In reference to the news article Food 'as vital an issue as oil': Geldof (April 29), I attended the Food Security Forum organised by Gulf Intelligence under the patronage and presence of Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak and featuring Bob Geldof as a special guest. The forum shed light on a fundamental issue of concern to the world at large.
Did you know that over a billion children go to bed on empty stomachs each and every night? The sheer scale of the problem was an eye opener for me.
Sheikh Nahyan and Mr Geldof highlighted to the audience that food insecurity could clearly lead to increased instability which could spread beyond local borders and potentially attain a global dimension. Hence, tackling the issue of food security should be a worldwide concern.
They both stressed the need for collective action to promote not only the use of scientific approaches to help farmers in poor areas of the world produce food that they and the rest of the world increasingly need, but to do so in a sustainable manner and within a social context to bring hope, opportunities and prosperity to the community at large.
For that, every country needs to do its part. I find it very refreshing that the UAE is acting in that spirit by taking a leadership position in raising the awareness needed to tackle a fundamental global issue.
Mohamed Sharara, Abu Dhabi
Biased wedding media coverage
Monaco's Prince Albert II will marry Charlene Wittstock in early July. Will The National be devoting as much space to that royal wedding as it has to this last one in Britain? If not, is it fair then to assume that The National is a British broadsheet?
The possibly future king and queen of Britain are not our royalty. Even labeling your coverage "The" royal wedding assumes a stance that excludes other royal weddings.
A week of coverage heading into the day, 12 pages of Arts and Life, and five pages on Saturday. Enough! A newspaper should reflect the community in which it is based. Expatriates are North American, Australian, South African, Russian, French, German, Thai, Indian, Indian, Pakistani and Filipino.
How hard can it be to cover the middle-class Indian and Pakistani communities of Abu Dhabi for example? Or the middle-class Iranian community in Dubai? Instead, we are treated to 12 pages of wedding nonsense. I have noticed over the course of reading this newspaper for three years that reference points are British and becoming increasingly so.
The sun has set on the British empire. Can we please wake up to a brand new day?
Marcel Petit, Abu Dhabi
Double standard on women's veils
I refer to a photo in the newspaper on April 28 entitled "Poll Sisters" depicting nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Mother Teresa, lined up to vote in Kolkata, India. I just want to show this picture to those who cry foul about Muslim women wearing the hijab and the niqab. Why are these Catholic nuns dressed modestly and covering their hair? Does Christianity proscribe the wearing of the hijab? All over the world, Catholic nuns are dressed like this. Can you find a picture of Mother Mary without her hair covered?
I fail to understand why present day Christians are so opposed to Muslim women covering their heads.
Shabir Zainudeen, Dubai
A dispute over cricket players
As much as I enjoyed watching a great talent like Paul Valthaty during a few matches this year (and also wondering where he was hiding all this while), the letter to the editor (Hailing a great cricket player, April 28) about Sachin Tendulkar being an "opportunistic run gatherer 95 per cent of the time" and Valthaty being "better than Virender Sehwag" is preposterous.
This is a 20-over type of tournament, not the international stage, for Pete's sake. Tendulkar and Sehwag are pillars of Indian cricket and the very good reasons why the Indian crowds pay to watch cricket matches day in and day out. Please do not diminish their skills and contribution to international cricket, leave alone the IPL.
As for Valthaty, I would love to see him opening with Sehwag for India in the near future.
Rohil Menon, Abu Dhabi
Widening use of force majeure
The business article Use of force is all in a good clause (April 26) reported that developers in the Gulf use force majeure to cover human failures as well as natural disasters. They do it because they know they can get away with it. This is the wild west of the property world. I wish I had invested in something less risky, like Greece's sovereign debt.
AW, Abu Dhabi
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Maestro
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Favourite things
Luxury: Enjoys window shopping for high-end bags and jewellery
Discount: She works in luxury retail, but is careful about spending, waits for sales, festivals and only buys on discount
University: The only person in her family to go to college, Jiang secured a bachelor’s degree in business management in China
Masters: Studying part-time for a master’s degree in international business marketing in Dubai
Vacation: Heads back home to see family in China
Community work: Member of the Chinese Business Women’s Association of the UAE to encourage other women entrepreneurs
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
The years Ramadan fell in May
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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
RACE CARD
6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed PDK
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 820Nm
Price: Dh683,200
On sale: now
T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIER
Results
UAE beat Nigeria by five wickets
Hong Kong beat Canada by 32 runs
Friday fixtures
10am, Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi – Ireland v Jersey
7.30pm, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi – Canada v Oman
More on animal trafficking
Jebel Ali results
2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 50,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner: AF Al Moreeb, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
2.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Shamikh, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
3pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 64,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: One Vision, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
3.30pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Gabr, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson
4pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 96,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Just A Penny, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
4.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Torno Subito, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 76,000 (D) 1,950m
Winner: Untold Secret, Jose Santiago, Salem bin Ghadayer
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Match info
UAE v Bolivia, Friday, 6.25pm, Maktoum bin Rashid Stadium, Dubai
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets