Internet services in the Middle East should return to normal by Sunday, Etisalat says, as repairs on damaged undersea fibre-optic cables in the Mediterranean continue. Repairs were originally projected to be completed by Thursday, but would take longer than expected after complications emerged and a new fault developed in one cable, said Ali Amiri, the vice president for carrier and wholesale services at Etisalat. Repairing undersea cables is a complex, delicate procedure, and the stress caused by repairs can often cause additional faults to develop. In this case, one line appears to be malfunctioning about 400km from the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria. "Overall, we are happy with the progress being made, and with our response to the situation," Mr Amiri said. "We restored services quickly to our customers and have maintained enough capacity to keep everything running." Three undersea cables were cut off the coast of Italy on the morning of Dec 19. No official explanation has been given for the almost simultaneous cuts, but speculation centres on an undersea earthquake or landslide. Two repair ships are working on restoring service to the lines. If the weather remained favourable and no new complications emerged, the cables should be fully operational by Jan 4, Mr Amiri said. One or two extra days could be added if things did not go as planned, he added. In the meantime, internet connections in the UAE are working largely as normal, with internet providers redirecting traffic on lines through Asia and the US. Some download-intensive services, like video streaming and online gaming, have been temporarily blocked to ensure basic internet services remain available. The first cable to return to service will be the FLAG line, operated by India's Reliance Globalcom. Laid in the mid-1990s, the FLAG cable runs from Japan to the UK, with stops in countries across Asia, the Middle East and Europe. It differs from other lines in that it is owned and operated by a single private business, rather than a consortium of national telecommunications companies. Two consortium-owned cables were also damaged in this month's cuts, and are being repaired by a ship operated by France Telecom. Etisalat uses all three cables to send internet and telephone traffic to Europe and beyond. Disruptions to undersea cable services are relatively common events and normally go unnoticed by the public, as internet providers redirect traffic. But the small number of cables connecting the Middle East to the outside world means there are less backup options when a single cable fails; multiple failures, which have happened twice this year, can bring internet connections to a standstill. Regional telecoms companies such as Telecom Egypt, the Cairo-based Orascom Telecom, Saudi Telecom and Etisalat are all investing in new undersea lines that will connect the region to Europe and Asia. The companies say new lines will reduce the likelihood of serious internet disruptions in the future. tgara@thenational.ae
SPECS
Engine: 2-litre direct injection turbo
Transmission: 7-speed automatic
Power: 261hp
Torque: 400Nm
Price: From Dh134,999
The specs: 2018 Renault Megane
Price, base / as tested Dh52,900 / Dh59,200
Engine 1.6L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission Continuously variable transmission
Power 115hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 156Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
Biog
Age: 50
Known as the UAE’s strongest man
Favourite dish: “Everything and sea food”
Hobbies: Drawing, basketball and poetry
Favourite car: Any classic car
Favourite superhero: The Hulk original
EMILY IN PARIS: SEASON 3
Created by: Darren Star
Starring: Lily Collins, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Ashley Park
Rating: 2.75/5
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
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
PROFILE BOX:
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Rami Salman, Rishav Jalan, Ayush Chordia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Technology, Sales, Voice, Artificial Intelligence
Size: (employees/revenue) 10/ 100,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($800,000)
Investors: Eight first-round investors including, Beco Capital, 500 Startups, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Hala Fadel, Odin Financial Services, Dubai Angel Investors, Womena, Arzan VC
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: Single front-axle electric motor
Power: 218hp
Torque: 330Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 402km (claimed)
Price: From Dh215,000 (estimate)
On sale: September
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Nomad Homes
Started: 2020
Founders: Helen Chen, Damien Drap, and Dan Piehler
Based: UAE and Europe
Industry: PropTech
Funds raised so far: $44m
Investors: Acrew Capital, 01 Advisors, HighSage Ventures, Abstract Ventures, Partech, Precursor Ventures, Potluck Ventures, Knollwood and several undisclosed hedge funds
THE DETAILS
Deadpool 2
Dir: David Leitch
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Justin Dennison, Zazie Beetz
Four stars
Central Bank's push for a robust financial infrastructure
- CBDC real-value pilot held with three partner institutions
- Preparing buy now, pay later regulations
- Preparing for the 2023 launch of the domestic card initiative
- Phase one of the Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FiT) completed
The Specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 118hp
Torque: 149Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Price: From Dh61,500
On sale: Now
ARM IPO DETAILS
Share price: Undisclosed
Target raise: $8 billion to $10 billion
Projected valuation: $60 billion to $70 billion (Source: Bloomberg)
Lead underwriters: Barclays, Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase and Mizuho Financial Group
Getting there
Etihad Airways flies daily to the Maldives from Abu Dhabi. The journey takes four hours and return fares start from Dh3,995. Opt for the 3am flight and you’ll land at 6am, giving you the entire day to adjust to island time.
Round trip speedboat transfers to the resort are bookable via Anantara and cost $265 per person.
TALE OF THE TAPE
Manny Pacquiao
Record: 59-6-2 (38 KOs)
Age: 38
Weight: 146lbs
Height: 166cm
Reach: 170cm
Jeff Horn
Record: 16-0-1 (11 KOs)
Age: 29
Weight: 146.2lbs
Height: 175cm
Reach: 173cm
SQUADS
South Africa:
Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada
Coach: Ottis Gibson
Bangladesh:
Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed.
Coach: Chandika Hathurusingha
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Engine: 77kWh 2 motors
Power: 178bhp
Torque: 410Nm
Range: 402km
Price: Dh,150,000 (estimate)
On sale: TBC
J Street Polling Results
97% of Jewish-Americans are concerned about the rise in anti-Semitism
76% of US Jewish voters believe Donald Trump and his allies in the Republican Party are responsible for a rise in anti-Semitism
74% of American Jews agreed that “Trump and the Maga movement are a threat to Jews in America"
EMIRATES'S REVISED A350 DEPLOYMENT SCHEDULE
Edinburgh: November 4 (unchanged)
Bahrain: November 15 (from September 15); second daily service from January 1
Kuwait: November 15 (from September 16)
Mumbai: January 1 (from October 27)
Ahmedabad: January 1 (from October 27)
Colombo: January 2 (from January 1)
Muscat: March 1 (from December 1)
Lyon: March 1 (from December 1)
Bologna: March 1 (from December 1)
Source: Emirates
Elvis
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Stars: Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Olivia DeJonge
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cyl
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Power: 190bhp
Torque: 300Nm
Price: Dh169,900
On sale: now