In reference to your report Sultan Qaboos of Oman dies aged 79 (January 11): in his death, the world and the Middle East have lost a wise, able and modern leader. I was sad to hear about his death. I visited Oman many times on work and was impressed by the peace and equanimity in the country. The local people always seemed relaxed. They welcomed tourists and foreign visitors.
It was always a great pleasure to travel in Oman due to the excellent roads, and the hotels and restaurants across the country.
The Sultan modernised Oman, with tourism playing a major role, after oil. The serene environment in the state was principally due to his enlightened leadership.
Sultan Qaboos maintained a very low profile. He kept above regional and global strife and focussed on the welfare of his people.
He kept close to his people. Every year he organised camps, when he would go to different regions and stay in tents, so as to be able to meet the country folk and talk to them.
The company I worked for used to supply the Arabic bread (khubooz) for the meals at these camps.
We prided ourselves that the Sultan Qaboos of Oman eats our khubooz, when he travels to meet his people.
He will be missed.
Rajendra Aneja, Dubai
Condolences to Oman for the loss of a true leader who did a lot of good for the country and the beautiful and kind people of Oman.
Our sons were born in the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in 1994 and 1997. We celebrated His Majesty’s 25th anniversary of leading the country, and enjoyed our five year stay in the sultanate.
We wish the new Sultan a lot of strength, peace and wisdom for the coming years.
Simone Laout, Bergen aan Zee, The Netherlands
Sultan Qaboos was a great man and a true leader. Today expats are able to live in oman only because of his progressiveness, the development, and everything he did for his people.
Sathis Rakkappan, London
The rain has been welcome but the damage to property has been real
With regard to the report UAE weather: Dubai and Abu Dhabi braced for more rain and wind (January 12): whatever they are doing to get rain, wish they send some my way to Australia to put our fires out.
Adele Goldsworthy, Albany
With regard to Chris Maxwell's report Dubai tenants face major clean-up operation as floods strike (January 12): we are having issues in Abu Dhabi too. Our kitchen has been under water since Thursday.
It is an expensive business for anyone whose house has been damaged.
Anina Arlow-Marais, Abu Dhabi
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
DC%20League%20of%20Super-Pets
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Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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More from our neighbourhood series:
'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
