.
[4] Elhamdella: Thanks to Allah, sometimes used as a response to the greeting “How are you.”
[5] Allah yerhamo: God’s mercy upon him, said when speaking of the deceased.
[6] Yalla: Come on.
[7] Mabrook: Congratulations.
[8] Al-Mo’awethat: Three short Surahs from the Quran read before bed.
[9] Allah ykhaleek: May god keep you (here for me).
Mays Albaik, 22, is a Palestinian-Syrian architecture student at American University of Sharjah
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
THE%20HOLDOVERS
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Scores
Day 2
New Zealand 153 & 56-1
Pakistan 227
New Zealand trail by 18 runs with nine wickets remaining
Britain's travel restrictions
- A negative test 2 days before flying
- Complete passenger locator form
- Book a post-arrival PCR test
- Double-vaccinated must self-isolate
- 11 countries on red list quarantine
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014%20PLUS
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The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
ILT20%20UAE%20stars
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ELEADING%20RUN%20SCORERS%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E1%20Nicholas%20Pooran%2C%20261%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E2%20Muhammad%20Waseem%20(UAE)%2C%20248%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E3%20Chris%20Lynn%2C%20244%3Cbr%3E4%20Johnson%20Charles%2C%20232%3Cbr%3E5%20Kusal%20Perera%2C%20230%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBEST%20BOWLING%20AVERAGE%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E(minimum%2010%20overs%20bowled)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E1%20Zuhaib%20Zubair%20(UAE)%2C%209%20wickets%20at%2012.44%3Cbr%3E2%20Mohammed%20Rohid%20(UAE)%2C%207%20at%2013.00%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E3%20Fazalhaq%20Farooqi%2C%2017%20at%2013.05%3Cbr%3E4%20Waqar%20Salamkheil%2C%2010%20at%2014.08%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E5%20Aayan%20Khan%20(UAE)%2C%204%20at%2015.50%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E6%20Wanindu%20Hasaranga%2C%2012%20at%2016.25%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E7%20Mohammed%20Jawadullah%20(UAE)%2C%2010%20at%2017.00%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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South Korea
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Villains
Queens of the Stone Age
Matador
Scores in brief:
Day 1
New Zealand (1st innings) 153 all out (66.3 overs) - Williamson 63, Nicholls 28, Yasir 3-54, Haris 2-11, Abbas 2-13, Hasan 2-38
Pakistan (1st innings) 59-2 (23 overs)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Aahid Al Khalediah II, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Whistle, Harry Bentley, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup - Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Alsaied, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6.30pm: Emirates Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Mumayaza, Antonio Fresu, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Emirates Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7.30pm: President’s Cup – Group 1 (PA) Dh2,500,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
8pm: President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Medahim, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Specs:
The Specs:
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 444bhp
Torque: 600Nm
Price: AED 356,580 incl VAT
On sale: now.
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Levante v Real Mallorca (12am)
Leganes v Barcelona (4pm)
Real Betis v Valencia (7pm)
Granada v Atletico Madrid (9.30pm)
Sunday
Real Madrid v Real Sociedad (12am)
Espanyol v Getafe (3pm)
Osasuna v Athletic Bilbao (5pm)
Eibar v Alaves (7pm)
Villarreal v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)
Monday
Real Valladolid v Sevilla (12am)
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
The Matrix Resurrections
Director: Lana Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick
Rating:****
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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%3Cp%3EDavid%20White%20might%20be%20new%20to%20the%20country%2C%20but%20he%20has%20clearly%20already%20built%20up%20an%20affinity%20with%20the%20place.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EAfter%20the%20UAE%20shocked%20Pakistan%20in%20the%20semi-final%20of%20the%20Under%2019%20Asia%20Cup%20last%20month%2C%20White%20was%20hugged%20on%20the%20field%20by%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20the%20team%E2%80%99s%20captain.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EWhite%20suggests%20that%20was%20more%20a%20sign%20of%20Aayan%E2%80%99s%20amiability%20than%20anything%20else.%20But%20he%20believes%20the%20young%20all-rounder%2C%20who%20was%20part%20of%20the%20winning%20Gulf%20Giants%20team%20last%20year%2C%20is%20just%20the%20sort%20of%20player%20the%20country%20should%20be%20seeking%20to%20produce%20via%20the%20ILT20.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20is%20a%20delightful%20young%20man%2C%E2%80%9D%20White%20said.%20%E2%80%9CHe%20played%20in%20the%20competition%20last%20year%20at%2017%2C%20and%20look%20at%20his%20development%20from%20there%20till%20now%2C%20and%20where%20he%20is%20representing%20the%20UAE.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CHe%20was%20influential%20in%20the%20U19%20team%20which%20beat%20Pakistan.%20He%20is%20the%20perfect%20example%20of%20what%20we%20are%20all%20trying%20to%20achieve%20here.%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%E2%80%9CIt%20is%20about%20the%20development%20of%20players%20who%20are%20going%20to%20represent%20the%20UAE%20and%20go%20on%20to%20help%20make%20UAE%20a%20force%20in%20world%20cricket.%E2%80%9D%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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RESULTS
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group 1 (PA) Dh119,373 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: Brraq, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Jean-Claude Pecout (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Taamol, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Turf) 1,800m
Winner: Eqtiraan, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial (TB) Dh183,650 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Soft Whisper, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Hypothetical, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner: Etisalat, Sando Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km
Price: from Dh547,600
On sale: now
WHAT%20MACRO%20FACTORS%20ARE%20IMPACTING%20META%20TECH%20MARKETS%3F
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
If you go
Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.
Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com
A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com
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2019 Asian Cup final
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
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In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
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