I refer to your report India mean business by pacing it nicely (March 15). India won due to the intelligence and coolness of one man: captain MS Dhoni. I congratulate him for his extraordinary leadership. The Indian side was almost vanquished at 92 runs for four wickets in the 23rd over, against Zimbabwe's total of 288 runs. The top Indian batsmen such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane were sent back to the pavilion without scoring enough runs.
However, Dhoni and Suresh Raina played a stellar innings and led India to a victory. Together they scored 196 runs in 156 balls.
Dhoni has repeatedly proved his ability to remain cool and unflappable in tense situations. He is smart and refuses to be drawn into politics and irrelevant public pronouncements.
Rajendra K Aneja, Duba
Animal welfare law needs to be enforced
Animal breeders who are not licensed need to be jailed and fined as per the Federal Animal Welfare Law (Adoption appeal as time runs out for rescued animals, March 16). People who abandon their pets also have to be penalised as they are breaking the Animal Welfare Law 16/2007. They need to be blacklisted from adopting or buying a pet.
We need an organisation that is 100 per cent committed to enforcing animal welfare law with enforcement powers. Residents need to know that they will not get in trouble if they report an individual or an organisation for animal abuse or neglect.
For the Government to enforce the Federal Animal Welfare law, we need to inform the proper authority. A lot of people do not know who to inform – the municipality, police or the Ministry of Environment. We are their voice, they depend on us.
Adopt, don’t buy. Let us come together and take care of the amazing animals of this great country.
Wahid Al Riyami, Abu Dhabi
Get facts right on sign language
Regarding the article Make us heard, say the deaf (March 17), please use the term “interpreter” if this is what the writer means – not “signer”. And, what does she mean by “English sign language”? Does she mean BSL (British Sign Language)?
Also, please be careful while making claims such as “sign language is one of the easiest languages to learn”.
Sign language is not a universal language. Different countries and areas have distinct sign languages and they should be referenced as such.
Learning any language from scratch to fluency takes time, skill and dedication. To brush it off as “easy” doesn’t give people who are skilled in these areas (such as interpreters) the respect they deserve. It also discredits the many complex sign languages. When they are “proper” languages, they deserve to be referenced as such.
Robin Hopkinson, Abu Dhabi
Street numbers good for all
As Peter Hellyer pointed out in his opinion article Street signs decision puts the city on the right path (March 17), the confusion arose because the authorities changed street signs so many times.
The numbering system was good and easy to understand – odd numbers on one axis and even on another.
Now that the numbers have been reinstated, it works for most people.
Dave Pryce, Abu Dhabi
I appreciate Abu Dhabi Municipality's efforts to bring back the street numbers (Streets by number get residents' vote, March 15), even though I have noticed that the new street signs do not have the same shade of blue. But that's not a big issue. The main problem has been resolved and we should thank the municipality for making it easy for the public.
Ganga K Swami, Abu Dhabi
Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
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Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: Turbocharged four-cylinder 2.7-litre
Power: 325hp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh189,700
On sale: now
The flights: South African Airways flies from Dubai International Airport with a stop in Johannesburg, with prices starting from around Dh4,000 return. Emirates can get you there with a stop in Lusaka from around Dh4,600 return.
The details: Visas are available for 247 Zambian kwacha or US$20 (Dh73) per person on arrival at Livingstone Airport. Single entry into Victoria Falls for international visitors costs 371 kwacha or $30 (Dh110). Microlight flights are available through Batoka Sky, with 15-minute flights costing 2,265 kwacha (Dh680).
Accommodation: The Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel by Anantara is an ideal place to stay, within walking distance of the falls and right on the Zambezi River. Rooms here start from 6,635 kwacha (Dh2,398) per night, including breakfast, taxes and Wi-Fi. Water arrivals cost from 587 kwacha (Dh212) per person.
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
